Former Miss World contestant dies aged 26 after two-year-long cancer battle as heartbroken family pay tribute
A FORMER Miss World contestant has died at just 26-years-old after a two-year battle with cancer.
Sherika De Armas sadly passed away this week as her heartbroken family and friends paid tribute to a wonderful lady.
Two years ago the model was diagnosed with a type of cervical cancer called uterine cancer and underwent multiple treatments to stop the killer disease spreading.
But the treatments proved unsuccessful as local media tragically reported she lost the battle with the disease and passed away October 13.
The star shot to fame when she became Miss Uruguay in 2015 and went on to represent them at Miss World in the same year.
The competition in China didn’t go perfectly as she finished outside the top 30 but she was one of six 18-year-olds to compete, marking an impressive achievement for a young girl from Uruguay.
Her brother, Mayk De Armas, paid tribute to her on social media, saying: “No more pain, bon voyage. I’ll love you forever.”
Her legacy as Miss Uruguay was clearly huge as even eight years after her crowning moment the modelling industry came out to pay respect to an icon of the cat walk.
Carla Romero, the current Miss Uruguay, posted on Instagram saying: “Too evolved for this world.
“One of the most beautiful women I have ever met in my life.”
Lola de los Santos, who won Miss Uruguay in 2021 wrote: “I will always remember you, not only for all the support you gave me and for how much you wanted to see me grow, but for your love, your joy, the friends we shared and who remain with me today.”
After her beauty pageant career Armas became a model and entrepreneur.
Following the exciting stint as a model, the woman opened a beauty studio and spent a lot of her time on Instagram where she built up an impressive following for her studio getting 44,500 followers.
In her home town of Montevideo she was always seen doing volunteer charity work, mainly at the local hospital and she was known as a lovely person.
Speaking about her beauty pageant career in an interview, Armas spoke about how she “always wanted to be a model” and loved fashion before calling her work “a dream come true.”
Armas had told people that after she became Miss Uruguay she achieved everything that she wanted to from the job.
Earlier this year, another beauty queen died in a horror car crash after appearing to predict her own funeral just months before.
Ariana Viera, 26, was crowned Miss Venezuela this year but is thought to have fallen asleep at the wheel while driving through Orlando, Florida.