Brazilian child actress Millena Brandão passed away on May 2, 2025, after suffering 13 heart attacks, as reported by various sources. She was 11 years old.
Brandão, known for her role in the Netflix series “Sintonia” and other Brazilian productions, was taken to Granjaú General Hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, on April 30. She had been experiencing severe headaches, leg pain, drowsiness, loss of appetite, and frequent fainting spells.
Her mother, Thays Brandão, stated that the young actress experienced multiple cardiac arrests from her hospital arrival until May 1. Initially, doctors suspected dengue fever, but this diagnosis was subsequently dismissed.
Thays informed Brazilian news outlet G1 that the cause of her daughter’s death remains unknown. She noted that medical professionals have not offered a definitive explanation, leaving the family with many questions about the unexpected incident.
The health issues began on April 24 when Millena first reported severe headaches and leg pain. Her mother took her to a doctor, who suggested it might be dengue fever and prescribed pain medication, but no tests were conducted to verify this.
“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,” Thays told G1.
Millena’s condition quickly worsened. By April 26, she was unable to walk due to the pain, and the family visited the hospital again but was sent home. On April 28, she fainted in her bathroom, leading to another emergency hospital visit.
After being admitted, Millena suffered her first cardiac arrest the next morning. Her mother described how her daughter’s lips turned purple, prompting medical staff to resuscitate her and place her on a ventilator.
A CT scan revealed a mass measuring about 2 inches in Millena’s brain, but Thays noted the absence of a neurologist to determine whether it was a tumor, cyst, edema, or blood clot. Millena’s condition continued to decline rapidly.
Thays reported that her daughter experienced two to three cardiac arrests daily, totaling 13 during her hospital stay. Millena had no prior history of cardiac issues. On one challenging day, she suffered seven respiratory arrests, with doctors employing manual resuscitation and defibrillator shocks.
After doctors declared Millena brain dead, her parents decided to remove her from life support. Thays explained that she and her husband believed further intervention would only prolong their daughter’s suffering.
The Brazilian municipal and state health departments are investigating potential irregularities in Millena’s medical care.
On May 3, Thays posted an Instagram tribute to her daughter, featuring an image of Millena with angel wings and a gold halo. She expressed her deep sense of loss and the enduring memories of their time together.
Millena began her acting career in October 2023 on the Brazilian Television System (SBT) and appeared in “A infância de Romeu e Julieta” (The Childhood of Romeo and Juliet) and “A Caverna Encantada,” as well as her role in “Sintonia.”
By the time of her death, she had amassed nearly 200,000 followers on Instagram, underscoring her growing presence in Brazil’s entertainment industry.
The precise cause of Millena’s death remains undetermined, with medical professionals unable to conclusively identify the factors that led to the cardiac arrests.
