A Brazilian influencer known for her beauty and fashion content has died unexpectedly, leaving followers and collaborators stunned by the sudden loss.
According to People, Maria Rita Rodrigues da Silva — who went by Maria Rita online — died on February 21 at just 25 years old.
The Brazilian influencer had built a growing audience across social platforms, with more than 11,000 followers on Instagram and roughly 65,000 on TikTok, where she regularly posted makeup tutorials, product reviews, and fashion-forward clips.
Details surrounding her death have not been publicly disclosed, but those close to her made it clear that it came without warning.
According to a friend, the two had been together in a studio less than a day earlier and had already made plans to reconnect. “Not even 24 hours later you were gone,” the friend wrote.
Rodrigues appeared active online just days before her passing. Her last post, shared on February 19, showed her modeling a new pair of sunglasses — a typical update consistent with the content that had built her following.
A funeral service for the Brazilian influencer was held on February 22, followed by her burial the next day in São Bernardo do Campo, the city where she lived.
One of the most widely reported cases in recent months involved Maria Katiane Gomes da Silva, another Brazilian influencer who died at 25 after falling from a high-rise apartment in São Paulo. Initially described as a suspicious death, the case later escalated into a homicide investigation.
Authorities ultimately arrested her husband, Alex Leandro Bispo dos Santos, after reviewing surveillance footage from inside their building. The footage allegedly shows a physical altercation between the couple prior to her fall, contradicting his earlier claim that she had died by suicide following an argument.
Investigators are pursuing the case as a potential femicide, a classification used in Brazil for gender-based killings.
Like Rodrigues, Silva had built a modest online following, sharing lifestyle and beauty content with her audience.