Jane Lynch reflects on tragic deaths of Cory Monteith and Naya Rivera

Jane Lynch has reflected on the tragic deaths of fellow Glee stars Cory Monteith and Naya Rivera.

Canadian actor Cory, who played Finn Hudson in the musical comedy show, was just 31 when he passed away of an accidental overdose in 2013 and following years of addiction struggles.

While Naya, who played Santana Lopez in the high school-set series, drowned after taking a boat out onto Lake Piru, in Ventura County, California at the age of 33 in 2020 and leaving behind a young son named Josey.

While speaking to E! News, Jane, who played cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester on the show, reflected on the tragedies, saying, "Just such youth... They were so excited, as we all were. We knew that we were breathing rarefied air when the show became such a big hit... There's a big hole in our lives because of that."

The actress went on to explain she is reminded of Cory every time she celebrates her birthday as he died the day following this date.

She said, "My birthday will always be, you know, have Cory all over it and I'm really happy for that."

Written and created by Ryan Murphy, Glee ran for six seasons from 2009 until 2015, producing 121 episodes - with Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale and Lea Michele also among the cast.