Millena Brandão has sadly passed away. The child actress and model, who appeared in the Netflix TV series Sintonia, died at age 11, her parents confirmed to Brazilian news outlet G1. She passed away on Friday (May 2) after falling ill, although her official cause of death remains unknown, according to her parents Thays and Luiz Brandão. You can also read about other young stars we’ve lost too soon.
The Sudden Onset of Illness
The parents told the news outlet that since April 24, their daughter started experiencing severe headaches, leg pain, drowsiness, and a loss of appetite. “She had a headache, but she could walk and talk. The doctor said it was dengue fever, but he didn’t do any tests. He told us to take her back home and give her dipyrone,” her mother told the news outlet.
They returned to the hospital on April 26, but she was sent home again to rest. Two days later, Millena fainted in her bathroom at home. She regained consciousness as her parents rushed her to the hospital. If you’re interested in related news about young talent, check out our Netflix Child Stars Spotlight blog.
Tragic Final Moments
“She put her hand on her head and screamed in pain,” Thays recalled. The following morning while at the hospital, she suffered cardiac arrest. “Her lip turned purple. Then they resuscitated her and intubated her. From that day on, she never woke up again,” her mother said.
A CT scan revealed a 5-centimeter mass in her brain, but there was no neurologist on site to confirm whether the mass was a tumor, cyst, edema, or clot. “She got worse, with two to three cardiac arrests per day. She had 13 arrests in total. She had never had that before. There was one day when she had seven respiratory arrests. Sometimes they gave her massages and other times they gave her shocks [with a defibrillator],” her mother said.
Declaring Brain Death
Millena was tragically declared brain dead. “I said that if we were to let her little heart stop beating on its own, we would suffer more, and so would she. And we asked for the machines to be turned off,” Thays said. For fans of Sintonia, you can revisit her performance on the official Netflix page.
Tribute to Millena Brandão
“An open letter to my little girl 🖤” she wrote in the caption. “On May 2nd we lost our little girl, but I’m sure she’s in the arms of our almighty father and in a beautiful place to play. The memories we spent together will remain in my memory and I’ll never forget your joy that was contagious to everyone around you.”
“My girl, I’m already missing you more and more not having you here and I know I’ll miss you even more in the days to come!” she continued. “You were the light in our lives and I know that from up there you’ll continue to watch over us and light up our lives 🩷 And I’ll love you forever, and you’ll always be in my heart. I love you my girl‼️”
Our Deepest Condolences
Our deepest condolences go to Millena Brandão’s loved ones at this incredibly difficult time. Rest in peace, Millena. 💔
For more information about Millena’s role in Sintonia, visit the official [Netflix page](https://www.netflix.com/title/81005118).
