Haitian-American model, Mama Cax, has died of complications after a weeklong illness on a trip to London, her family announced on Instagram.
She was 30.
The model, born Cacsmy Brutus became a powerful advocate for women living with disabilities and colored women after losing her legs in her teenage age to lung and bone cancer.
Known for her positivity towards life in spite of her predicament, she was also an activist who became famous through her blog where she wrote passionately and frankly about travel, general lifestyle, and fashion.
Before her death, Cax, opened up about her health struggles. On Instagram, she spoke extensively about how she discovered a blood clot in her leg, thigh and abdomen while in London for a photoshoot.
“To say that Cax was a fighter would be an understatement,” her family’s statement said.
“As a cancer survivor, she had grown accustomed to taking on life’s several challenges head-on and successfully. It is with that same grit… that she fought her last days on earth.”
Since she began active modeling in 2017, Cax has worked with top brands across the globe, including Tommy Hilfiger, Asos, Sephora and Rihanna’s, Fenty.
In 2018, she featured in New York Fashion Week, the cover of Teen Vogue with Jillian Mercado and Chelsea Werner and modeled in a swimsuit designed by Becca McCharen.
This year, she walked in both New York Fashion Weeks and Chromat.
Her death has come as a shock to everyone who became accustomed to her style of fashion. As the news spread, industry players including Rihanna who cast Cax in her Savage X Fenty lingerie fashion show in September shared her condolence.
“A queen. A force. A powerhouse beauty that brought her strength to the @savagexfenty stage this year inspiring so many across the globe. Rest In Power sis,” Rihanna tweeted.
Models Tess Holliday, Nina Agdal, Noami Campbell and actor Jameela Jamil also shared their condolences.
