Celebrity News

13-year-old Broadway star Laurel Griggs’ cause of death revealed

Young Broadway actress Laurel Griggs suffered a fatal asthma attack while doing homework in her family’s Manhattan apartment — calling out to her father that she didn’t “feel so good,” kin said Sunday.

The 13-year-old — who debuted on Broadway at age 6 and had appearances on TV’s “Saturday Night Live” — started to feel unwell Tuesday evening as she worked on a homework assignment on her computer at her family’s Stuyvesant Town home, according to relatives.

Laurel Griggs
Laurel GriggsJohn Roca

“She said, ‘I don’t think I feel so good,’ which immediately set off all the alarms in my head,” her father, Andy Griggs, told The Post on Sunday. “She would never normally say something like that.”

Laurel was born with asthma and took medication for the condition, he said. The teen previously suffered a similar serious attack three years ago, and both of her parents closely monitored her afterward, the dad said.

“We dealt with it swiftly, and I became aware of how deadly the illness was,” her dad said.

So when her breathing Tuesday became labored, her parents realized the teen was in urgent need of help.

“My wife noticed that she was having trouble breathing, and she turned to me, and she said, ‘Andy, get her to the hospital right away,’ ” her father said.

Cops tried to save the teen by performing CPR in a police vehicle as they rushed her to Mount Sinai Hospital, but she died four hours later, authorities said.

Andy and Pam Griggs remember their daughter, Laurel, at a gathering on Sunday.
Andy and Elizabeth Griggs remember their daughter, Laurel, at a gathering on Sunday.John Roca

Laurel made her Broadway debut in 2013 alongside actress Scarlett Johansson in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” according to her IMDb page. She then joined the Tony-winning production of “Once,” where she had the longest run in the role of Ivanka.

Dozens of loved ones — including classmates and entertainment industry fixtures — gathered Sunday at a Chelsea cafe, where a remembrance service was held to celebrate her life.

Her aunt, former actress Pamela Mandell, said her niece “got a lot of inspiration” from her and started taking acting classes at age 5.

“She was a doll, all she wanted to do is make people laugh,” Mandell said Sunday at the service.

While appearing in hundreds of Broadway performances, Laurel took on a full workload at the Clinton School in the Chelsea neighborhood, her relatives said.

Days before her death, she auditioned to attend the famed LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.

“She did in 13 years what most people can’t do in a lifetime,” her grandfather, David Rivlin, told The Post. “She was incredibly multi-talented, and her life was a balancing act.”

Broadway dimmed its lights Friday in the young thespian’s honor as fellow cast members took to social media to remember her, relatives said.

“My @oncemusical family tragically lost one of our youngest members this past week,” wrote actor Lucas Papaelias in an Instagram post. “We are heartbroken & devastated… We will never forget this sweet, talented, young soul.”

1 of 6
Laurel GriggsJohn Roca
Laurel GriggsJohn Roca
Advertisement
Laurel GriggsJohn Roca
A memorial service was held Sunday for Laurel Griggs.John Roca
Advertisement