Rest in peace! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at times when people who gained celebrity from reality TV shows sadly lost their lives far too young.
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00:00 "He was just the sweetest guy, you know, he had so much love about him."
00:06 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at times when people who gained
00:10 celebrity from reality TV shows sadly lost their lives far too young.
00:16 "Those are the images, those are remnants of the sailors that are gone."
00:22 Number 20. Mark Bilello - Storage Wars
00:25 In the second season of Storage Wars, Bilello instantly caught the viewer's eyes.
00:29 "It took an outsider to really bring everyone together, and his name was Mark Bilello."
00:35 Dressed in flashy clothes with styled hair, the businessman nicknamed Rico Suave had several
00:40 memorable moments. One of these involved trying to sell a Nintendo Entertainment System for
00:44 thousands of dollars, and another involved returning Nicolas Cage's stolen Superman comic
00:48 book he found. "NES-001, guys. I want you to look at this very carefully. This is the first Nintendo
00:57 DS built. The last one that sold with five games in the internet for $13,000."
01:03 Bilello drew the ire of fellow auctioneers when he walked onto the set with a wad of cash,
01:08 outbidding them easily. But in 2013, the 40-year-old was arrested for possessing
01:14 illegal substances. After his release on the same day, he struggled with the experience.
01:19 The day after, Bilello's body was found inside his car with the engine on.
01:23 "Mark Bilello, the A&E reality TV star of the show Storage Wars, has died at the age of 40."
01:29 19. Sahara Davenport – RuPaul's Drag Race
01:32 From her first appearances in season two of Drag Race,
01:35 Davenport stole the show with her dancing ability while lip-syncing for her life.
01:39 After coming in seventh, Antoine Ashley used his Davenport persona to carve out a career in music.
01:51 "Do you wanna pop me?"
01:54 However, in 2012, she unfortunately passed away from heart failure at 27.
01:59 RuPaul's Drag Race sadly had another alumnus lose their life. After finishing fourth on the main
02:04 show and eighth on season three of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, Xavion Michael Davenport,
02:08 better known as Chi-Chi Devane, was diagnosed with scleroderma in 2018.
02:13 "She was a show-stopping, and I mean a show-stopping performer."
02:19 In 2020, after suffering from kidney failure,
02:22 Devane passed away from pneumonia at the age of 34.
02:25 18. Simone Kerr – Britain's Got Talent
02:32 The NHS-backed B Positive choir features members who have sickle cell or personal connections to
02:38 it. Simone Kerr, a nurse whose son died from sepsis related to his sickle cell,
02:42 was part of the choir when they competed during series 12 of Britain's Got Talent in 2018.
02:47 "In spite of the ache, I'll rise up. I'll do it a thousand times again. And I'll rise up."
03:00 As the wildcard act for the final, the choir came in 11th.
03:04 "Ain't no use."
03:12 Only a couple of months after appearing on the show,
03:14 the 31-year-old Kerr was fatally attacked by her partner Desmond Silva.
03:18 The Army veteran tried to claim mental health issues were responsible for the violence.
03:22 However, the jury did not agree and found him guilty of murder.
03:26 In 2019, Silva was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 21 years.
03:31 17. Ashley "Minnie" Ross – Little Women, Atlanta
03:36 Following the lives of a group of women with dwarfism,
03:38 Little Women L.A. was a success, creating several spinoffs. Ross was a constant presence
03:44 in Little Women Atlanta. After all, she appeared in every season of the show and became a fan
03:49 favorite. "Just let money know, my mom won't try to throw the water at her. Just please, please."
03:55 However, Ross was unable to complete season 6 entirely. In 2020, she was driving at night in
04:02 Atlanta, Georgia. She suddenly lost control of the car and veered into the other lane,
04:06 striking another vehicle head-on.
04:08 "Sadly, Sunday evening, the 34-year-old passed away after being involved in a fatal car accident."
04:14 While the other driver received treatment for non-life-threatening injuries,
04:18 Ross wasn't as lucky. After being rushed to a nearby hospital,
04:21 she sadly lost her life at the age of 34.
04:24 16. Ryan Knight – The Real World
04:27 When The Real World took the show to New Orleans in 2010,
04:31 Knight was one of the members who caught the audience's attention. After an injury derailed
04:35 a prospective hockey career, he struggled with substance use and moved to New Orleans to escape
04:40 bad influences. On the show, his controversial relationship with Jemmy Carroll and his behavior
04:45 towards her made many uncomfortable, turning him into a reality villain. Afterward, Knight moved
04:51 on to another reality show, The Challenge. "He was the wild one, he was the party one
04:55 that everyone always says. But behind that, he was the one who called me on Mother's Day to,
05:00 you know, see how I was doing because he knew my mother had passed away."
05:03 Shortly after filming the Battle of the Exes 2 season in 2014,
05:07 Knight's body was found at his house in Kenosha, Wisconsin. An investigation found that the 28-year
05:12 old had lost his life from accidentally combining alcohol with various substances.
05:17 "I'm Ryan Knight, the man with the myth, the legend. Often imitate, never duplicate it."
05:21 15. Christopher "Big Black" Boykin – Rob & Big
05:26 The hijinks and friendship between Rob Dyrdek and Christopher Boykin,
05:29 also known as Big Black in their show Rob & Big, were a delight to witness.
05:33 "Dude, he's not a fake! I might be an alien!" "Yeah, your boy is spooky, man."
05:40 Impressively, Boykin smashed two Guinness World Records during the program's run.
05:44 Even after the series ended, Dyrdek and Boykin continued their on-screen relationship with
05:49 the later series of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory until that ended in 2015. In 2017,
05:55 Boykin was struggling with heart issues and had a defibrillator implanted into his chest.
05:59 It was suspected he would need a transplant at some point.
06:02 "Shared that the reality star had congestive heart failure and a
06:05 defibrillator in his chest for 10 years." However, before that could happen, Boykin's
06:11 heart stopped. Unfortunately, he couldn't be revived and passed away at the age of 45.
06:16 14. Ahmaud "Real" Gibbons – Real Chance of Love
06:21 After appearing on I Love New York, brothers Ahmaud "Real" Gibbons and Kamal "Chance" Gibbons
06:26 starred in the reality dating show Real Chance of Love. "I think we need to name her Cornfag.
06:31 Come on down. I got a lot of biscuits in the oven." Women who were given nicknames were pitted
06:37 against each other in competitions and were eliminated by the rapper siblings until a winner
06:41 was declared. After that, the Gibbons brothers then teamed up for Real & Chance – The Legend
06:46 Hunters to discover mythical beasts in 2010. In 2013, after several misdiagnoses, Ahmaud was
06:53 diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. After battling the disease with chemotherapy and surgeries,
06:58 his condition rapidly deteriorated in 2015, sadly taking his life at the age of 33.
07:04 "Without the Lord, I don't think anybody can get through a death. It's traumatic, it's dramatic,
07:08 it's stressful, it's just you can't believe it."
07:12 13. Anna Nicole Smith – The Anna Nicole Show
07:16 Anna Nicole Smith rose to fame as a model and an actor, and also due to her controversial marriage
07:22 to billionaire J. Howard Marshall. She gave birth to her daughter in 2006, but her joy was short-lived.
07:28 "Are you doing okay? Did you order you something to eat? Yeah, what'd you eat?"
07:33 "Pizza."
07:35 "Huh?"
07:36 "Pig snop."
07:38 "No, pizza."
07:40 Her 20-year-old son died from an accidental overdose while visiting Anna and his new little
07:45 sister. She had other issues to contend with in her life, including lawsuits over her deceased
07:50 husband's estate and severe problems with prescription medication. In 2007, she was found
07:56 unresponsive in her hotel room in Hollywood, Florida, from a toxic combination of substances.
08:01 Sadly, the 39-year-old Smith did not survive.
08:04 "If I ever record an album, I want this guy to produce mine. Make me beautiful duets."
08:14 12. Ryan Dunn – Jackass
08:18 Rising to fame with the CKY crew alongside best friend Bam Margera, Dunn and Margera joined the
08:24 Jackass team for their TV show in 2000. "Ryan Dunn about to do some uh, skiing up here in
08:29 the Pennsylvania mountains and try not to die." Showcasing a group of friends taking part in
08:33 dangerous and sometimes disgusting stunts, the series captured a rabid fanbase, leading to a
08:39 massive Jackass franchise. In 2011, Dunn and Zachary Hartwell, a production assistant in one
08:44 of the films, were drinking at a bar. Afterward, Dunn gave Hartwell a lift in West Goshen Township,
08:50 Pennsylvania. Sadly, a combination of speeding and intoxication caused Dunn to drive off the road
08:55 and collide with a tree before going up in flames. Neither the 34-year-old Dunn nor the 30-year-old
09:01 Hartwell survived.
09:03 "He was just the sweetest guy, you know, he had so much love about him."
09:08 "He made us smarter, he made us funnier, he made us sweeter, he brought a lot of love to the group."
09:16 11. DM Brown – The Challenge
09:18 Debuting in the 2006 season of The Challenge known as Fresh Meat,
09:22 Brown immediately drew praise for announcing she was battling ovarian cancer.
09:26 "Someone really wants something bad enough. They don't care what's wrong with them,
09:32 they don't care how they're gonna get it, they just know that they're locked in,
09:35 they're focused, they have the eye of the tiger."
09:38 She became a stalwart of the reality show, appearing in several seasons. Brown even
09:42 created one of The Challenge's most touching moments when she removed her wig during the
09:46 duel season. Balancing her entertainment reporter role, Brown also set up Medgift,
09:51 a crowdfunding site for those struggling with medical bills. While all this was going on,
09:56 she beat cancer twice. However, in 2014, it returned for the third time, causing Brown
10:02 to collapse as she filmed The Battle of the Exes 2 season. Sadly, the disease had spread,
10:07 and the 34-year-old passed away. "Breaking news, people have lost a big part of our family today,
10:12 DM Brown has died after a long battle with cancer at 32 years old."
10:16 10. Pedro Zamora – The Real World
10:19 In 1994, The Real World went to San Francisco to follow a group of 20-year-olds looking to
10:24 find their place in life. This season would break the mold for reality TV. After being
10:29 diagnosed as HIV positive and becoming an educator of the disease, Zamora wanted to
10:34 use the show to spread awareness. "When Pedro told me he was HIV positive, it was just like,
10:39 'No, not him. I like this guy and I don't want him to have to suffer.'"
10:45 He taught viewers and his fellow cast about the disease. Zamora and his partner Sean Sasser
10:49 became the first same-sex couple to have a commitment ceremony on TV. "Knowing that he's
10:54 there, so I love him." A day after the season aired, the 22-year-old Zamora sadly passed away
11:02 from complications from his illness. Sasser, who was also HIV positive, worked as a pastry
11:07 chef after the show. In 2013, he unfortunately passed away from cancer at 44. "Today, Pedro
11:14 Zamora's legacy lives on. A scholarship fund supports students focusing on health justice
11:19 issues. Miley Zamora keeps her brother's memory alive, advocating for love and acceptance in all
11:28 families." Number 9. Rachel Brown - Hell's Kitchen In the 2006 season of Gordon Ramsay's culinary
11:34 competition, contestants hoped to secure a lucrative Las Vegas gig. "You could hear it
11:39 in your head, the cash register sound going on." Among them was 39-year-old Rachel Brown,
11:44 who was eliminated in Episode 5. In his trademark fashion, Ramsay was hard on her.
11:49 But as Rachel told IGN in a post-elimination interview, he didn't make her feel singled out.
11:54 "There's a lot that goes into being a leader, and I think part of that is setting an example
11:58 of who you are and how you act the whole time, not just in the kitchen." In fact,
12:03 she seemingly found his style to be relatively normal by kitchen standards, stating, quote,
12:07 "He's demanding, as he should be." "I know I should be up here because of my performance tonight."
12:12 Sadly, the next year in May 2007, the behind-the-scenes narrative took a dark turn,
12:17 when Brown was tragically found dead in her family home in Bedford, Texas,
12:21 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Number 8. Valerie Fairman - 16 and Pregnant
12:27 In 2010, Valerie Fairman was featured on this popular MTV series. "I'm Valerie. I'm 15 years
12:33 old, and I live in farm country near Oxford, Pennsylvania." Because of the format of the show,
12:38 she only appeared in one episode, but her family claims that her time on TV, quote,
12:43 "went to her head." "Then stop saying, then stop saying that, like, everything is so horrible
12:48 about me because it's not." Known to act out before her MTV appearance, in the years that followed,
12:54 Valerie had numerous run-ins with the law, including a 2015 arrest for sex work. Despite
12:59 attempts to turn her life around and multiple trips to rehab, she ultimately passed away from
13:04 reported substance issues in 2016 at age 23. She left behind a 7-year-old daughter named Nevaeh.
13:11 "I'm just happy she's okay now." Number 7. Angela "Big Ang" Rayola - Mob Wives
13:17 Known for her larger-than-life persona and "Big Ang" moniker, this New York native lived a
13:22 colorful life even before appearing on reality TV. "I see a lot of things that have to be fixed."
13:27 So, when Mob Wives came calling for Angela Rayola, she was primed for a breakout performance.
13:32 "Big Ang" evolved into a series mainstay, earned herself not one but two spinoffs,
13:37 and even crossed over into feature film with a cameo in Scary Movie 5.
13:41 "You better check that shit." Sadly, less than five years into her reality TV career,
13:46 Angela's health rapidly declined. Cancerous tumors were discovered, ultimately leading to her death
13:51 at age 55. But, in the world of reality TV, "Big Ang" remains one of the more memorable personalities.
13:58 "Regardless." "You can still have a lot of good times." "Exactly." "If you just talk about it,
14:03 straighten it out." Number 6. Michael Johns - American Idol
14:07 Born and raised in Perth, Australia, this crooner established a loyal fan base during his time on
14:12 American Idol Season 7. "My fire." As one of the finalists, Michael Johns proved to have commercial
14:19 appeal and the musical versatility to back it up. While he did not achieve immense success after his
14:24 reality TV experience, Johns was still widely considered one of the more popular series
14:29 contestants. "I really, really like you." And so, his sudden 2014 death came as a surprise to the
14:36 American Idol community, when he passed away at only 35 due to a condition known as dilated
14:41 cardiomyopathy. When the 2016 series finale brought back a variety of past contestants,
14:46 his presence was sorely missed. "Don't you forget about me."
14:54 Number 5. Gia Alamond - The Bachelor
14:56 "He is just the perfect gentleman, and he is sweet and genuine and a great person with a great heart."
15:02 On Season 14 of ABC's The Bachelor, this Queens native came fairly close to winning
15:07 Jake Pavelka's heart. Gia Alamond went on to appear on the spinoff series Bachelor Pad,
15:11 alongside some other past contestants, before settling into a relationship with NBA player
15:16 Ryan Anderson. "If I didn't have a boyfriend, this would be the place I'd want to be."
15:19 Unfortunately, when things soured between the two of them and personal issues added to her pain,
15:23 Gia called her mother and then proceeded to take her own life.
15:27 "It destroys me, but if it made her feel better, that's just fine. I don't mind dealing with this."
15:34 Number 4. Joey Kovar - The Real World
15:37 When this Chicagoan appeared on The Real World Hollywood, he proved to be one of the series'
15:42 most explosive castmates. "I'm Joey, I'm 24 years old, I'm from Chicago, Illinois."
15:47 In fact, Joey Kovar was ultimately asked to leave and seek help, and not long after,
15:52 he was cast on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. "I have a ridiculous tolerance to this stuff."
15:57 Sadly, his acting career never got the chance to take off, and his story came to a sad end when he
16:02 succumbed to his substance use issues. At only 29 years of age, Joey Kovar became the third Real
16:08 World cast member to pass away, following the untimely death of 25-year-old Frankie Abernathy,
16:13 who, during her time on the show, helped bring attention to the condition that ultimately took
16:17 her life - cystic fibrosis. Number 3. Shane Gandy - Buckwild
16:22 In 2013, this West Virginian was featured on MTV's reality series Buckwild. "Oh yeah,
16:27 well you ain't never been mad at me." Not only was Shane Gandy a refreshing break from the often
16:32 image-conscious stars of reality TV, he also quickly became the show's most compelling cast
16:36 member. "It's awesome that the girls are out in the country now. I only had to drive into the
16:41 city to get my third one." Unfortunately, less than two months after the season finale, Shane
16:46 and two others were found dead after a mudding trip went horribly wrong. The death of this
16:50 21-year-old marked a significant moment in reality TV. "Good morning, George. You know,
16:54 Buckwild, it's a show about the crazy adventures of nine young West Virginians. Shane Gandy told
17:00 friends that he did that show for his family, and this morning his father tells one of the
17:05 show's producers that his son died doing what he loved." Gandy was known for living hard,
17:10 and the camera loved it. Although his rough-and-tumble way of living came naturally to
17:14 him, it ultimately cost him his life, leaving family, friends, and fans alike struggling to
17:19 process the loss. Number 2. Christina Grimmie - "The Voice" During her teenage years,
17:24 this vocalist earned a loyal YouTube following thanks to her impressive cover songs.
17:40 So, when Christina Grimmie later appeared on NBC's "The Voice," she was primed to make the
17:45 spotlight her own. "Coming from someone that was so comfortable in her room all the time,
17:49 it means the world." Not only did Christina manage to finish in third place, she also truly stunned
17:56 the judges, earning offers and plenty of media attention. On June 10, 2016, Christina invited
18:02 fans to her Orlando show, and it seemed to be just another night. But in a tragic turn of events,
18:09 the 22-year-old musician became yet another victim of gun violence when she was shot and
18:13 killed by a fan while signing autographs. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
18:18 and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for
18:23 occasional videos or all of them. If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings
18:28 and switch on notifications. Number 1. Phil Harris - "Deadliest Catch" Although Phil Harris
18:35 had long been a respected fisherman, he became somewhat of a legend thanks to the exposure on
18:39 "Deadliest Catch." "That's bulls---, you know what? He's calling up trying to find another boat to
18:46 get on because he's afraid he's gonna kill ya." Year after year, viewers tuned in to watch Captain
18:51 Harris navigate through extreme situations. Unfortunately, his fans would discover the
18:55 all-too-real dangers of Phil's line of work when a random mishap severely injured the man.
19:00 In season 6, Phil's struggles were further documented, leading to one of reality TV's
19:05 most heartbreaking moments when Harris suffered a stroke that ultimately resulted in his death.
19:10 The Cornelia Marie lost its captain, and reality TV lost a truly beloved star.
19:15 "Those are the images, those are remnants of the sailors that are gone."
19:20 Which canceled reality show would you like to have back? The Simple Life,
19:24 Cutthroat Kitchen, My Super Sweet 16, or something else? Let us know below.
19:29 "So you've never been on a dairy farm?"
19:31 "No." "Okay, you don't like the odor?"
19:33 "No." "It's not near as bad as that perfume you got on."
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