Child actor dies aged 11 after suffering ‘multiple heart attacks’

A beloved child actor has tragically passed away after suffering multiple heart attacks, her mother has confirmed.

Millena Brandão, 11, fell ill last Wednesday with severe headaches and was rushed to Granjaú General Hospital in Granjaú, Brazil, where she died Friday. 

Brandão, who appeared in the Netflix series Sintonia, had 12 cardiac arrests between Wednesday and Thursday, according to her doctor.

Brandão’s cause of death was still unknown as of Monday.

‘The doctors still haven’t said what really happened to my daughter and what killed her,’ Brandão’s mother, Thays Brandão, told Brazilian news outlet G1. 

Millena Brandão experienced headaches, pain in her leg, drowsiness, loss of appetite and had fainted since April 24.

During that time she visited a city urgent care center and two São Paulo state-run hospitals. 

Doctors initially believed the young model had dengue fever before additional tests revealed a brain tumor. 

Brazilian child actor and model, Millena Brandão, died last Friday, nine days after she first fell ill

11-year-old Brazilian actress and model, Millena Brandão, went suffered 11 cardiac arrests between last Wednesday and Thursday before she died Friday

Millena Brandão made her acting debut in October 2023 on SBT [Brazilian Television System] and had appeared ‘A infância de Romeu e Julieta’ [Romeo and Juliet’s Childhood] and ‘A Caverna Encantada [The Enchanted Cave].

Thays Brandão, who also has a two-year-old daughter, questioned the care the doctors provided her daughter.

A physician at the state-run Pedreira General Hospital saw Millena Brandão on April 24 and treated her for a headache and told the grieving mother that the child had ‘dengue fever,’

‘But he didn’t do any tests. He told us to take her back home and give her dipyrone,’ Thays said. 

Millena Brandão cut short a modeling event April 26 due to pain in her leg and was taken to Pedreira General Hospital, but tests did not reveal any issues and she was told to rest at home, her mother said.

Millena Brandão made her acting debut in October 2023 on SBT [Brazilian Television System] 

The family planned on attending mass at a local church April 28, but returned home after Millena Brandão told her parents she was experiencing headaches, had no appetite and was drowsy.

Millena Brandão had dinner at home April 29 and then fainted in the bathroom. 

Her parents took her to Maria Antonieta Urgent Care Facility, where staffers suggested she be transferred to a state-operated medical center.

‘She arrived with her unconscious in my husband’s arms. Then, she opened her eyes and regained consciousness,’ Thays Brandão recalled.