Christina Milian hopes to pay tribute Naya Rivera and her family with her performance in Step Up.
Starz announced on Monday, Feb. 8 that the actress has joined the cast of its reimagined Step Up series, playing the role of Collette, which was originally starring the late Glee star. “I am so excited to join the Step Up family,” Milian, 39, said in a press release. “I know I have massive shoes to fill. Naya was incredible. I hope to honor Naya, her family, friends and fans with a great performance.”
Rivera passed away in July 2020 at the age of 33 while out boating and swimming with her son Josey on California’s Lake Piru. After her body was recovered from the lake, the Ventura County Medical Examiner determined Rivera’s cause of death to be drowning and the manner of death was an accident.
“Naya’s death was a terrible loss to our world that we will, frankly, never stop mourning,” Step Up creator and executive producer Holly Sorensen shared. “It was almost impossible to consider there could be someone so graceful and loving who could both help us honor our loss, while also bringing a deep reservoir of talent to our show, in so many areas.”