Shannon Tavarez, the 11-year-old who starred on Broadway in The Lion King died Monday afternoon at Cohen Children’s Medical Center of acute myelogenous leukemia.
The soprano from Queens, New York made her Broadway debut as Nala in September 2009, playing four of eight shows per week in The Lion King until she was diagnosed with leukemia in April.
“She was a remarkable and talented young lady who touched the lives of those she entertained, as well as those who cared for her over the past several months,” medical center said Tuesday in a statement.
Shannon received an umbilical-cord blood transplant in August as an alternative to a bone marrow transplant. Her doctor, Dr. Larry Wolfe, said that a perfect bone marrow match for Shannon could not be found.
Shannon’s mother is African-American and her father is Hispanic, which made finding a match difficult since there aren’t as many minorities and persons of mixed-ancestry registered as potential donors.
According to the National Marrow Donor Program, 83 percent of African-American patients who need marrow transplants don’t find matches after six months of searching.
Alicia Keys, Rihanna and 50 Cent campaigned to help Shannon find a bone marrow match, encouraging fans to register as potential donors.
Rihanna reacted to news of Shannon’s death, “Just got off of a plane ride and got horrible news that our little star Shannon Tavarez has lost her battle against leukemia,” she tweeted on Tuesday. “Way too soon … keep her family in your prayers.”
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