Shannon Tavarez

ABOUT SHANNON TAVAREZ

American child actress who played the role of Nala in the Broadway production of The Lion King while suffering from cancer, which ultimately ended her life in 2010.

She grew up in Queens, New York City, where she was a student at P.S. 176.

She passed away at the age of eleven after having been diagnosed a year earlier with acute myeloid leukemia.

She was born in New York City to a Dominican father and an African American mother.

Singer Alicia Keys appealed to her fans to try to find a bone marrow match for Tavarez. Sadly, Keys' efforts were unsuccessful.