Remembering the Influencers Who Died in 2026

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In 2026, the internet has said goodbye to numerous content creators, internet personalities and social media stars.

In a New Year's Eve livestream, Spanish streamer Sergio Jiménez died after allegedly taking drugs on camera for money. Three days later, Athira Auni, a Malaysian TikTok star, died in a motorcycling accident when she collided with another driver.

Yulia Burtseva, an Italian influencer, died on Jan. 4 after she was rushed to the hospital following a buttock augmentation procedure in Moscow. Esther Thomas, a Nigerian content creator, died on Jan. 9 after experiencing complications from a surgery to remove a fibroid.

On Jan. 10, Mexican trucking influencer Chakin Valadez was found inside his truck after suffering fatal gunshot wounds. Sara Bennett, an influencer who shared her life living with ALS, announced her own death in a Jan. 13 post on Instagram.

Ahead, remember all the influencers we lost in 2026.

Sara Bennett

Sara Bennett.

The Ananda Pivot/Instagram

Sara Bennett, an influencer who shared her life living with ALS, announced her own death at age 39 in a Jan. 13 post on Instagram.

"I am not in pain, or tired. I can laugh, talk, and I can move. Reflecting in my last few months of my life, I am glad I didn’t go suddenly even WITH the suffering. I finished my list," she wrote in the caption. "Even if you don’t believe in any thing, I am feeding the earth, and my tree. I loved this life, and am grateful for the time."

Bennett originally started sharing online in 2020 but pivoted after her diagnosis in 2023, posting content about her palliative care and how she did a "dry run" of what she called her "End Of Life Ceremony."

Jordy Glassner

Jordy Glassner.

Jordy Glassner/Instagram

Jordy Glassner, a podcaster who shared her life living with an aggressive brain tumor, died "peacefully at her home" at age 34 on Jan. 13, according to a statement posted to her Instagram account two days later.

Glassner was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a terminal brain cancer, in August 2023, and openly shared her diagnosis and treatment online with thousands of followers and listeners.

She was also the cohost of Grief Street, a podcast she started with her friend Erica Rozmid in April 2024, about moments of grief in their lives and their nearly three-decade-long friendship.

Chakin Valadez

Chakin Valadez.

Chakin Valadez/Facebook

Isaac Efraín Valadez, a Mexican content creator known online under the name “Chakin Valadez,” was found dead at age 44 inside his truck on Jan. 10 with fatal gunshot wounds.

Police discovered his body just after 7 a.m., pronouncing him dead at the scene and determining that at least seven shots had been fired, per El Heraldo de México, a local newspaper.

The content creator maintained a following of over 164,000 people on Facebook, where he shared videos from the open road and documented his travels throughout Mexico. He seemingly last updated his social media accounts the night before his death, sharing a haunting post that the trip he was on seemed “to be the last one.”

Esther Thomas

Esther Thomas.

sunshine_official223/Instagram

Esther Thomas, a Nigerian influencer known on social media as “Sunshine,” died on Jan. 9, her family announced in a statement on Instagram.

The content creator — known for sharing comedic, skit-style videos by a combined following of nearly 500,000 across Instagram and Facebook — “suddenly passed away” during a surgery to remove a fibroid, according to her family's statement.

“We are trying to put things in place so we could put her to rest,” the family wrote.

Isabel Veloso

Isabel Veloso.

Isabel Veloso/Instagram

Isabel Veloso, a Brazilian influencer, died on Jan. 10 at age 19, five years after she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, reported Brazilian outlet Mix Vale.

The content creator — who had a following of 4 million on Instagram — had detailed her cancer journey, candidly sharing her experience of receiving treatment.

In October, a letter Veloso penned to her 1-year-old son while they had to be separated as she underwent a bone marrow transplant went viral. “Mom is listening from wherever she is,” read a snippet of the heartbreaking note. "You were never alone."

Yulia Burtseva

Yulia Burtseva.

Yulia Burtseva/Instagram

Yulia Burtseva, an Italian influencer, died on Jan. 4 after undergoing a buttock augmentation procedure at a private clinic in Moscow.

The content creator went under the knife while on a trip to Russia with her family, after which she was rushed to the hospital and died of anaphylactic shock, according to Russian news outlets RIA Novosti, Kommersant, and MSK1.

Local outlets reported that Burtseva's surgeon could face three years in prison after charges were brought against him.

Athira Auni

Athira Auni.

Athira Auni

Nurul Athira Auni Mohamad Hafizzan, who used the name "Athira Auni," died on Jan. 3 at age 21 in a motorcycle accident.

The Malaysian content creator — who had over 77,000 followers on TikTok, where she was known for her livestreams and working at her father’s food stall — collided with another motorcyclist at around 2:30 a.m., local outlets Sinar Daily, Sinar Harian, and New Straits Times reported.

Auni was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other motorcyclist sustained injuries to his hands, elbows and thighs, receiving medical care at Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital.

Sergio Jiménez

Sergio Jimenez.

Sergio Jimenez Ramos/Instagram

Sergio Jiménez, a Spanish streamer, died at age 27 on a private New Year’s Eve livestream after allegedly taking drugs on camera for money.

According to local outlets El País and El Periódico, the content creator was broadcasting on a private video call, allegedly accepting extreme challenges such as consuming alcohol in exchange for money, on the night of his death.

He was known on streaming platforms Kick and Twitch as "Sanch" or "Sssanchopanza," rising to prominence when he was featured in a series of videos by Simón Pérez, a streamer known on various platforms for using drugs in front of his live audience, in October 2025.

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