Remembering 'Glee' Actress Naya Rivera | THR News - video Dailymotion

Naya Rivera, who played Santana Lopez on the wildly popular Fox musical series 'Glee,' was declared dead on Monday. She was 33.

Transcript

00:00Naya Rivera, a star on the wildly popular show Glee, has died. She was 33.

00:05Rivera went missing Wednesday after boating in Lake Piru, California with her 4-year-old son.

00:09According to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, when her son was found in the boat by himself that afternoon,

00:14sheriff's officials launched a search using helicopters, drones, and dive teams,

00:18as seen in this video shared by the Sheriff's Department on Twitter.

00:21Rivera's son, whose father is Ryan Dorsey, told authorities that he and his mother went for a swim,

00:25but his mother never returned to the boat.

00:26A spokesman for the Sheriff's Department said on Thursday that investigators believed Rivera drowned

00:31in what appears to be a tragic accident.

00:33The search continued throughout the weekend until Monday morning,

00:36when the Ventura County Sheriff's Department stated via Twitter that a body had been found.

00:40The body was later confirmed to be Rivera.

00:43While Rivera started her acting career at just age 4 on the short-lived CBS comedy Royal Family,

00:47it was her role in Ryan Murphy's mega-hit Glee that catapulted her to stardom in 2009.

00:52Rivera played snarky cheerleader Santana Lopez,

00:54and became a fan favorite after diehard Gleeks picked up on the chemistry between her character

00:59and ditzy fellow cheerleader Brittany, played by dancer Heather Morris.

01:02The couple became icons for lesbian representation on TV as Glee mania broke out across the globe.

01:07Rivera signed as a solo artist with Columbia Records in 2011,

01:11and released her first single, Sorry, which featured rapper Big Sean in 2013.

01:15The two began dating and got engaged that year, but ended their relationship months later.

01:18After Glee, Rivera had a recurring role in the lifetime drama series Devious Maids.

01:22She most recently starred on the TV update of Step Up as an administrator at the show's prestigious Highwater Performing Arts School.

01:28The show recently moved from its former home at YouTube to premium cable network stars for its second season.

01:33That was incredible.

01:35Oh, do I see a little tear in your eye there? You're getting soft on me about this?

01:39No, I'm fine. It's just, this is everything I've ever wanted for the school.

01:43In 2016, Rivera released a tell-all memoir titled Sorry, Not Sorry, Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up,

01:48in which she recounted her career, particularly her time on Glee.

01:51For more on Naya Rivera's life and career, head to THR.com.

01:55For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.