Jonathan LimehouseJanuary 31, 2022, 11:25 AM·3 min readIn this article:

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• Cheslie KrystAmerican lawyer, Miss USA 2019

The death of former Miss USA and Charlotte lawyer Cheslie Kryst has people across the Carolinas remembering how special she was to them.

Kryst, 30, died by suicide and was pronounced dead at her Manhattan apartment building Sunday morning, a New York Police Department spokesperson confirmed to The Charlotte Observer and The Herald of Rock Hill, S.C. She was 30 years old.

Kryst had been working as a correspondent for Extra TV.

She followed in the footsteps of her mother, April Simpkins, and became a mainstay in the Carolinas pageant scene. “CeCi” won the Miss Freshman pageant at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, S.C., then the Miss Fort Mill High School pageant. Both schools are just south of Charlotte.

“While she was well known to many because of her reign as Miss USA in 2019, to our Fort Mill staff she will be remembered as a sweet, well-liked girl named CeCi,” Fort Mill School District officials said in a Facebook post Monday. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family as they deal with this tragic loss.”

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Months after winning Miss USA in 2019, Kryst returned to Fort Mill High School to speak with students about her time in the Carolinas.

The district said it is offering resources to anyone struggling with Kryst’s death, and encouraging people to talk with school counselors.

The University of South Carolina, where Kryst earned a bachelor’s degree, called her “a woman of many talents.” Kryst competed in the long jump and triple jump for the Gamecocks’ track and field team.

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‘In our hearts forever’

During a student lawyer competition in 2017, Kryst thought about how hard it was to find nice affordable suits. She created a blog, White Collar Glam, to offer stylistic guidance and tips to career women.

Kryst would soon be approached by Dress for Success, a global nonprofit focused on empowering women by providing professional attire and a helpful network, to be one of its “Impact Ambassadors.”

(editor：)