Cory Monteith Life in Photos

With his camera-ready good looks, smooth vocals and boy-next-door charm, Cory Monteith shot to fame and gained a loyal following as quarterback Finn Hudson on the Fox hit Glee.

But four years after the series premiered, Monteith, 31, was found dead on July 13, 2013, at Vancouver's Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel, the result of a mixture of heroin and alcohol. "We are in shock and mourning the tragic loss," his rep said in a statement, while costar Dot-Marie Jones added on Twitter, "My heart is broken."

Here, we look back at the actor's rise to fame and tragic death.

01 of 11

A Rough Start

Monteith grew up in Calgary, Canada, where he and his older brother, Shaun, were raised by his single mother, Ann McGregor (pictured). His parents divorced when Monteith was just 7. "I didn't have an easy run," he later recalled to Maclean's. "There were a lot of negative things going on. It sort of multiplied in school."

02 of 11

Finding His Way

By ninth grade, he had quit school, picking up part-time jobs and playing the drums in a local band until meeting casting director Maureen Webb. "It didn't even occur to me what actors did," he later told the Times Colonist. Three weeks after meeting Webb, he moved to Vancouver "with just a bag of T-shirts and two pairs of pants."

03 of 11

Small-Screen Success

Monteith made his onscreen debut in a 2004 episode of Stargate: Atlantis, which jumpstarted a string of guest-star gigs on shows such as Smallville, Kyle XY (pictured) and Fear Itself. "I call myself a working-class actor," he recalled to The Toronto Star. "You know, you go from one-line gig to the next one-line gig, to a couple of episodes on this show, a couple episodes on that show, to a small part in a movie ... I was making a good living, but it really wasn't a life."

04 of 11

Head of the Class

Monteith won over Glee producers with a video of himself playing what he dubbed "the Tupperware drums." After singing at his final audition, he was selected to play the role of jock-turned-Gleek Finn Hudson. "When they picked me for the part, I thought they were mistaken," he told Entertainment Tonight. "I thought I was going to be swiftly recast and fired and deported back to Canada." After debuting in spring 2009, the soon-to-be Fox musical smash officially premiered on Sept. 9, ultimately introducing fans to the McKinley High School gang and launching Monteith's career.

05 of 11

We Are the Champions

As the show's music climbed the Billboard charts, Gleeks noticed more than the actor's vocal abilities. His boyish smile and easy charm earned him a spot on PEOPLE's 2009 Sexiest Man Alive list, with costars Matthew Morrison (center) and Mark Salling (right). During their Vegas-themed photo shoot, he revealed his equally sexy non-Hollywood sensibility, describing his perfect Sin City weekend: "Bring a girl, see a show, have a beautiful dinner! Always avoid the Vegas hookup."

06 of 11

Swift & Sweet

But his heartthrob status was truly solidified when he was linked to Taylor Swift in 2010. The two were spotted together at a pre-Grammys party in January and, months later, getting friendly at an L.A. bowling alley, where the songstress "kicked my ass," he cheekily admitted. Still, Monteith downplayed the relationship in May, telling Ellen DeGeneres, "We're just friends. I don't know where the time is to date these days."

07 of 11

Teenage Dream

Monteith picked up a Teen Choice Award in 2011 for his leading role on Glee, which also scored four Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and nearly 200 nominations in its commercial success. That year, the show even snagged the coveted post-Super Bowl time slot.

08 of 11

Reel Love

With the show's third season in full swing, Monteith's off-screen relationship with costar Lea Michele was ultimately confirmed when they were spotted kissing at a May 2012 NHL game in New York City. They continued to pack on the P.D.A. around the city – and on Twitter, where Michele referred to Monteith as "really hot."

09 of 11

A Return to Rehab

While filming Glee's fourth season in March 2013, Monteith, 30 at the time, announced that he voluntarily checked into rehab for substance addiction. It was the second trip to rehab for the actor, who admitted in 2011 that his past struggles landed him in rehab at age 19. "I don't want kids to think it's okay to drop out of school and get high, and they'll be famous actors, too," he told Parade. "But for those people who might give up: Get real about what you want and go after it."

10 of 11

Staying Strong

"I love and support Cory and will stand by him through this," Michele told PEOPLE after Monteith entered rehab. By April, he completed treatment and reunited with his girlfriend, who joined him for a Vancouver Canucks game and, days later, a May trip to Mexico. Less than a month before his death on July 13, the couple were photographed together for seemingly the last time as they made their way through New York's SoHo neighborhood on June 18, days after a dressed-up appearance at the 12th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in L.A. (right).

11 of 11

His Lasting Legacy

CORY MONTEITH, 31 — Courtesy of Cory Monteith

In the decade since his death, Monteith's short life has still loomed with friends and costars. Earlier this year, his former roommate Justin Neill told PEOPLE, "He wasn't his character. He was a real person. He was neurotic and generous and a goofball. And he was one of the smartest people I knew."

Showrunner Ryan Murphy called Monteith the series' "spirit of joy," while costar Kevin McHale recently shared that "what pisses me off is like he was such a good actor and I don't think we necessarily told him that enough and like, the things we miss out [on] getting to see him do because he's so good."

“I still can’t pick up the pieces,” his mother Ann McGregor told PEOPLE five years after the actor's death. “My world totally stopped. And I’m a different person than I was before.”