Former Miss USA dies at 30 after apparently jumping from building, tributes pour in
- The young woman, a former lawyer, worked as an entertainment correspondent for the TV show Extra after winning the beauty pageant
- ‘She deeply cared about people and everyone who worked with her was better for it,’ said her former law firm
Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst, who worked as an entertainment correspondent for the television show Extra, has died after apparently jumping from a Manhattan apartment building, New York police told The Washington Post. She was 30.
Kryst died on Sunday, the show said. “In devastation and great sorrow, we share the passing of our beloved Cheslie,” Kryst’s family said in a statement. “Her great light was one that inspired others around the world with her beauty and strength.”
Kryst earned an MBA and a law degree from Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Before Kryst entered the Miss USA pageant, she worked as a lawyer, providing pro bono legal work for inmates who were served unjust prison sentences, The Washington Post said.
She was a part of a group of five black women who won the five major global beauty pageants that year, the first time ever, the Washington Post reported.
Kryst’s victory in the contest was marked by her wearing her natural free-flowing curls.
“So, I was a little bit worried and anxious about doing it, but I thought, ‘I want to do it as the most real and authentic me,’ and that’s really what my hair represents,” she said in an interview with Refinery29.com.
After she won, Kryst began working as a correspondent for the entertainment show Extra.
“Our hearts are broken. Cheslie was not just a vital part of our show, she was a beloved part of our Extra family and touched the entire staff,” the show’s producers said in a statement.
Teenager rejected twice by biological parents found dead in apparent suicide
Celebrities, colleagues and pageant winners paid tribute to the former Miss USA, who was considered a game-changer for the organisation. After her victory she took explicitly political positions including giving support for the legalisation of marijuana and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Kryst made her last Instagram post hours before her death, with a self-portrait and the caption: “May this day bring you rest and peace.”
In response, comedian and actress Amy Schumer wrote: “Such a kind beautiful shining star.”
In an Instagram post, the Miss Universe organisation said that Kryst “was one of the brightest, warmest, and most kind people we have ever had the privilege of knowing, and she lit up every room she entered.”
Numerous former pageant winners responded, including Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopez, who wrote: “May her soul rest in peace.”
02:20
Harnaaz Sandhu takes home India’s first Miss Universe title in 21 years
Siera Bearchell, who represented Canada in Miss Universe 2016, wrote that Kryst was “one of the most amazing and inspiring women I have ever met. She touched the world with her light.”
Catriona Grey, who was crowned Miss Universe 2018, posted a picture of herself with Kryst, saying “can’t believe the news”.
Kryst’s law firm, Poyner Spruill, also released a statement, which said “Cheslie Kryst was a light that radiated every room she entered”, calling her “such an inspiration”.
“She was a passionate advocate both in and out of the courtroom,” the statement continued. “She deeply cared about people and everyone who worked with her was better for it.”
