Photo: Lion King's Shannon Tavarez Death?

The little girl who starred in The Lion King on Broadway lost her battle with leukemia yesterday afternoon at Cohen Children's Medical Center on Long Island, New York. She played Young Nala in The Lion King on Broadway. Her death was tweeted by a lot of celebrities.

Here's a photo of Lion King's Shannon Tavarez.

Last thing I heard about Shannon Tavarez was that she was looking for a bone-marrow donnor and lots of people tried to help her, even famous people. What happened? Did she receive the bone-marrow transplant?

Because doctors couldn't find a bone-marrow match for a transplant, Shannon received an umbilical-cord transplant in late August as an alternative. The search for a match was especially daunting because Shannon's mother is African-American and her father is Hispanic.

Shannon Tavarez garnered the attention of celebrities such as Rihanna and Alicia Keys, who both campaigned to find a bone-marrow donor for her.

Tavarez attended the Harlem School of the Arts for vocals and piano from the age of 3 and won her "Lion King" role after her first open audition, according to Broadway World.

On her website, which includes a photo of Shannon as Nala and a video of her singing "The Circle of Life," Shannon Tavarez said, "Some people think that the test for compatibility is scary! ... All it really takes to get started is a cotton swab of the inside of your cheek."

Shannon Tavarez made her Broadway debut in The Lion King in September 2009. She remained with the show, playing Young Nala, until this past April when she was diagnosed with the disease.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Shannon's friends, family and all who knew and loved her.