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Neighbours star Miranda Fryer dies at 34: 'Terrible shock'

Former Neighbours actor Miranda Fryer has died aged 34.

The child-star-turned-nurse tragically passed away in her sleep at home in Glen Iris, Melbourne last Thursday, according to her family.

Miranda played baby Sky Mangel on Neighbours from 1989 to 1991. At 18 months old, she was the first child actor to be contracted to the Channel 10 series.

Former Neighbours actor Miranda Fryer. Photo: Facebook/MJ Fryer.
Former Neighbours actor Miranda Fryer has passed away in her sleep. Photo: Facebook/MJ Fryer.

Her brother, Jeremy, took to Facebook on Monday to announce the sad news to Miranda's friends and followers.

"I am writing with the saddest of news. Last Thursday, around midday, MJ passed away.

"It was completely unexpected, we are yet to know for sure what the cause was, but with our family history, it looks like her heart failed during her sleep. She went peacefully."

No formal cause of death has been released.

A Facebook post announcing the death of Neighbours actor Miranda Fryer. Photo: Facebook/MJ Fryer.
Miranda's brother announced her sad passing in a Facebook post. Photo: Facebook/MJ Fryer.

Jeremy advised that a funeral service for Miranda would likely be held the following week.

Miranda's mother, Traci Hunter, remembered her 'wonderful' daughter as a 'truly kind loving person' who was 'adored by everyone'.

'She just went to sleep and did not wake up. It is a terrible shock to us all," she told the Herald Sun.

After leaving the long-running soap, Miranda finished her schooling and went on to study visual arts then nursing at university.

Miranda Fryer as Sky Mangel with on-screen parents Joe Mangel (Mark Little) and Kerry Bishop (Linda Hartley-Clark) on Neighbours. Photo: Channel 10.
Miranda Fryer as Sky Mangel with her on-screen parents Joe Mangel (Mark Little) and Kerry Bishop (Linda Hartley-Clark) on Neighbours. Photo: Channel 10.

She graduated from Monash University with a nursing degree last year and was reportedly set to begin a post-graduate position at Monash Hospital in the neuroscience department on February 7.

In November 2020, Miranda married Arthur Pothitis in a beachside ceremony and the pair were said to be planning to start a family.

Miranda joined the Neighbours cast as two-year-old Sky in 1989 when her TV mum Kerry Bishop (played by Linda Hartley-Clark) takes her to Erinsborough to meet her grandfather, Harold. When Kerry marries Joe Mangel (played by Mark Little), Sky gains a stepdad who would end up looking after her full-time after Kerry's untimely death.

Joe and Sky were written out of the show in 1991 but, over a decade later Sky returned as a teenager played by Stephanie McIntosh. Stephanie's stint ran from 2003 until her departure in 2007, followed by reprisals in both 2015 and 2020.

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