After battling lupus for years: Miss Universe Jamaica 2014 finalist passes away

A former Miss Universe Jamaica 2014 finalist Zandrea Bailey passed away on Sunday after battling lupus for years. She was 29.

Her fellow Jamaican beauty queen, Miss Universe 2014 4th runner up Kaci Fennell posted a tribute for her fellow queen, in the caption she wrote, "Rest well, sweet girl."

 

 

 

 

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Rest well sweet girl ????

A post shared by Kaci Fennell (@kacifen) on

Jan 14, 2019 at 1:24pm PST

Jade McLaren, a friend of Zandrea told The Gleaner that the beauty queen has always been the foundation "to reach out to other girls who also suffered from lupus. Some she helped financially, others just emotionally."

"She knew what they were going through, and she was able to help them by talking to them and letting them know they were not alone," she added.

Despite being diagnosed with lupus in 2012, her friend Jade told The Gleaner that Zandrea never stopped living her life to the fullest.

"When she went abroad for treatment, she'd still model on the side. Today, she would be on dialysis, and the next day, she would be on that runway, and you would not have known that there is something going on in that girl's body that is crippling her. It didn't stop her from living her dreams." 

The Gleaner also noted that Zandrea lost her mother to lupus, the same year she joined Miss Universe Jamaica. — Jannielyn Ann Bigtas/LA, GMA News