Stephanie Bissonnette
Stephanie Bissonnette/Instagram
mean girls Broadway cast member Stephanie Bissonnette has died after ayears-long battle with brain cancer. She was 32.
The production shared news of the dance teacher, choreographer and performer’sdeath onTwitter Mondaymorning, writing in a statement that Bissonnette “filled our theater with herlaughter and friendship.”
“Our hearts are broken as the mean girls community mourns the loss ofStephanie Bissonnette,” the production wrote in a statement. “Our originalDawn Sweitzer, Stephanie was part of our Broadway company from our firstperformance to our last.”
“She filled our theater with her laughter and friendship, inspired us with herfighting spirit and bravery, and graced our stage with the fiercest talentBroadway has ever known,” the statement continued. “Our thoughts and prayersare with Stephanie’s family, friends, and the entire mean girls communityduring this time. We will miss her profoundly and encourage everyone to dosomething they love today in Stephanie’s honor.”
Stephanie Bissonnette
Stephanie Bissonnette/Instagram
RELATED: Mean Girls The Musical Movie Reveals Cast, Including AngourieRice and ‘Moana’ Star Auli’i Cravalho
Bissonnette had publicly shared her experience with a form of brain cancercalled medulloblastoma ever since she was diagnosed in 2019, after sheoriginated the role of Dawn Sweitzer as mean girls opened at the AugustWilson Theater in New York City in 2018, according to Playbill.
In 2020, Bissonnette told SurvivorNet that she first noticed something was offwhen she felt a “twinge” while performing a dance move during a _mean girls_performance in 2019.
Never miss a story — sign up for ** PEOPLE ‘s free daily newsletter** to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicycelebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“I don’t think we would have found [the tumor] if I worked a normal 9 to 5job,” she told the outlet of why she decided to see a doctor. “Because I moveso much and I do crazy things for a living — I’ve been doing it since I was 5— just [that] little moment in the show [made me go], ‘Why am I having troubletoday? There’s got to be something else going on.’ “
Story continues
After doctors removed the performer’s tumor in February 2019, treatment forthe disease kept Bissonnette away from appearing in mean girls for ninemonths, according to the outlet.
RELATED: Pink Shirts and Burn Books! Everything You Need to Know About the_mean girls_ Broadway Musical
Devon Hadsell, Kevin Csolak, Collins Conley, and Stephanie Lynn Bissonnetteattend the ‘Mean Girls’ Original Broadway Cast Vinyl Release at the HeraldSquare Urban Outfitters’ on August 28, 2018 in New York City.
Walter McBride/Getty
“Treatments are hard and you’re going to have bad days,” she told SurvivorNetabout receiving cancer treatment in 2020. “You’re going to feel sick andyou’re going to feel nauseous.”
“But you have to know that there is a light at the end and it is coming,” sheadded at the time. “It’s going to be over. It’s just a period of time. It’s aterrible, tough period of time, but people come out on the other side.”
Bissonnette was a graduate of Point Park University’s Conservatory of thePerforming Arts; she performed with the cruise ship company Royal Caribbeanafter her graduation and eventually moved to New York City to work as ateacher and choreographer, according to Deadline.
Her other credits included choreography work for The Muny, Riverside Theater,Shakespeare Theater Company, and Seven Angels Theater, as well as anappearance in a Keith Urban music video for “Never Comin’ Down,” according to