Former Toddlers & Tiaras star Kailia Posey has reportedly died by suicide on Monday, at the age of 16.
“Although she was an accomplished teenager with a bright future ahead of her, unfortunately in one impetuous moment, she made the rash decision to end her earthly life,” Posey’s family told TMZ.
“She won countless crowns & trophies after competing on the pageant circuit her entire life,” the 16-year-old’s family added. “Her highly acclaimed talent as a contortionist had already led to professional touring job offers, and she had recently been selected to be a cheerleader at her high school next fall.”
Posey’s family went on to say that she had a love for aviation, and had planned to continue working in the entertainment industry while pursuing her goal of obtaining a commercial pilot’s license.
“I still have no words. I think everyone for their kind words. I miss my baby girl so much that it doesn’t feel real. I keep waiting for her to walk through the door and yell my name Mom mom. My baby!!” Posey mother, Marcy Posey Gatterman, wrote in an Instagram caption on Wednesday.
Gatterman had posted photos of her daughter attending prom just a few days before her death.
Posey was a young star on the TLC reality series, which ran from 2009 to 2016, and featured families who prepared their kids to compete in child beauty pageants.
Posey’s suicide comes just days after Grammy-winning country music star Naomi Judd — known for being part of the mother-daughter duo The Judds — died by suicide at age 76.
In 2018, Swedish DJ Avicii — whose real name was Tim Bergling — died by suicide in Muscat, Oman, at the age of 28.
On May 18, 2017, Audioslave singer Chris Cornell died by suicide at the age of 52. A few months later, on July 20, 2017 — on what would have been Cornell’s 53rd birthday — Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington died by suicide at his home in Los Angeles County at the age of 41.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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