Curse of ‘Glee’ Cast Revealed: From Heroin OD Death to Suicide, Drowning, Abusive Relationship and Show Bust-Up

Alex Newell, who uses all pronouns he/she/they, famously played the role of Unique Adams on Glee. They became one of the first transgender characters on TV.

After starring in the hit series, Newell expanded their career as an actor and singer while participating in LGBTQ+ events and pride festivals. They made their Broadway debut in the 2017 revival of Once on This Island and starred in series and films like Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and Imaginary Friend.

They won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for their performance in the musical comedy Shucked.

In 2023, TIME crowned them Breakthrough of the Year.

"Normalcy," Newell told the magazine after being asked what they were trying to give the world as an artist. "I want every story that someone has, that's personal to them, to be something that is not taboo, but normal."

They added, "I don't want to ever feel othered, and I don't want anybody else like me to feel [othered]. I want any story that I tell to just be another run-of-the-mill story that just happens to look like me and be who I am."

Amber Riley joined Glee as resident high school diva Mercedes Jones. During and after her stint on the show, she appeared on Dancing With the Stars and in the 2015 NBC musical The Wiz.

She started her journey in the music industry by working on her debut extended play in 2020.

In 2022, Riley became a cast member of Single Black Female and was featured in the documentary series The Black Beauty Effect.

From Season 4 of Glee until its last episode, Becca Tobin played Kitty Wilde. She appeared in more flicks like Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, Mystery Girls, NCIS: Los Angeles, Drop Dead Diva and Turner & Hooch.

Tobin appeared on the "And That's What You REALLY Missed" podcast on May 1 and joked about being irrelevant after Glee.

Glee's Ryder Lynn actor Blake Jenner became part of several films and series in the past few years, including The Edge of Seventeen, The Vanishing of Sidney Hall, American Animals, Master Chef, Supergirl and What/If.

In 2020, Jenner shared a lengthy Instagram post detailing the abusive relationship involving a former partner. He also accused the woman of mental and emotional abuse.

"To whoever is reading this, I am so sorry for the loss of respect and trust; for injecting any ounce of negativity or sorrow into a world that is already infected with so much sorrow as it is; and for coloring the art that you view in any shades other than what is supposed to bring you joy," he wrote in the statement.

Jenner added, "However, the most important apology extends — then and now — to my former partner. I am sorry. There are many things I could have done differently; and while I wish it did not take the pain that was suffered throughout the course of our relationship, I will never regress to making the same mistakes ever again. I will never stop doing the work necessary to better myself in all areas of my life. I wish you and your family nothing but good health, joy and love."

Chord Overstreet has starred in a few flicks while releasing songs after starring on Glee as Sam Evans.

He released the singles "Hold On" and "Speed of Sound." He appeared in The Bold Type and Acapulco and costarred with Lindsay Lohan in Falling for Christmas.

Chris Colfer, who played Kurt Hummel on Glee, continued acting after the series ended. However, he also pursued a writing career and wrote five volumes of Land of Stories.

In March, his "Rose's Turn" cover from the series became popular 14 years after its release.

Glee fans loved Cory Monteith and his character, Finn Hudson, so much that they were left broken when a Season 6 episode was released to honor him and his role following his death.

Monteith was found dead in his Vancouver hotel room on July 13, 2013, the summer before Glee Season 5 aired. Coroner Claire Thompson ruled that he died of mixed drug toxicity, involving intravenous heroin use combined with the ingestion of alcohol following his long history of drug use and rehabilitation visits.

Darren Criss immediately became a fan-favorite when he appeared on Glee as Blaine Anderson, but he garnered more attention after the series ended.

His success continued after his breakthrough role in the hit musical series. He starred in Season 2 of American Crime Story, the Superman franchise, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, Royalties, Muppets Haunted Mansion and Hazbin Hotel.

Criss also expanded his career in theater by joining the productions of The Little Mermaid, American Buffalo, Gutenberg!, The Musical!, Little Shop of Horrors and Chess.

He is set to return to Broadway with Helen J Shen in the musical Maybe Happy Ending.

From playing the role of Quinn Fabray Dianna Agron on Glee, Dianna Agron started focusing on movie roles and starred in flicks like The Laureate and Shiva Baby.

Agron became part of hit films over the years, including I Am Number Four and The Family, and starred in indie films.

As a singer, Agron held several residencies in New York.

Harry Shum Jr., who portrayed Mike Chang's role on Glee, scored more roles in films and TV series like Crazy Rich Asians, Love Hard, Grey's Anatomy, Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny.

Deadline confirmed that Shum Jr. would lead a Crazy Rich Asians spinoff with Gemma Chan.

Heather Morris joined the Season 24 of DWTS after starring on Glee. She also scored lead roles in Most Likely to Die, Romantically Speaking, The Troupe, Pretty Little Stalker and I.R.L.

In February, Deadline reported that CBS flick So Help Me Todd cast Morris in a key role.

Jacob Artist appeared on Glee as Jake Puckerman, Noah "Puck" Puckerman's younger brother.

His most notable project after starring in the musical comedy-drama was on the ABC series Quantico. He also starred in American Horror Story: Roanoke, The Arrangement, Now Apocalypse, The Get Together, Blood Money and Haunting on Fraternity Row.

After playing Sue Sylvester on Glee, Jane Lynch's career skyrocketed — she worked on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and earned an Emmy for her performance. She also joined the cast of Final Space, Space Force, Weakest Link and Harriet the Spy.

Lynch has a recurring role in the mystery comedy-drama TV series Only Murders in the Building.

Jayma Mays was cast on Glee to play Emma Pillbury's role. She continued working in several TV series afterward, appearing in The Millers, Trial & Error, Getting On and Great News.

She was also in the 2022 movie Disenchanted.

Jenna Ushkowitz was booked and busy after playing Tina Cohen-Chang's character on Glee.

She was featured in Hello Again, Waitress and The Princess Power before scoring a Tony award in 2018 for her work as a producer on Once on This Island.

On May 12, she announced that she and her boyfriend of two years, David Stanley, got engaged.

Post-Glee, Kevin McHale — who starred as Artie Abrams — released his debut EP in 2019 while appearing in more shows.

McHale joined the cast of American Horror Stories and hosted Virtually Famous for two years.

After a photo of himself cuddling up with Austin P. McKenzie surfaced in 2018, McHale came out as gay and confirmed their relationship.

Following her successful stints on Broadway and in Hollywood, Lea Michele joined the cast of Glee as Rachel Berry. She earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her role.

She released several albums while starring in different Broadway productions, including in the 2022 Funny Girl.

Michele has also confirmed she's expecting baby No. 2 with Zandy Reich, whom she married in 2019.

Mark Salling notably played the role of Noah "Puck" Puckerman on Glee, but his career crumbled when he got embroiled in a child pornography possession case. He served prison time and pled guilty to the charges in December 2017.

Salling died in an apparent suicide on January 30, 2018, months before his scheduled sentencing. He was 35.

Starring as Will Schuester, Matthew Morrison impressed viewers with his performance, and his career continuously skyrocketed after his Glee stint.

He went on to appear on Grey's Anatomy, American Horror Story and The Good Wife while working on his songs and albums.

While appearing on the "And That's What You REALLY Missed" podcast, Morrison revealed he planned to leave Glee before Monteith's death.

"In Season 5, I asked to be off the show, just 'cause like, I'm no longer being used in the way I wanted to," he said.

Morrison added, "No disrespect to the show. We were at a high, I was like, 'Maybe if I get off the show, I could go do something else, go do a movie,' and they agreed to let me off the show."

However, with Monteith's passing, the producers changed their minds and kept Morrison on the show.

Melissa Benoist started appearing on Glee as Marley Rose in Season 4. After ending her stint before the final season, she joined the cast of Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, Patriots Day and Danny Collins.

Naya Rivera played the role of cheerleader Santana Lopez on Glee before scoring recurring roles on Devious Maids and Step Up: High Water.

Amid her success in Hollywood, Rivera shocked the world when the report about her death emerged. She passed away in July 2020 following an accidental drowning incident while boating with her son. Rivera was 33.