Shannon Tavarez, a young soprano who starred in 'The Lion King' on Broadway, has died at age 11 after a battle with acute myeloid leukemia, Broadway World is reporting. The actress played Young Nala from September 2009 until April, when she began feeling pain in her lower back and legs. Soon, the emerging star was diagnosed and the search for a donor began.
Doctors were unable to find a match for a bone-marrow transplant, so as an alternative she received umbilical-cord blood treatment in August. Since leaving 'The Lion King,' Tavarez had undergone extensive chemotherapy and had been staying at a New York City hospital.
