Mya-Lecia Naylor

An effervescent presence on British children's series like "Millie Inbetween" (CBBC, 2014-18) and "Almost Never" (CBBC, 2019-), Mya-Lecia Naylor's career as an actor, singer and dancer was cut short by her sudden death at the age of 16 in 2019. Born in Warwickshire, England, she and her two younger brothers were raised by their parents in the south London town of Croydon. Naylor's television debut came at the age of two years, when she was cast as Jane, the daughter of Julie Sawalha's Saffron Monsoon, on a 2004 episode of "Absolutely Fabulous" (BBC Two/One 1992-96, 2001-04, 2011-12). But she would remain off-screen for the next six years, during which she attended Coloma Convent Girls' School and the Royal Russell School. Naylor returned to acting in 2011, first as the star of the children's fantasy/comedy series "Tati's Hotel" (CiTV/TVO, 2011) and then as Tom Hanks' granddaughter in the sprawling fantasy feature "Cloud Atlas" (2012). Her breakout role would come two years later with the children's drama series "Millie Inbetween." Millie Innes played the title role, a teenaged London girl contending with the divorce of her parents and their new relationships, which often included other children; Naylor played Fran, the freethinking daughter of Millie's father's new girlfriend. While appearing on "Millie," Naylor also lent her voice to the BBC Radio 4 drama "Mr. Reasonable," (2015-17) about a freed slave who made costumes for William Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. When "Millie" ran its course, Naylor joined the CBBC comedy-drama "Almost Never," which followed a pair of aspiring pop bands - the all-girl Girls Here First and the boy band The Wonderland - as they contend with the realities of music careers. Her tenure on the show was cut short by her sudden death on April 7, 2019 at the age of 16. In September of that year, it was revealed by . He coroner's inquest that Naylor had committed suicide by hanging.