Sarah Harding of the U.K. pop group Girls Aloud has died at age 39, her mother, Marie, announced Sunday in an emotional Instagram post.
Harding revealed in August 2020 that she had been diagnosed with the disease, which had spread to other parts of her body. In March this year, in an excerpt from her memoir published in the Times, Harding wrote: “In December my doctor told me that the upcoming Christmas would probably be my last.” She said she didn’t want an exact prognosis, just “comfort” and to be “pain-free.”
Sadly, Harding revealed in her memoir that she found lumps under her arms, but ignored the symptoms for months until the pain jolted her out of denial.
Girls Aloud was a popular British-Irish pop group formed through ITV talent show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. Harding and her fellow band members scored four No. 1 singles in the U.K. and became one of the most success reality TV music groups.
Harding, along with singers Cheryl Cole (who eventually became a judge on X Factor UK), Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, had twenty consecutive Top 10 singles in the United Kingdom.
“A message from Sarah’s mum,” the Instagram message began. “It’s with deep heartbreak that today I’m sharing the news that my beautiful daughter Sarah has sadly passed away. Many of you will know of Sarah’s battle with cancer and that she fought so strongly from her diagnosis until her last day. She slipped away peacefully this morning.”
“I’d like to thank everyone for their kind support over the past year,” the post continued. “It meant the world to Sarah and it gave her great strength and comfort to know she was loved. I know she won’t want to be remembered for her fight against this terrible disease – she was a bright shining star and I hope that’s how she can be remembered instead.”
View this post on Instagram
*
Cheryl posts a long tribute to her former bandmate.
View this post on Instagram
