"Toddlers and Tiaras" star Kailia Posey died at 16, her mother announced on Facebook Monday evening.
"I don't have words or any thoughts," Marcy Posey Gatterman shared on Facebook Monday, accompanying the post with a photo of Posey in a golden gown at prom. "A beautiful baby girl is gone. Please give us privacy as we mourn the loss of Kailia. My baby forever."
Gatterman did not confirm the cause of death on Facebook.
Page Six reported that there were reports online saying that Posey was involved in a car accident in Las Vegas, though it did not substantiate those reports. A spokesperson for the Las Vegas Police Department told Insider that the department had no knowledge of the alleged incident nor of Posey.
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On Facebook, Gatterman changed her profile picture to an image of Kailia in a white gown, smiling with her hands on her hips. The image was edited to show a halo above her head and white wings emerging from her back.
Posey was best known for appearing on the TLC series "Toddlers and Tiaras" when she was five years old in a 2012 episode titled "California Tropic Arizona." The TLC series, which ran from 2009 to 2013, followed child pageant contestants and their families, and generated spin-off series like "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo."
In the years following, Posey becomes one of the most recognizable faces from the series thanks to a GIF of her grinning widely and looking to the side. The image is taken from Kailia's self-introduction in the episode.
"My name's Kaila, and I'm five years and a half," she said in the episode, before breaking into the now-iconic smile. In the episode, she also said that "winning" is her favorite part of pageants, "cause I like to win money."
A decade after the episode aired, the image and GIF of her smiling are still popular reaction photos on social media.
Posey recently competed in the Miss Washington Teen USA pageant, representing the city of Lynden. According to her bio on the pageant website, she was a student at Lynden High School, where she was named to the Dean's List for the 2020-2021 school year. Kailia aspired to study aviation in college and wanted to become a commercial pilot, the bio also noted.
"Kailia hopes to show members of her generation that they can positively impact the world if they are patient and work hard," her bio reads.
According to Facebook posts from her mother, Posey learned in April that she had made the Lynden High Football Cheer team. She also recently attended prom.
On Posey's most recent Instagram posts, social media users left comments expressing their sympathy. Her most recent Instagram post, uploaded on April 23, showed her posing on a brightly lit staircase, and on Sunday, she launched an Instagram account dedicated to her contortion skills.
"Can't even believe this has happened," "America's Got Talent" season 11 semifinalist and child magician Kadan Bart Rockett commented on Posey's most recent post. "I'm praying for you guys to get through this."
"Rest in peace," multiple other comments on Posey's post read. Others offered well wishes in the comments of posts on a TikTok account that appeared to belong to Posey, telling her to "rest easy" and saying that she would be missed.
Others offered their condolences in the comments of Gatterman's Facebook post announcing Posey's death.
