Lea Michele has lost two very important people in her life and she just paid tribute to them in the most touching and permanent way possible.
On Monday, the 29-year-old "Glee" star took to Instagram to reveal that her grandmother recently passed away and that she got a tiny tattoo of a cup of coffee in her honor. Since her boyfriend and co-star Cory Monteith passed away three years ago, she also got a tiny tattoo for him.
"I lost my beautiful grandma this week," she captioned the photo of the ink on her inner ring finger. "She wasn't your typical grandma. She gave me my first cup of coffee when I was 8 years old. She said something inappropriate to every boyfriend I've ever had. She never made pie or knit me a sweater. But she was my grandma and I loved her... More than anything... I love you Grandma."
She then posted a black-and-white photo of what appears to be under her arm with a tiny number "5" tattoo in honor of Monteith. "And one more... for my Quarterback.. #5," she wrote.
When "Glee" first aired in 2009, Monteith's character Flinn was the star quarterback for William McKinley High School and he wore the No. 5 jersey. When he passed in 2013, they wrote his death into the story line during Season 5 with a tribute episode titled "The Quarterback."
Monteith was found dead in his hotel room in July 2013 after a deadly mix of heroin and alcohol at the age of 31. About six months after he passed, Michele opened up about his death and how working on her album "Louder" really helped her get through the tough time in her life.
"I somehow feel the insane love Cory and I had for each other morphed into this strength that I have right now," she said at the time. "There's just something about knowing he's watching everything I'm doing and feeling like I have to do everything now not just for me but for him. I also have a safety net below me - if I fall or if it's too much, my friends and family will be there to catch me."
A photo posted by Mike Reda (@prospect_tattoos) on Apr 11, 2016 at 8:50pm PDT
