Former Miss North Carolina 2024 Carrie Everett Passes Away

Even among pageant standouts, Carrie Everett seemed to leave an unusually deep imprint, the kind that has friends and fellow titleholders speaking about her with equal parts admiration and disbelief.

Something about Carrie Everett's final chapter makes this loss feel even more devastating. To so many people, she was still the dazzling young woman with the huge smile, the powerhouse voice, and a future that seemed to only be getting brighter… Now, that bright future has been cut heartbreakingly short.

A Crown, a Voice, and a Future That Felt Limitless

Everett passed away on Sunday night, April 5, 2026, according to reporting confirmed by her family. She was only 22.

For many across North Carolina, Everett was more than a pageant titleholder; she was a standout talent, a vocal performance major at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), and a history-maker and inspiration who proudly opened doors for other young women coming behind her.

CBS 17 reported that Everett, a Seattle native, was crowned Miss North Carolina in June 2024 during her sophomore year at NCCU. Her win was especially meaningful because she became the first Miss North Carolina to attend an HBCU.

That wasn't just a line in a bio…Everett made it part of her mission.

"I can be the first but not the last," she previously told CBS 17. "I want young women from all over the state and throughout the country attending HBCUs that [sic] this opportunity is for them."

The Miss North Carolina Scholarship Organization also paid tribute, remembering Everett as "a strong voice for social justice." The organization noted that she competed as Miss Johnston County, was a double preliminary winner, then went on to win Miss North Carolina and later became a preliminary talent winner at Miss America.

"She also challenged minority and socially marginalized students to focus on goal setting and personal development, setting their sights high. Her untimely passing silences a strong voice for social justice but [sic] her impact will continue to live on in the lives she touched," the organization shared.

"We extend our deepest condolences to Carrie's family, friends, and all who loved her. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this incredibly difficult time."

N.C. Central University shared its own emotional message, saying Everett's "voice, talent, and presence touched the heart of our Eagle community."

The university continued, "She proudly represented NCCU with grace, purpose, and a commitment to expanding access and opportunity for others. Her impact, both on stage and within our community, will not be forgotten." The school also said counseling support was being offered for students, faculty, and staff on campus.

Everett's family's statement was just as moving, and even more intimate. They called her their "beautiful nightingale" and said, "The cries of her heart became songs that stirred the spirits of everyone who had the pleasure of hearing her sing. She lived a full life."

They added that "with her last words, on stage and in life she proclaimed the goodness of God." The bereaved family closed by re-emphasizing her incredible impact and legacy, and asked for privacy as they mourn her.

It is a deeply personal tribute that paints Everett not only as a public figure but as someone whose faith remained central all the way through.

Heartfelt Tributes Begin Pouring In

As news of her death spread, friends began sharing tributes that made the loss feel even more raw. One of the most emotional came from Carli Batson Berry, who posted a heartfelt message alongside a photo of herself with Everett and a video of Everett singing.

In her post, Berry wrote that there were "no words that feel big enough for a loss like this." She also said Everett's "faith never wavered" and remembered her for carrying "such strength, grace, and love for Jesus" even in the hardest moments.

Berry said it brought her peace to imagine Everett "no longer in pain, but fully healed, wrapped in His presence, and finally at rest." She added, "I know you're smiling, singing, whole and joyful in a way we can't even begin to understand yet."

Another especially heartbreaking dedication came from Everett's friend and Miss North Carolina 2025 Successor, Sophia Kellstrom.

Kellstrom shared a carousel of photos showing the two women laughing, posing at pageant events, celebrating titles, and making the kind of memories that now feel impossibly bittersweet.

The photos tell their own story. In one, Everett beams in a sparkling silver gown next to Kellstrom onstage; in another, the two wear matching shades of red at what looks like a pageant event; in others, they appear at outdoor gatherings, backstage moments, and glammed-up celebrations that read like a scrapbook of friendship and sisterhood.

Kellstrom's caption is devastating in its honesty. "One year ago, we were together at Azalea, laughing, living, and making memories I'll hold onto forever," she wrote.

Then came the words that are likely to stay with readers the longest:

"Today, I am gutted. Grieving. At a loss for words. Carrie fought the most valiant battle against a rare and aggressive cancer [...] I will never understand this loss, and I don't have the words to make it make sense."

Kellstrom added that even in the hardest moments, Everett "carried love, faith, and light." She also penned, "I know without a shadow of a doubt, she is with our Heavenly Father, healed, whole, and free from pain. Please keep her family, friends and loved ones in your prayers. Her impact, her faith, and her love will never be forgotten. Much love for you always my sweet friend🤍 [sic]."

A Harrowing Health Battle

For months, many people only saw flashes of Everett's public life, the polished photos, the crown, the performances, the radiant presence. What they did not fully see was the brutal health crisis unfolding behind the scenes.

A GoFundMe created during Everett's illness laid out just how suddenly everything changed. After finishing her year of service as Miss North Carolina and completing her sophomore year of college, Everett traveled to Seattle in July 2025 to visit family for the summer.

According to the fundraiser, she began experiencing intense bloating and coughing. Then, following multiple doctor visits, she was initially told she had pneumonia. But the situation quickly became far more serious…

On July 29, scans found masses in her abdomen, thickening in the stomach lining, and enlarged lymph nodes. Blood work then revealed cancer markers.

Some days later, the page states, Everett began coughing up blood, was rushed to the hospital, and admitted.

A biopsy ultimately revealed the devastating diagnosis: metastatic signet ring cell carcinoma, described as a rare and aggressive gastric cancer, which ended up being the disease that claimed her life in the end.

The Faith, Strength, and Grace People Can't Stop Talking About

She then underwent chemotherapy and other treatments in Seattle. Even then, Everett framed her fight in a way that reflected the faith so many of her loved ones are now talking about.

"This is happening for a reason, and God has allowed me to use my voice to give a voice to others," she said in response to her diagnosis and her plans to help others while fighting the disease.

The GoFundMe also revealed the toll the illness had taken on her family, explaining that her primary caregiver, her mother, would no longer be able to work adequate hours as costs mounted for medical treatment, food, travel, medication, and daily living expenses.

As it stands, the fundraiser shows that more than $70,000 has been raised toward its $200,000 goal. That total says a lot about how many people were moved by Everett's story and wanted to help her keep fighting. And by all accounts, she did fight.

A Legacy That Reaches Far Beyond the Crown

That is the thread running through every tribute now surfacing: Not just grief, but awe, awe at her strength, awe at her faith, awe at the way someone so young could carry so much and still leave behind memories filled with glamor, music, joy, and purpose.

The pageant world will remember Everett as a crown-winner and trailblazer, and NCCU will remember her as a gifted student whose presence mattered deeply on campus.

Her friends, though, are making sure people remember the fuller picture: the laughter, the sisterhood, the photos, the songs, the style, the tenderness, and the unshaken belief that carried her through an unimaginably cruel battle.

That may be why these tributes feel so powerful; they are not just saying Everett was admired; they are saying she was loved. And in the end, that may be the most lasting title of all.

At this time, we wish to extend our most heartfelt condolences to Everett's entire family, her friends, community, all her loved ones, and everyone who knew and loved her as they mourn such a significant loss. We hope for their healing amid their time of grief. RIP, dear Everett.