The family of Jessica Pettway announced that the popular beauty influencer has passed away at the age of 36.
Her sister, Reyni Brown, broke the news on her Instagram page and shared that Pettway, who had stage three cervical cancer, died on Monday, March 11. She included a black and white photo of both of them and described her sister as “amazing, “strong,” “confident,” and “God-fearing.”
“It’s my birthday today, and the only thing I could ever wish for is for God to bring you back on this earth,” Brown said on Instagram last week. “I lost my beautiful big sister 2 days ago and my heart has never felt pain like this.”
Brown added: “She filled my life with so much wisdom, prayed for me, and helped me become a better mother. I adored the relationship we had. Life will never be the same without her crazy laugh, pranks, or jokes. [Losing] a sibling feels like a connection between us was destroyed. I love you with all my heart.”
Pettway built a community of 228,000 subscribers on YouTube and has been sharing her beauty and lifestyle content for over a decade. Beyond lighthearted videos, she also touched on more serious topics, including her journey with motherhood, details about her marriage, and mental health.
Addressing her supporters on her Instagram page last summer, Pettway shared that she was misdiagnosed by her gynecologist, who initially said she had fibroids, or benign growths that form on the uterus. Her symptoms started in June 2022 when she noticed “intense” vaginal bleeding, weakness and fatigue.
The following month, her experience took a turn when she said: “my husband found me in the bathroom unresponsive and not breathing. I had literally passed away. He called on Jesus to bring me back and I came back. I was rushed to the hospital, where they told me that the extreme blood loss was due to ‘fibroids.’ My Gyno made it seem like it was so normal and common. I didn’t think much of it, however I was passing clots the size of a placenta, which was really alarming.”
Pettway was hospitalized again on July 22, 2022, but the doctors were sure that it was due to fibroids. She stopped experiencing the bleeding until the end of the year. However, when Pettway returned to the hospital on the top of 2023, it was recommended that she undergo multiple blood transfusions. And after receiving a biopsy, she learned that she had Stage 3 cervical cancer.
According to Human Rights Watch, a non-governmental organization, Black women are more likely than women of other groups to be diagnosed with cancer at a later stage. Factors including structural racism, bias, and discrimination play a role in that outcome.
“My faith grew significantly and anytime I felt my faith being attacked, I could hear God reminding me to LIVE,” she wrote. “And that is exactly what I am doing. I am living, because the One who gave life abundantly lives in me.”
In one of her final posts on Instagram, she wrote about how the financial burden and the long hospital stays affected her. But her family is what kept her going: “So many new changes are happening in my life, and it’s kind of scary, But I prayed for it and as long as I follow God and hold on to my daily, the blessing we’ve been waiting for, will blow our minds.”
Pettway’s death prompted many Black women to share horror stories of their experiences of receiving poor treatment by healthcare professionals and sparked calls for women to advocate for themselves and others.
“Black women are mistreated and ignored by doctors (even Black women doctors) I have tales for days. I’m so sad to hear about Jessica Pettway. Fam, what are we going to do?” wrote one X user. “The medical system failed Jessica Pettway in a way it often fails Black women. God bless her and her family during this time. She was the first influencer I ever watched before it was even a thing. My God,” another user chimed in.
