Broadway Actress in ‘Once,’ Dies at 13
Broadway actress Laurel Griggs has died, according to multiple reports. She was 13.
Griggs died Tuesday and a funeral service was held three days later in New York, according to a posted page on Dignity Memorial. After her death, Grigg’s grandfather David Rivlin took to Facebook to reveal that the young star passed away as a result of a massive asthma attack.
“It’s with heavy heart that I have to share some very sad news. My beautiful and talented granddaughter, Laurel Griggs, has passed away suddenly from a massive asthma attack. Mount Sinai was valiant in trying to save her but now she’s with the angels,” he wrote.
Griggs was best known for her role as Ivanka in the Tony Award-winning musical Once. The young star performed in the production for 17 months from 2013-2015. Griggs made her debut on the Broadway stage in Rob Ashford’s revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 2013, opposite Scarlett Johansson and Benjamin Walker, when she was 6, according to her IMDb page.
In addition to her Broadway appearances, Griggs also was featured on several episodes of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, as she shared on her Instagram.
Eliza Holland Madore, who also played Ivanka in Once, took to her Instagram to pay tribute to Griggs, who she says “always made other people laugh.” “I am deeply saddened by the sudden loss of one of my Ivanka sisters. Laurel- you were always smiling and always made other people laugh,” the actress wrote. “I’m so incredibly grateful that I got to know you. You will never be forgotten, and we will never stop loving you. Everybody in the Once Family is going to keep you alive through us. R.I.P. My heart goes to her family.”
The Young Broadway Twitter account also paid tribute to Griggs, tweeting: “We are saddened to share that Laurel Griggs passed away this week at the age of 13. Laurel was a brilliant young lady who appeared on Broadway in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Once. We send our condolences to her loved ones at this difficult time.”
Donations in Griggs’ honor can be made to Broadway Cares, a nonprofit that raises money for AIDS-related causes.
