Former America’s Got Talent contestant Emily Gold is being remembered for her “most humble heart” following her death aged 17.
The cheerleader had only recently competed on the talent show with her Los Osos High School, California, dance team, which she captained.
“Emily has always embodied every aspect of our core team values through her strength, commitment, kindness, compassion, and the most humble heart,” the varsity group wrote in an emotional Instagram tribute.
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The team said they loved Gold “endlessly” and miss her “more than words can express”.
They also posted some heartwarming videos of Gold with her teammates.
Gold’s parents shared their own tribute for the teen on social media, admitting it was the “most difficult time of our lives.”
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“Our hearts have a hole the size of the universe right now,” the statement, which was signed off my Gold’s parents Brandy and Steve and her brother Alex, read.
A fundraising page was created to support the Gold family in the wake of her death.
Gold was remembered by her friend and fellow dance captain Mia Bustamante as her “forever dance sister”.
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“You brought me the most beautiful form of love I could ask for,” she said.
Gold’s cause of death was confirmed by the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department to People magazine and Entertainment Weekly as suicide.
Just last month, Gold competed with her high school dance team in the America’s Got Talent quarterfinals after first auditioning for the show in June.
Though they didn’t make it to the next round, their performance earned a standing ovation from judge Simon Cowell who praised the act as “absolutely brilliant.”
Cowell said of the group: “What I loved about this was first of all the energy. I think what I just saw is everything a great school should be doing, which is encouraging talent and friendship.”
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