Jessica Pettway, a famous beauty YouTuber, has passed away. She was 36.
She died on March 11 from stage 3 cervical cancer.
The beauty influencer was diagnosed with cancer in February 2023. Pettway was open about her life as well as her diagnosis and shared her journey on her social media.
"I was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer," Pettway wrote in a post on Instagram in August 2023. "I don't even know where to begin, but I want to share why I've been gone for so long, in hopes that at least one person is encouraged by my story."
Pettway went into detail about her health issues, sharing that she was initially misdiagnosed with fibroids. Fibroids are tumors that develop in the uterus and are typically noncancerous, according to WebMD.
Despite being hospitalized twice due to intense bleeding, "the medical professionals treated it like it was not that alarming since it was just a 'fibroid,'" the influencer said.
The news of Pettway's death was initially shared by her sister, Reyni, via Instagram.
Reyni posted the message about her sister's passing on her birthday on March 15, writing, "It's my birthday today, and the only thing I could ever wish for is for God to bring you back on this earth," according to E! News.
The post went on to say, "I lost my beautiful big sister 2 days ago, and my heart has never felt pain like this."
E! News reported that Reyni's post also said, "Life will never be the same without her crazy laugh, pranks, or jokes. Loosing [sic] a sibling feels like a connection between us was destroyed. I love you with all my heart."
Pettway had over 229,000 subscribers and 441 videos on YouTube at the time of her death.
The description of her YouTube channel reads, "Hey Ya'll, it's Jessica! Welcome! I started this channel to share my love for fashion, beauty, and hair. Being a mom does not have to stop you from being fab! So stick around as I share beauty, fashion, hair, and lifestyle videos all while being a busy mom! Thanks for tuning in, I really appreciate your support, and don't forget to subscribe so you can be updated whenever I post new videos!"
Pettway's most popular video is her "Knotless Crochet Braids Installation," which was posted eight years ago and has over 841,000 views.
Her YouTube career spanned over 10 years. Her first video was "Meet Kai Lee," which was all about her then-newborn daughter. Her channel started off with her talking all about her natural birth and eventually transitioned to a channel that focuses on beauty, fashion, and lifestyle.
However, the content she was most well-known for was her hair tutorials. On her Instagram, she even had a highlight that focused on wigs.
Pettway was featured in Essence, Black Hair, InStyle, Munamommy, and more, according to her social media. She was a member of the Sephora Squad in 2020. She was also featured in an Ulta campaign in 2018 and worked with The RealReal.
Pettway is survived by her husband of 12 years, Michael, whom she met while at the mall when they were teens. Essence reported that she had two children, Kai Lee, 10, and Zoi Lee, 3.