Kianna Underwood

Kianna Underwood was an American actress and voice actress who became known to a generation of Nickelodeon viewers as a child performer in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She voiced Fuchsia Glover on the animated series Little Bill and later appeared on the sketch comedy series All That. She died on 16 January 2026 in Brooklyn, New York, at the age of 33, after being struck in a hit-and-run while crossing a street in the Brownsville neighbourhood.

Born in New York City on 28 November 1992, Underwood began working in entertainment while still a child. In 1999 she appeared in Nancy Savoca's comedy film The 24 Hour Woman, which starred Rosie Perez, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Patti LuPone. The same year she joined the voice cast of Little Bill, the Nick Jr. series created by Bill Cosby and based on Cosby's children's books. As Fuchsia Glover, the cousin of the title character, she appeared in dozens of episodes between 1999 and 2004, becoming a familiar voice to young audiences.

Underwood's on-screen break with a wider Nickelodeon audience came when she joined All That for its tenth season. She appeared in seven episodes of the long-running children's sketch comedy between 2004 and 2005, sharing the stage with a cast that had helped launch many young performers. She also provided voice work for the 2001 Rankin/Bass animated television movie Santa, Baby, and spent a year on the first national tour of the musical Hairspray as Little Inez.

After her childhood and teenage credits, Underwood largely stepped away from the public eye. On the morning of 16 January 2026 she was crossing at Pitkin Avenue and Mother Gaston Boulevard in Brownsville when she was struck by a black Ford Explorer and then by a second vehicle, a black and gray sedan. The New York Police Department said she was pronounced dead at the scene. Both drivers left; the investigation was handled by the NYPD Highway District's Collision Investigation Squad. News organisations including the Associated Press, Variety, Deadline and NBC News identified her as a former Nickelodeon performer and reported tributes to her early work.

Underwood is remembered for bringing humour and warmth to children's television at a formative age, and for roles that still circulate among fans of classic Nick Jr. and All That. Her short career left a clear mark on the shows that defined after-school television for many families in the early 2000s.