Beasts Of The Southern Wild actress Jonshel Alexander has died aged 22, according to reports.
Alexander, who played Joy Strong in the 2012 Oscar-nominated film, was reportedly shot and killed in New Orleans, Louisiana on Saturday (November 27).
According to The Hollywood Reporter, police said Alexander and a man were shot inside a vehicle and she was pronounced dead at the scene. The man, whose name hasn’t been released, drove to hospital for treatment.
Investigators have reportedly located a vehicle of interest in connection to the shooting, a maroon pickup truck believed to have been used by the killer.
Her mother, Shelly Alexander, paid tribute to her daughter in The Times Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate, saying: “She brought life to everything. Jonshel was feisty, jazzy, spoiled. It was her way or no way. Jonshel was like, ‘It’s going to be me’.”
Directed by Benh Zeitlin, Beasts Of The Southern Wild is a drama film following the story of a poor Louisiana bayou community struggling for survival.
The film was nominated for four Oscars in 2013, for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress for nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis – the youngest to ever be nominated in the category.
Zeitlin has described Alexander as an “absolute one-of-a-kind, unforgettable, force-of-nature human being” and has been in touch with her family since learning of her death.
