Broadway Actress Laurel Griggs Is Dead at 13, Family Says

Laurel battled asthma for about two years, her father Andrew Griggs told CNN. Griggs suffered an asthma attack and within two hours, went into cardiac arrest and died. (@LaurelGriggs_/Instagram via CNN)

Laurel Griggs, an up-and-coming Broadway actress, died at the age of 13, according to her family, who also confirmed her cause of death.

The young actress appeared in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” when she was 6 years old, in “Once,” and many more, CNN reported. She made more than 1,000 Broadway appearances.

Meanwhile, she appeared in “Bubble Guppies” on TV and in the film “Café Society.”

Her father, Andrew Griggs, told the news outlet that she died from complications from an asthma attack.

“She was never complacent, always rehearsing moves and lines,” her father said, adding, “She turned out to be a big deal. Bigger than I thought.”

“She just was hardworking. She was always smiling and working hard and always on top of her stuff,” stage actress Jessica Threet told CNN. “She was so talented and kind and she lit up a room every time she walked in.”

Griggs said she was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan after suffering the asthma attack. She then went into cardiac arrest and died, he added.

“I think everybody did everything they could,” her father noted. “It just comes so suddenly.”

Actress Eliza Holland Madore, who also appeared in “Once,” paid tribute to Griggs via her Instagram page.

“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,” Madore 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.”

Young Broadway’s Twitter account also shared a tribute to the rising star after she died.

“We are saddened to share that Laurel Griggs passed away this week at the age of 13,” the page wrote, as reported by People magazine. “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.”

“Laurel was a child that everybody would dream to have,” her grandfather, David Rivlin, told the New York Times. “She was a brilliant girl, could run a role and never forget a line, and I never heard a complaint. I’m going to miss her.”

Rivlin also confirmed her passing on Facebook, saying, “Mount Sinai was valiant in trying to save her but now she’s with the angels.”