Imani Dia Smith, a former child actor known for portraying Young Nala in Broadway’s The Lion King, has died at age 26.
According to a joint press release from Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan, Smith was found Sunday with stab wounds in a residence in Edison, New Jersey. She was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.
Smith’s boyfriend, 35-year-old Jordan D. Jackson-Small, was arrested and charged in connection with the stabbing. He faces first-degree murder, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.
Playbill reports that Smith performed as Young Nala from September 27, 2011, to September 23, 2012. A GoFundMe page set up for her family notes she is survived by her 3-year-old son.