Millena Brandão, the young actress who graced the screen in Netflix’s “Sintonia,” tragically passed away on Friday at the tender age of 11 after battling a mysterious illness.
Her mother, Thays Brandão, shared heartbreaking details with Brazilian outlet G1 about her daughter’s sudden and intense health struggles. Millena experienced severe headaches, pain in her legs, loss of consciousness, and even 13 cardiac arrests over a span of several days. Doctors initially suspected dengue fever or possibly a brain tumor, but the exact cause remained unknown, leaving her family in agony. A mass was eventually found, and plans for a biopsy were set in motion, G1 reported.
“The doctors still haven’t said what really happened to my daughter and what killed her,” Thays said in an English-translated interview. “It’s a question mark.”
Millena’s battle took her through multiple hospitals in Sao Paulo, where doctors tried desperately to diagnose her condition. Despite their efforts, she continued to suffer, and it wasn’t until she experienced her first cardiac arrest that her mother knew things had taken a turn for the worse. “She never woke up again,” Thays said, recounting the painful moment. Millena’s condition worsened with more cardiac arrests following, and by Friday, she was declared brain dead. Her parents made the heart-wrenching decision to turn off the life support machines.
Her parents later shared a poignant message on Instagram following her passing. “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,” they wrote, adding that the joy Millena spread would never be forgotten. “The memories we spent together will stay in my memory, and I’ll never forget your joy that infected everyone around you.”
Millena’s role in “Sintonia,” a gripping drama about life in a São Paulo favela, gained her a solid fanbase. The show ran for five seasons on Netflix. She also appeared in the Brazilian soap opera “The Childhood of Romeo and Juliet” and had a growing presence on Instagram, with nearly 200,000 followers, where she was known as a model and influencer.
Her death has left a cloud of sadness over the entertainment world, with fans mourning the loss of a bright, young star who seemed to have so much potential ahead of her.