COLUMBUS, Ohio — Nightbirde, the Zanesville woman who captured the nation's attention on "America's Got Talent" while battling cancer, has passed away. She was 31.
According to a GoFundMe set up by her family, Nightbirde passed away Saturday. The news was first reported by TMZ on Monday.
"America's Got Talent" judge Howie Mandel tweeted his condolences, writing Nightbirde “was such a bright inspirational light in all our lives."
Host Terry Crews posted a message about her passing on Instagram.
Nightbirde, whose real name is Jane Marczewski, became a household name when she got the Golden Buzzer from Simon Cowell on "America's Got Talent" in June 2021. Part of what touched many was the story of her cancer journey.
In 2017, Nightbirde was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. She went into remission in 2018.
She was diagnosed again in 2019 and given 3-6 months to live with a 2% chance of survival. But she was again declared cancer-free in 2020.
Prior to appearing on "America's Got Talent", she was told her cancer had spread to her lungs, spine and liver.
Following her win on the show, 10TV's Brittany Bailey spoke with Nightbirde about her dreams of being a singer when she was a little girl in Zanesville.
She always like to sing, but it wasn’t until she took the “stage” at the Colony Square Mall when she was 11 years old to compete in Y-City Star that she let her parents in on her future plans.
“After I performed in that competition, that’s when I started vocal lessons and learning guitar, and that was the catalyst for real,” she said.
She left "America's Got Talent" in August saying her health had "taken a turn for the worse."
In an interview in November with CNN, she said she shared results of a recent scan that showed some improvement and was continuing to write songs.
"I'm really proud of the stuff that I'm working on. The voice is getting there ... I'm just so happy to be singing. I could just not stop smiling," she said.
In her last post on Instagram back in January, Nightbirde said things had been brutal but she added a photo of herself from the previous week where she felt "pretty, and alive, and awake, and human, and real."
"We’re all a little lost and it’s alright," she wrote.
