Meechy Monroe, a blogger who gained notoriety for her popular beauty blog, has died. She was 32.
Born Tameka “Meechy” Moore, the Chicago-native was motivated to create a YouTube page soon after cutting off all of her chemically processed tresses to go natural. Once black women began approaching her about her hair regimen, she realized there was a lack of education about how African Americans should maintain their curls.
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Using her high school nickname "Meechy" and the moniker "Monroe" as an ode to Marilyn Monroe, she created a vlog in 2010, where she posted hair tutorials on popular natural styles, including twist-outs and buns.
Pretty soon, she became an icon in the natural hair community, gaining more than 40,000 subscribers and over two million views on YouTube and nearly 45,000 followers on Instagram. And with her sister Vaughn Colquitt, also a social media influencer and beauty expert, they traveled the world together as the Monroe Sisters.
In 2014, Monroe repeated the big chop again but for a different cause – brain cancer.
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After suffering three mild, unexplained strokes, doctors finally diagnosed her with a rare sarcoma, a type of cancer that causes malignant tumors to develop in the brain. It affected her speech, comprehension and writing.
To prepare for two brain surgeries and the radiation and chemotherapy that would follow, she carefully snipped off her curls and donated them to Locks of Love.
In early 2015, the tumor went into remission, but it returned later that year in a different form called a hemangiopericytoma. She also had another stroke, which paralyzed her right side.
On June 27, 2017, Monroe died while in hospice care surrounded by family. She leaves behind three sisters; her mother and father; and a host of fans and supporters.
Learn more about her journey below.
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