Inside Kailia Posey’s rise to fame as iconic meme and beauty queen after starring role in Toddlers & Tiaras

KAILIA Posey's tragic death at the age of 16 has shocked not only fans of Toddlers & Tiaras, but also of the iconic meme launched by her appearance on the show.

The beauty queen's mom announced her death on Tuesday, just days after Kailia celebrated both her prom and 16th birthday.

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While most people will probably recognize the teenager's face from a viral meme, Kailia rose to fame after appearing on Toddlers & Tiaras.

Kailia appeared on the TLC show back in 2012, when she was an energetic five-year-old.

She won viewers' hearts as she explained that her favorite part of competing in beauty pageants was winning, at the time.

“Cause I like to win moneeey!” she said in one of the show's most remembered moments.

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She famously continued: "I wanna win a fountain of money so I can go shoppin'.

"I think I'm gunna get candy, and all kinds of stuff. And some peonies."

And that's how one of the most-used memes today was born.

Kailia recreated the meme in a posted in 2019.

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In that video, she said her favorite parts of pageants were hanging out with friends and getting her make-up done, while "mama drama" was her least favorite.

In a throwback scene from Toddlers and Tiaras, Kailia's mom described her then 10-year-old daughter as a "cuddling puppy and a spicy little monkey."

She continued: "When Kailia was younger, and she was three, she started doing pageants and she's a pro when she hits that stage.

"She'll say she's nervous but once she hits that stage she's a pro."

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"I don't know anybody that's competition for Kailia," Marcy added.

The circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear, but police told The US Sun she passed on Monday at a Washington state park.