Hollywood icon Valerie Lee has sadly died at the age of 94, after rising to fame in The Wizard of Oz alongside Judy Garland when she was just six years old. According to author Stephen Cox, she died in Los Angeles on April 12. Valerie was best known for playing a Munchkin in the hit 1939 musical, but she also appeared in Ye Olde Minstrels, Dancing Romeo and Election Daze.

Valerie later quit acting and managed a book shop in LA for more than 20 years. She sadly lost her husband Robert Haynes before her death, and is now survived by their three children – Elise, Sharon and Larry. Her last on-screen appearance was a spot in 2024 documentary Mysteries of Oz: 85 Questions Answered.

Valerie attended the Bud Murray Dance School in LA, where she was cast in the role of a Munchkin.

She recalled: "I remember one day Bert Lahr was on the set, but not in his Cowardly Lion costume. He plopped one of the [little people] on his lap and [started] doing a ventriloquist dummy routine for all of us."

Valerie's death leaves just two surviving cast members from The Wizard of Oz, 96-year-old Priscilla Montgomery Clark, who also played a Munchkin as a child; and Caren Marsh Doll, 107. Caren was a stand-in for Judy Garland in the hit film and is now one of the last surviving actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Tributes have been flooding in from devastated fans, with one Reddit user writing: "This woman has seen some stuff. A life well lived."

"RIP and condolences to her family and loved ones. It is odd and bittersweet approaching these moments where our common history moves firmly into the past, when archives are the only option and first hand accounts become sealed. Fantastic film and what an incredible impact it had," somebody else said.

A third echoed: "RIP. You’re definitely not in Kansas anymore."