Child actor Sophie Nyweide, whose credits include “Noah” and “Mammoth,” is dead at 24.
Nyweide died last week, according to an obituary posted to Legacy.com said she “self-medicated” and that doing so led to her death.
“Sophie was a kind and trusting girl,” the obit reads. “Often this left her open to being taken advantage of by others.”
She reportedly used art to communicate her “struggles and traumas” before dying April 14.
“Even with those roadmaps, diagnoses, and her own revelations, those closest to her, plus therapists, law enforcement officers and others who tried to help her are heartbroken their efforts couldn’t save her from her fate,” Nyweide’s obituary claims. “She self medicated to deal with all the trauma and shame she held inside, and it resulted in her death.”
Nyweide was raised in Vermont and spent time in New York. Perhaps her biggest film role was in 2009’s “Mammoth,” where she starred alongside Michelle Williams and Gael García Bernal.
She joined cast members from that movie at its Berlin International Film Festival premiere, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which first reported on her death Tuesday.
She’s also credited with playing a “younger sister” in Darren Aronofsky’s 2014 film “Noah” starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly and Anthony Hopkins. IMDb lists her last acting credit as a 2015 appearance on the TV show “What Would You Do?”
Movie sets are where she found happiness, her family said in her death notice. They provided a “safe space” where she enjoyed interacting with casts and crews. Her loved ones mourned a life that ended too soon.
“She repeatedly said she would ‘handle it’ on her own and was compelled to reject the treatment that might possibly have saved her life,” according to her obituary.
Nyweide was 6 years old when she was cast in the title role of her first movie, “Bella,” according to Variety. She decided to pursue acting a couple years earlier after seeing 2003’s “Something’s Gotta Give” featuring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson, the Hollywood Reporter said. Nyweide appeared in seven films by the age of 10.
She’s remembered as a daughter, granddaughter, sister, friend and new aunt.
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