Famous porn star Kagney Linn Karter died Thursday by apparent suicide in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, at the age of 36.
The adult film star began her career in the mid-2000s and rose to fame as a prominent entertainer. A representative from the Parma Police Department said Karter appeared to have taken her own life, according to TMZ. Her friends Rachel and Megan, owners of two fitness studios in the Northeast Ohio area, confirmed the same information on a GoFundMe page set up to help Karter’s mother, Tina, in her time of grief.
Rachel and Megan said the funds generated through the crowdfunding platform will go toward funeral expenses incurred by Tina to properly lay her daughter to rest. Any leftover funds will be distributed to a local animal rescue charity, a tribute to Karter’s love for animals.
Rachel and Megan paid tribute to Karter in a lengthy post, by sharing memories of their friend.
“Although a small blurb on GoFundMe will never be enough to share the brightness of Kagney’s soul, we will try our best,” they wrote.
They described Karter as “a woman who wore many hats; she was a performer, a singer, a dancer, a daughter and a friend.”
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They noted that Karter joined their Cleveland studio in November of 2019 and “immediately warmed to the studio and all the students with an effortless grace.”
They said “she spent so much time at the studio, sometimes taking five or six classes per week, and threw herself into her training. Her dedication to her own progress was inspiring. She rocketed up the levels quickly,,” they wrote to the GoFundMe page.
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“Her passion for pole and movement made us feel even more blessed for the honor to instruct her. Watching Kagney flourish in an environment that made her feel confident and happy was a true joy,” Rachel and Megan wrote.
They went on to describe how Karter’s tenacity led her to open up her own studio.
“Her students and staff remember her incredibly fondly, both as an intelligent and intuitive instructor and as an owner who did all she could to build a little community of her own, something of which she could be proud, somewhere she could feel safe and wanted,” they said.
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Rachel and Megan noted Karter’s tragic struggle with mental health.
“Unfortunately, despite all of her many impressive accomplishments and talents, Kagney struggled with mental health issues as the years passed by.”
“She fought her own battles with the same tenacity and drive she showed in every other area of her life, with as much strength as she could,” they said. (RELATED: Porn Star Jesse Jane Found Dead With Her Boyfriend In Apparent Drug Overdose: REPORT)
“Her final class with us was February 7th, less than two weeks before Kagney tragically took her own life in her home.”
The GoFundMe page has raised $7715.00 of the $8,000 goal, and the donations continue to pour in.