Jonshel Alexander, the former child actor who co-starred in the Oscar-nominated film "Beasts of the Southern Wild," died after a shooting in her native Louisiana.
Jonshel, who was 12 when she got the role in the film, was sitting in a vehicle with a man in New Orleans when someone opened fire on them. Jonshel was pronounced dead on the scene and her friend went to the hospital for treatment.
The public is being asked to help locate a person of interest, a black male wearing a ski mask.
Jonshel played Joy Strong in the film 'Beasts', which was filmed in Louisiana about a struggling community. The movie won the grand jury prize at the festival and got four Oscar noms.
The director said he created the role of Joy for Jonshel. A lot of the lines were written by her, and so much of the character grew out of who Jonshel was. She plays a character named Joy Strong in the film and it seemed like a perfect description of Jonshel. She was a bright light.
Her only acting role was 'Beasts'. Jonshel had a daughter after working as a hostess in restaurants.
Jonshel was young.
I am sad.
