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Brynn Carnesecca, a beauty pageant winner from Utah who was voted Miss Congeniality by her fellow contestants in Miss Utah 2025, died by suicide on July 26 at the age of 21, according to her family.
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Content warning: This story discusses suicide.
Brynn Carnesecca is being remembered as a beauty queen who made a difference.
After the Utah pageant winner died by suicide on July 26 at the age of 21, her mom Michele Carnesecca said she hopes her daughter will be remembered for the "amazing life she lived."
"She took her own precious life, but she is more than what happened to her," Michele told local outlet KSL at a vigil held in Brynn’s honor July 28. "She was an incredible writer and reader from a young age."
Brynn was crowned Miss American Fork in 2024 and was voted Miss Congeniality by her fellow contestants at the 2025 Miss Utah pageant. She was set to next compete in Utah’s Miss Provo pageant starting Aug. 22, according to her Instagram bio.
And while Michele noted her daughter was “gifted and talented” and “loved to laugh,” she emphasized that Brynn’s life “was all about” helping others. As she put it, “She was always doing quiet acts of service."
After all, the titleholder even started the organization Envelopes of Hope, a pen pal service for local citizens to exchange letters with incarcerated individuals in Utah.
After Brynn’s tragic death, her sister Cate Carnesecca also grieved her “dear sweet sister,” who she called “my best friend from the day I was born.”
Brynn Carnesecca/Facebook
“My favorite phrase that we would always use is ‘we do this life together,’ and unfortunately that isn’t the case anymore,” she wrote on Instagram July 27. “We had our futures planned out of becoming aunties, living next to each other and traveling the world. Now, I have to live in a world without you in it.”
Cate also shed light on her sister’s personal struggles that the world may not have known because “her laughter and light could be felt by anyone who got the chance to be with her for even the shortest time.”
“Brynn was the brightest of lights, yet she deeply struggled,” she continued. “For many that came as a shock because she was the most selfless human and would put the needs of anyone else’s above hers.”
She added, “Let Brynn’s story be an example that you never know what someone is going through.”
And now, as Cate moves forward, she wants to walk with her sister in her heart.
“I won’t get to know what growing old with Brynn looks like, but I want to do it in honor of her,” she shared. “She will continue to be my guiding light for my life. Even though I hoped to never do life without her, I will learn what that is like one day at a time.”
If you or someone you know needs help, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
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