Meechy Monroe, born Tameka Moore, who rose to renown on YouTube for tutorials showcasing how to care for and style natural black hair, has died of brain cancer at age 32 in Westmont, Ill.
Unfulfilled at her day job in marketing, Monroe launched her YouTube channel in 2010 after a bad haircut, reports The New York Times, when she decided to cut off all of her hair into a short afro and then regrow it without the use of any harsh chemicals. Monroe chronicled this journey on her channel — accompanied by various instructional styling videos. The venture ultimately grew to comprise more than 50,000 subscribers and 3.5 million lifetime views.
Throughout her seven-year YouTube career, Monroe and her sister, Vaughn Colquitt — who is also a YouTube creator — earned endorsement deals with top brands, including Atlanta-based Huetiful.
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In 2014, Monroe suffered from multiple strokes and discovered that she had aphasia — a brain disorder resulting in the inability to comprehend speech. During a subsequent surgery, she was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. Monroe shaved her head and donated her hair to Locks Of Love, reports the Times, but continued to promote the natural hair movement throughout her chemotherapy treatments. Fans raised $60,000 to help pay for Monroe’s medical bills, per People, as she didn’t have health insurance.
Check out Monroe’s most popular video, a curlformers tutorial, below:
