Mickey Lee, a contestant on CBS’ Big Brother Season 27, died on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, at 35, after a medical emergency that left her hospitalized in intensive care days earlier, according to statements shared by her family and the show’s host, Julie Chen Moonves.
A GoFundMe appeal created on Dec. 22 said Lee had suffered “a series of cardiac arrests” and was in the ICU in “critical but stable” condition while relatives faced mounting hospital bills. By Friday evening, the fundraiser had passed $35,000 toward a $40,000 goal. Lee’s family announced her death on Instagram the next day, asking for privacy and saying memorial details would follow.
Chen Moonves wrote on Instagram that she interviewed Lee two months ago on her faith-focused podcast God 101, where Lee told her she was born “with a hole in her heart” and later survived an ATV accident. “Rest In Peace dear Mickey,” Chen Moonves wrote. “I will see you again on the other side in eternity.”
The show’s executive producers Allison Grodner, Rich Meehan and Chris Roach said in a statement that the “Big Brother family is heartbroken,” calling Lee “a force of nature” and “a bright light.” The program’s official social accounts also shared condolences and reposted Chen Moonves’ tribute.
In a separate account of Lee’s recent health crisis, an entertainment outlet reported that she had been hospitalized earlier this month after cardiac arrests tied to flu complications. Her family’s posts and the fundraiser did not specify a single cause of death beyond the cardiac events.
Lee was from Jacksonville, Florida, and lived in Atlanta, where she worked as an event curator, according to the fundraiser. On Big Brother Season 27, she reached Day 59 and finished 10th after a pre-jury eviction, becoming a frequent presence in post-show cast interactions that continued right up to the days before her hospitalization.
