Former Miss Jamaica Universe Shakira Martin has died following a long battle with sickle cell.
Sources confirmed that the beauty queen passed away on Wednesday morning at a hospital in South Florida. Shakira was age 30 at the time of her death.
Her mother confirmed her death on Facebook writing, “My darling princess Shakira Aminah passed away at 12:28am from complications from sickle cell blood clots to both lungs.”
“Shakira was a fighter, lived her life in the moment, never became a slave to her disease,” she added. “I will keep you posted with all the arrangements which will be both in Florida and Jamaica her favourite place in the whole world. Thanks for your support, prayers, phone calls, texts.”
Shakira Martin was crowned Miss Jamaica Universe in 2011 where she spoke candidly about her fight with the deadly disease. She was reportedly on life support a few hours before her death as family and friends bid their final goodbye.
“Life was challenging, there were restrictions as far as things that I was able to do, like swimming in the pool for long periods of time or going to the beach,” she said during a 2011 interview with the Observer. “I could always go to the beach, but I couldn’t stay in the water all day because I didn’t want to get myself in crisis.”
She also used the Miss Jamaica Universe platform to help bring more awareness about sickle cell.
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