She’s stealing males in heaven now.

One of the world’s oldest web sensations—the legendary Baddie Winkle—handed away at age 97, based on her Instagram account. Winkle rose to fame in 2014 with the assistance of her great-granddaughter, Kennedy Dechet, posting twerking movies on Vine and fabulous and classy selfies on the app previously generally known as Twitter.

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Her legacy continued on Instagram almost till the top, along with her ultimate birthday selfie gracing the world in July.

Baddie Winkle, tradition warrior and age defier

Baddie Winkle, born Helen Elam Van Winkle, died on Sept. 4, 2025. The following day, Winkle’s Instagram account posted a quick obituary alongside a photograph of the great-grandma in a white wig and shirt that mentioned “bad mother******.”

“Yesterday, an era ended and a star ascended,” it reads. “This isn’t a goodbye, this is a See ya later my superstar.”

Characterized as each an influencer and an activist, Baddie Winkle sported outrageous outfits, typically emblazoned with Gen Z slang, whereas advocating for hashish legalization within the U.S. With each picture, she fought towards the ageism and unrealistic requirements set by the wonder trade, displaying the world that true type defies all.

After Rihanna adopted her in 2015, Winkle’s fame was sealed. She skyrocketed to one million Instagram followers, attended the MTV Video Music Awards as a visitor of Miley Cyrus, and walked the Red Carpet for the Netflix promotion of Orange Is the New Black.

In 2016, she earned “Instagrammer of the Year” on the Shorty Awards and was named one of many Times’ “30 Most Influential People on the Internet.” That was additionally the 12 months her social media tagline, “Stealing Your Man Since 1928,” went viral.

Fans react on-line

Dechet disabled feedback on the Instagram account’s ultimate submit, however information quickly unfold throughout Winkle’s area (each social media web site). Baddie grew to become too cool for Twitter or “X” earlier than many, along with her final submit dated January 2023, however the followers who remained paid tribute to her there.

“OMG WE LOST A BAD B****!!!” cried @ItsLovelyLaveau. “RIP Baddie Winkle.”

“THE LORD DONE CALLED BADDIEWINKLE HOME,” declared @easylikepheezy.

On Reddit, individuals spoke on the influence that Winkle had on their lives and the tradition as a complete.

“I remember being 20 and helping out at the nursing home my grandma was at. And that’s when I was introduced to Baddie online,” wrote u/Ok-Highway-5247. “Her content made me a lot more at ease with the old folks. All of them were 90 and over. They want to have fun, too. It’s really only a stereotype that old people are grumpy and want to sit around.”

“I’m being 100% serious when I say she was so important for the culture,” mentioned u/didiboy. “I think thanks to her, a lot of people realized how you can still be fun and unique at any age. We live in a society that pushes old people, especially older women, into such strict boxes.”

They concluded, “To me Baddie Winkle was proof that those boxes are just constructs, you can do whatever you want and express yourself however you want.”

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