{"id":124780,"date":"2025-09-06T18:02:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T18:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/124780\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T18:02:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T18:02:10","slug":"helen-van-winkle-known-as-influencer-baddie-winkle-dies-at-97","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/124780\/","title":{"rendered":"Helen Van Winkle, known as influencer Baddie Winkle, dies at 97"},"content":{"rendered":"

Helen Van Winkle<\/a>, the flamboyantly dressed great-grandmother who transformed herself into a social media influencer known as Baddie Winkle, has died at age 97.<\/p>\n

Van Winkle\u2019s great-granddaughter announced her death Friday on Instagram<\/a>, writing, “Yesterday, an era ended and a star ascended. My great grandmother Helen Ruth Elam Vanwinkle danced her way to heaven. She was joy, rebellion, and tenderness wrapped in one.”<\/p>\n

“The crown is eternal, & her love on many realms will live forever. This isn\u2019t a goodbye, this is a See ya later my superstar,” Van Winkle\u2019s granddaughter added.<\/p>\n

The tribute gave her date of death as Thursday.<\/p>\n

A cause of death for Van Winkle, whose Instagram bio cheekily reads \u201cStealing yo man since 1928,\u201d was not given.<\/p>\n

The beloved nonagenarian, whom Time magazine once called one of \u201cThe 30 Most Influential People on the Internet,\u201d<\/a> shot to internet stardom in 2014 after she began posting images and videos of herself wearing outrageous clothes \u2014 such as a tie-dye shirt that read \u201cWill commit sins 4 Chipotle\u201d \u2014 and advocating her signature brand of rebellious fun.<\/p>\n

Van Winkle initially turned to the internet at her great-granddaughter\u2019s urging. Her zany posts, Time reported, were Van Winkle\u2019s way to process her grief after the death of her husband and son.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Van Winkle honed her style as an eccentric fashionista, and offers inviting her to model for fashion brands and attend A-list parties poured in, according to Time.<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2016, Van Winkle confessed her crush on Drake<\/a> when she hobnobbed with Khloe Kardashian during an appearance<\/a> on Kardashian\u2019s show \u201cKocktails With Khlo\u00e9.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same year, Van Winkle served as a muse for Urban Decay, appearing in several images for the cosmetics brand, Allure<\/a> reported. She later collaborated with INC.redible Cosmetics<\/a> on her own line of products.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Van Winkle appeared in a campaign for a new Polaroid Originals camera that used the tagline \u201cStill Got It,\u201d Paper <\/a>reported.<\/p>\n

The following year, she joined country music star Kacey Musgraves on stage during Musgraves\u2019 2019 Coachella performance, E! News<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

Van Winkle wore a candy-colored patterned dress and fake pearls to gleefully dance alongside the Grammy winner as she sang \u201cHigh Horse,\u201d a song calling out the sort of pompous people who constantly \u201ckill the buzz.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Winkle\u2019s online followers included a handful of celebrity pals, including Nicole Richie, Miley Cyrus and Paris Hilton, who expressed her grief in the comments of the post announcing Van Winkle\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was iconic,\u201d said Hilton, who added emoji of a sad face and a heart.<\/p>\n