Inside 'Glee' Star Jane Lynch's Niece Meg Doyle's Touching Tribute to the Late Naya Rivera

Hollywood mourns the tragic death of "Glee" star Naya Rivera, and castmate Jane Lynch's niece posted a moving tribute to the actress.

Actress Jane Lynch shared a moving tribute on social media posted by her niece Meg Doyle to honor the memory of the recently deceased singer-actress Naya Rivera. The post is but one of the many devoted to Rivera by the "Glee" cast, among them Chris Colfer, and Alex Newell.

Rivera and Lynch were castmates on "Glee," and her niece met her while working as an assistant on the 2009 "Glee Tour," and the two women became friends.

Rivera's body was discovered days later, on July 13, 2020, by tragic coincidently the seventh anniversary of "Glee" castmate Cory Monteith's tragic death

REMEMBERING NAYA RIVERA

Doyle's tribute has moved Rivera's fans deeply, revealing a more intimate side of the young woman they knew and loved as "Glee's" Santana Lopez.

The heartbreaking post was shared by Lynch on her Twitter account, and has been shared again and again by thousands of Rivera's fans. Lynch captioned her post:

"I hope my lovely niece @Meg_Doyle won’t mind my sharing her Insta post. This was @NayaRivera"

A LOVING HEART

Doyle shared a personal snap of herself and Rivera laughing together, in which the stunning actress looks heartbreakingly happy.

In the accompanying caption, Doyle spoke of meeting Rivera during the "Glee" tour, and running into the actress a year later, as a newly arrived resident in Los Angeles. To Doyle's surprise, Rivera immediately took her under her wing,

Doyle spoke warmly of Rivera's fierce loyalty and dedication to her friends, her gigantic talent, and her modesty.

Doyle and Rivera were close for the first 4 years she lived in Los Angeles before life and circumstances led to the slow drift that sometimes divides the closest of friends.

In her lengthy post, Doyle revealed that above all, Rivera was someone who transformed those around her with her courage, her love and her unexpectedly salty humor. Doyle wrote:

"Being in Naya’s presence made me feel larger than life. It was like anxious Megan absorbed Naya’s fearless spirit by osmosis."

GOODBYE TO NAYA RIVERA

Rivera's friends and family will need that courage to work through the crushing grief of her tragic death. The actress vanished after taking her son Josey, whom she shares with ex-husband actor Ryan Dorsey, boating on Lake Piru in California. When Rivera failed to return the rental boat on time, a search discovered her young son adrift alone on the lake.

According to authorities, the toddler revealed that he had been swimming with his mother, that she had lifted him on to the boat, but had been unable to hoist herself aboard and escape the lake's famously perilous current.

Rivera's body was discovered days later, on July 13, 2020, by tragic coincidently the seventh anniversary of "Glee" castmate Cory Monteith's tragic death from an overdose in a Vancouver hotel.