Tragic development after Glee star Cory Monteith’s shock death

More than a decade on from Cory Monteith’s devastating death, there’s been a heartbreaking development.

Cory Monteith’s mother has passed away just days before the 12th anniversary of her Glee star son’s death.

Ann Marie McGregor died “peacefully” on June 18 following an unspecified illness, according to her obituary. She was 74, reports the New York Post.

“Ann enjoyed her time gardening, along with her artistic pursuits on her acreage in Shirley, BC, together with Cornelius, Harley and her love birds,” her obit read. “Ann was a person of strong character and she carried that throughout her life.”

Besides Cory, McGregor was predeceased by her parents. She is survived by her son and Cory’s older brother, Shaun Monteith.

McGregor’s passing also comes just over a month after the late Glee star’s father, Joe Monteith, died on May 12 following a serious illness. He was 75.

The actor’s mum passed away earlier this month. Picture: Facebook

Cory’s father, Joe Monteith died shortly before his mother. Picture: Oromocto Funeral Home

Joe and McGregor had divorced in 1989, and he and Cory were estranged for most of the young actor’s life.

“It is with great sadness that the family of Joseph Allan Monteith announces his passing on Monday, May 12, 2025, at the age of 75,” Joe’s obituary read. “His love and positive outlook on life will be missed by all of us.”

Joe is survived by his second wife, Yvette Monteith, and his only remaining child with McGregor, Shaun.

The death of Cory’s parents came nearly 12 years after the Glee star passed away on July 13, 2013, after an accidental drug overdose at 31.

Monteith found fame on the hit series. Picture: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Both his parents spoke out in the wake of the actor’s shocking death, and his mum claimed that Cory turned to drugs because he “wasn’t ready for the Hollywood world.”

“Drugs were his way of checking out,” she told People in 2018. “Cory didn’t want to die. There is no doubt about that.”

McGregor also lamented that her famous son still had his whole life ahead of him.

“Cory was such a loving and genuine person. And the best part of his life was still ahead,” she said.

“He wanted a wife and kids. He would have made a beautiful father. He had accomplished so much. He was ready to step out of Hollywood and really live. He had so much to look forward to,” Cory’s mum concluded.

As for Cory’s father, he said that the Glee star “should have known not to touch” the drugs that ultimately took his life. The coroner’s report found that Cory died from a lethal combination of alcohol and heroin.

“It’s just ripping my insides out and tearing me apart,” Joe told People shortly after his estranged son’s death. “I don’t want to see any parent lose a child over heroin.”

Lea Michele, who not only starred alongside Cory as Rachel Berry on Glee but was also dating the actor at the time of his death, recently said that she “just completely broke” after his passing.

He was dating co-star Lea Michele at the time of his death. Picture: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

“I was 26 and no one handed me a guidebook. It was a fast education on more stuff than I could ever even process,” she said on the Therapuss with Jake Shane podcast last month.

Michele, 38, added that Cory’s death “fractured” the cast of Glee.

“I think it really fractured so much,” she said. “I mean, I can’t speak for everyone — I think that maybe, in some ways, it did for certain people. But I think that for me, it was so hard to. I just completely broke.”

Glee, which premiered on Fox in May 2009, continued for two more seasons after Cory’s 2013 death. The show’s sixth and final season ended in March 2015 after 121 episodes.

“The Quarterback,” a special episode that served as a tribute to both Cory and his Glee character Finn Hudson, aired in October 2013.

“It’s an episode I was able to watch once, and I never looked at it again,” Ryan Murphy, the show’s creator, said about the emotional special. Murphy also admitted that he should have ended Glee after Cory’s tragic death.

“If I had to do it again, we would’ve stopped for a very long time and probably not come back,” Murphy said on the And That’s What You Really Missed podcast in 2022.

“I would be like, ‘that’s the end,’” he added. “Because you can’t really recover from something like that.”

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Tragic development after Glee star Cory Monteith’s shock death