Jael Strauss tragically passed away after America’s Next Top Model, here’s what happened

Jael Strauss is one of those America’s Next Top Model names that will always stay in our memories.

Back on cycle eight, which aired in 2007, she was the tall, quirky, big-hearted contestant who felt like she’d be your chaotic-but-sweet bestie in the model apartment.

But Jael’s story didn’t freeze-frame at her elimination. She placed sixth on the show. After the cameras stopped rolling, her life veered into some seriously heavy chapters, along with hard-won moments of healing and purpose.

What happened to Jael after ANTM?

If you remember Jael’s vibe on the show, funny, open, a little messy in the most human way, you’re not imagining it.

She was magnetic, and she did keep modelling and creating after her time on the series, including reportedly being signed with Otto Models and later working with projects like HeartWater and The Legging Project.

But the most public post-ANTM moment came years later, when Jael’s struggles with meth addiction became widely reported around the time she appeared on Dr Phil in 2012.

At the time, reports described that her family was seeking help through an intervention.

Jael fought her way back. In a later interview discussed by Autostraddle, she said she’d been sober for over three years and was living in Austin, Texas, working at a rehab centre.

That same piece also notes Jael spoke about her sexuality, saying she and fellow cycle eight contestant Renee Alway were “both lesbians” and that their shared experiences, including addiction, helped them connect.

She tragically passed away at 34

In October 2018, Jael shared that she’d been diagnosed on October 2 with stage IV breast cancer and said it had spread aggressively and was incurable, per Sky News.

Just two months later, on December 4, 2018, Jael died at age 34, with TMZ stating she passed away in hospice.

Tributes poured in, with her family remembering how much “light” she brought to people, per PEOPLE.

It’s heartbreaking, especially knowing she’d already done the impossible once by clawing her way into sobriety and building a life centred on helping others.

Jael’s legacy isn’t only “ANTM contestant” or “tragic headline.” It’s also the bravery of getting honest, getting help, and choosing to be a source of hope for other people, even when her own life was unbelievably hard.

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