After a battle with colon cancer, Youree Harris, aka Miss Cleo, has passed away at the age of 53.
Her rep confirmed to TMZ that she died Tuesday morning in Palm Beach County, FL. She was recently hospitalized, but was discharged last week to a hospice center. She stayed strong during her battle with cancer but it would later spread to her liver and lungs.
She was a “pillar of strength” according to her rep and passed surrounded by family and loved ones.
Harris joined the Psychic Readers Network, under the name Miss Cleo, during the 1990’s. Famous for her Jamaican accent, she grew as one of the leading infomercial stars in TV history. It was later revealed that Cleo wasn’t Jamaican at all, but a US citizen born in LA.
She since then grew a cult following and people couldn’t help but call the self proclaimed psychic for advice.
This didn’t come without drama, as the Psychic Readers Network, Harris, and her promoters were sued in various lawsuits from customers from states across the US, as well as the Federal Trade Commission.
Although several customers were satisfied with the service, the FTC charged the company with deceptive advertising, billing and collection practices. Harris luckily was not indicted.
Since then Harris went on to other ventures such as voicing the character of Auntie Poulet in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. She also spoke about her experiences in the documentary Hotline in 2014.
