Rihanna, Taylor Swift Pay Tribute To Glee's Cory Monteith

Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry have all paid tribute to Glee actor Cory Monteith who died at the weekend.

The Canadian, who shot to fame as Finn Hudson on the hit Fox music show, was discovered dead in his Vancouver hotel room on Saturday morning when he failed to check out.

Leading tributes Fox described Monteith as "an exceptional talent and an even more exceptional person.

"He was a true joy to work with and we will all miss him tremendously."

The exact cause of his death is currently unclear and a post-mortem examination is due to take place later today.

Taylor Swift, who briefly dated Monteith in 2010, wrote on Twitter: "Speechless. And for the worst reason."

Also paying tribute, Rihanna wrote: "Cory Monteith, may your spirit be at peace, and may you fly with the angels... Heartbreaking, my prayers are with all of his loved ones!"

Katy Perry said: “Rest in peace Cory. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones. Our prayers are with you.”

Demi Lovatto urged people to pray for Monteith’s off-screen girlfriend Lea Michele, writing: "#RIPCoryMonteith… So unbelievably tragic. Please #PrayForLea."

And One Direction’s Niall Horan tweeted: "RIP cory! Didn't know him personally! Met him on a couple of occasions! Super nice guy! Thoughts and prayers with his family and friends! X"

Monteith’s Glee co-stars also paid poignant praise to the actor, with Kristin Chenoweth saying “You will be loved. Always”, Mark Sailing simply writing “No” and Damian McGinty calling him “the nicest guy I’ve met.”

After working in a variety of jobs, Monteith’s breakthrough came in 2009 when he was cast as Finn Hudson in the global smash show Glee. He starred in the pilot episode and made his final appearance in April of this year.