Imani Dia Smith, a former child actress who played Young Nala in Disney’s “The Lion King” on Broadway from 2011 to 2012, was tragically killed in a stabbing incident at her home in Edison, New Jersey, on December 21, 2025. She was 26 years old.
According to authorities, Smith was found with stab wounds at her residence on Grove Avenue and was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Her boyfriend, Jordan D. Jackson-Small, 35, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and weapons offenses.
Smith’s family and friends remember her as a “vivacious, loving, and fiercely talented” person who left behind a 3-year-old son, parents, and two younger siblings. A GoFundMe campaign set up by her aunt, Kira Helper, has raised over $70,000 to support Smith’s family and son.
