Neighbours star Miranda Fryer dies aged 34: Former actress who played Sky Mangel ‘went to sleep and never woke up’, say devastated family
Former Neighbours actress Miranda Fryer – famous for her role as Sky Mangel when she was a child – has tragically died at the age of 34.
Fryer died peacefully in her sleep last Thursday at her home in Glen Iris, Melbourne, according to her relatives.
Her cause of death has not been revealed, but she is thought to have suffered from cardiac problems.
Fryer, who worked as a nurse after leaving from show business, was the on-screen daughter of actors Mark Little and Linda Hartley-Clark, who played Joe Mangel and Kerry Bishop, respectively.
Tragic: Australian former actress Miranda Fryer, who played Sky Mangel on Neighbours as a child, has died at the age of 34. She is pictured here with her on-screen parents Joe Mangel (played by Mark Little) and Kerry Bishop (Linda Hartley-Clark) on Neighbours
From 1989 until 1991, Fryer was a regular on the popular Australian show.
She initially appeared on Neighbours when she was 18 months old, and she was the series’ first child actor.
Stephanie McIntosh took over the role of Sky Mangel from 2003 to 2007 and again from 2015 until 2020.
Fryer never tried her hand at acting following her time on the show.
Career: Fryer was on the Aussie show for three years from 1989 to 1991. She got her start on Neighbours when she was 18 months old and was the first child actor contracted to the series
She earned a certificate in hospitality and an art diploma after high school before completing a nursing degree at Monash University last year.
Because of the Covid-19 epidemic, she had to confine her learning to Zoom lectures.
Fryer was later granted a post-graduate position in the neurology department at Monash Hospital, with a start date of February 7.
She was also thinking about going back to school for a master’s degree in that subject.
She married her fiancé, Arthur Pothitis, in a seaside ceremony in Aspendale, Melbourne, in November 2020, and was excited to start a family.
After Neighbours: Fryer never pursued an acting career after her stint on Neighbours. She recently completed a nursing degree at Monash University in Melbourne during the pandemic
‘True soulmates, Miranda and Arthur were making preparations to start their family until one day last week she went to sleep and never woke up,’ her family said in a statement. We have no idea why.
‘She had been having some heart problems.’ Perhaps her lovely persona was just too excellent for this earth. We, who all adored her, will cherish the memories she has left us with and lament her death for the rest of our lives.
‘A lovely child, a wonderful adolescent, lovely on the inside and out… a woman who has given and received so much love and happiness So many friends have died, yet there is still so much to offer this planet.’
Sudden: No cause of death has been revealed but she ‘had some health issues with her heart’
‘She was the most wonderful daughter,’ Fryer’s mother, Traci Hunter, told the Herald Sun. She was filled with zeal and enthusiasm for life.
‘She was a wonderful, lovely lady who seemed almost too nice to be true… Miranda was universally adored.
‘She simply dozed off and did not wake up.’ It has come as a huge shock to all of us.’
‘I feel so very sad to lose one of my cast, especially one as young as Miranda who spent her very young years on the show,’ said TV casting director Jan Russ.
‘I love them like my own and feel the loss when they pass.’
Fryer’s family is awaiting a coroner’s report.
