TikToker Joules Dies After Rare Brain Tumor at 6 Years Old. Her Death Inspires Phenomenon Across Social Media

Mar. 15, 2025

Joules Smith.Photo:GoFundMe

GoFundMe

TikTok creatorJoe Smithconfirmed that his six-year-old daughter Joules Smith died on Monday, Dec. 9 after she was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor.In a video captioned “We love you our little dancing queen,” Joe shared the sad news onTikTokandInstagramon Dec. 12 and confirmed that “our little dancing queen passed away” between him and his wife “in the early hours of [Dec.9].““We haven’t been on social media for the last couple weeks [because] we had to spend every single second with our beautiful princess Joules,” Joe shared in the update video and confirmed that “we didn’t leave that little girl’s side,” through her last moments.Joe first shared the devastating news that Joules was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) earlier this year in aTikTokposted on May 27. According toDIPG.org, DIPG “is a type of brain tumor found in the brainstem” that affects children between 5 and 7 years old. In theGoFundMepage set up for Jules, a family friend confirmed that her cancer was “incurable” and “has only been given 9 months to live.“Since her diagnosis, the GoFundMe has raised over £96,000, and Joe posted in October that they planned to make videos toraise awareness for childhood cancer. In their videos, Joules and Joe encouraged other users to “dance for Joules” as part of their efforts to shed light on her disease.Joules Smith.GoFundMe”[She] has been an absolute inspiration to everyone, and I’m so proud to be her dad, as is her mom,” he continued in his update video from Dec. 12. “We take so much comfort in knowing she inspired and touched the lives of so many people from around the world.“Joe thanked everyone for sharing their “dancing for Joules” videos online and vowed to “carry on” raising awareness around DIPG. He added, “If you’re going to do anything, please let’s carry on dancing for our beautiful little Joules because I know she will still be dancing.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Since her death, Joe’s update video has surpassed 2 million views online and thousands shared their condolences over the loss. The “dancing for Joules” tag also surpassed over 3,000 videos on TikTok, with users dedicating their videos to her and her family.Joe also confirmed onTikTokon Dec. 15 that Joules' “send-off” is scheduled for Dec. 27 at The Garden of Eden Crematorium in Kent, England. He encouraged others to join the family and requested everyone to “wear pink and blue for Stitch and Angel colours, but you’re welcome in black.“He also requested that people donate toThe Royal Marsden Cancer Charityon Joules' behalf as a part of the “dancing for Joules” campaign.

TikTok creatorJoe Smithconfirmed that his six-year-old daughter Joules Smith died on Monday, Dec. 9 after she was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor.

In a video captioned “We love you our little dancing queen,” Joe shared the sad news onTikTokandInstagramon Dec. 12 and confirmed that “our little dancing queen passed away” between him and his wife “in the early hours of [Dec.9].”

“We haven’t been on social media for the last couple weeks [because] we had to spend every single second with our beautiful princess Joules,” Joe shared in the update video and confirmed that “we didn’t leave that little girl’s side,” through her last moments.

Joe first shared the devastating news that Joules was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) earlier this year in aTikTokposted on May 27. According toDIPG.org, DIPG “is a type of brain tumor found in the brainstem” that affects children between 5 and 7 years old. In theGoFundMepage set up for Jules, a family friend confirmed that her cancer was “incurable” and “has only been given 9 months to live.”

Since her diagnosis, the GoFundMe has raised over £96,000, and Joe posted in October that they planned to make videos toraise awareness for childhood cancer. In their videos, Joules and Joe encouraged other users to “dance for Joules” as part of their efforts to shed light on her disease.

Joules Smith.GoFundMe

“[She] has been an absolute inspiration to everyone, and I’m so proud to be her dad, as is her mom,” he continued in his update video from Dec. 12. “We take so much comfort in knowing she inspired and touched the lives of so many people from around the world.”

Joe thanked everyone for sharing their “dancing for Joules” videos online and vowed to “carry on” raising awareness around DIPG. He added, “If you’re going to do anything, please let’s carry on dancing for our beautiful little Joules because I know she will still be dancing.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Since her death, Joe’s update video has surpassed 2 million views online and thousands shared their condolences over the loss. The “dancing for Joules” tag also surpassed over 3,000 videos on TikTok, with users dedicating their videos to her and her family.

Joe also confirmed onTikTokon Dec. 15 that Joules' “send-off” is scheduled for Dec. 27 at The Garden of Eden Crematorium in Kent, England. He encouraged others to join the family and requested everyone to “wear pink and blue for Stitch and Angel colours, but you’re welcome in black.”

He also requested that people donate toThe Royal Marsden Cancer Charityon Joules' behalf as a part of the “dancing for Joules” campaign.

source: people.com