Helen Van Winkle, the flamboyantly dressed great-grandmother who transformed herself into a social media influencer known as Baddie Winkle, has died at age 97.
Van Winkle’s great-granddaughter announced her death Friday on Instagram, writing, “Yesterday, an era ended and a star ascended. My great grandmother Helen Ruth Elam Vanwinkle danced her way to heaven. She was joy, rebellion, and tenderness wrapped in one.”
“The crown is eternal, & her love on many realms will live forever. This isn’t a goodbye, this is a See ya later my superstar,” Van Winkle’s granddaughter added.
The tribute gave her date of death as Thursday.
A cause of death for Van Winkle, whose Instagram bio cheekily reads “Stealing yo man since 1928,” was not given.
The beloved nonagenarian, whom Time magazine once called one of “The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet,” shot to internet stardom in 2014 after she began posting images and videos of herself wearing outrageous clothes — such as a tie-dye shirt that read “Will commit sins 4 Chipotle” — and advocating her signature brand of rebellious fun.
Van Winkle initially turned to the internet at her great-granddaughter’s urging. Her zany posts, Time reported, were Van Winkle’s way to process her grief after the death of her husband and son.
Over the years, Van Winkle honed her style as an eccentric fashionista, and offers inviting her to model for fashion brands and attend A-list parties poured in, according to Time.
In 2016, Van Winkle confessed her crush on Drake when she hobnobbed with Khloe Kardashian during an appearance on Kardashian’s show “Kocktails With Khloé.”
The same year, Van Winkle served as a muse for Urban Decay, appearing in several images for the cosmetics brand, Allure reported. She later collaborated with INC.redible Cosmetics on her own line of products.
In 2018, Van Winkle appeared in a campaign for a new Polaroid Originals camera that used the tagline “Still Got It,” Paper reported.
The following year, she joined country music star Kacey Musgraves on stage during Musgraves’ 2019 Coachella performance, E! News reported.
Van Winkle wore a candy-colored patterned dress and fake pearls to gleefully dance alongside the Grammy winner as she sang “High Horse,” a song calling out the sort of pompous people who constantly “kill the buzz.”
Van Winkle’s online followers included a handful of celebrity pals, including Nicole Richie, Miley Cyrus and Paris Hilton, who expressed her grief in the comments of the post announcing Van Winkle’s death.
“She was iconic,” said Hilton, who added emoji of a sad face and a heart.