Popular meme 'grinning girl' Kailia Posey dies aged 16

Toddlers and Tiaras star Kailia Posey has died aged 16, just months after announcing she would be competing in the Miss Washington Teen USA.

Kailia - who appeared on the beauty pageant reality show along with her mother Marcy at the age of five back in 2013 - died on Monday (May 2), Marcy Posey has confirmed.

Without revealing a cause of death, Marcy wrote on Facebook: "I don't have words or any thoughts. A beautiful baby girl is gone. Please give us privacy as we mourn the loss of Kailia. My baby forever."

During her short career, Kailia managed to reach global fame on social media when a screen capture of her five-year-old self grinning on the TLC reality show went viral as a meme.

The actress had continued to compete in pageants following her stint on the reality show and had even starred as Agnes in Netflix movie Eli and back in January announced she was competing in Miss Washington Teen USA.

Her bio on the website reads: "Kailia loves to entertain, from performing contortion with Cirque du Soleil, to playing Agnes in the Netflix movie Eli in 2018. A 15-year-old freshman at Lynden High School, Kailia plans to study aviation in college and become a commercial pilot. She was named to the Dean's List for the 2020/2021 school year. Kailia hopes to show members of her generation that they can positively impact the world if they are patient and work hard."

News of the star's tragic death comes just days after she had set up a new Instagram account to show off her skills as a contortionist.

She captioned her final post: "None of your concern :)"

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