Here’s what you need to know about her struggle with drugs and how she fought back from being near to death only to succumb to breast cancer.
Who was Jael Strauss?
Jael was a contestant on America’s Next Top Model but her life spiralled out of control and she became a homeless addict.
When was she a contestant on America's Next Top Model
Jael was a finalist in the eighth series of the popular show in 2007, which inspired Britain's Next Top Model, before giving in to her addiction.
Four and a half years ago, a public intervention by TV chat show host Dr Phil set Jael on the path to recovery
Her family appeared on the show and explained that a six-year battle with narcotics had left Jael a "full-blown meth addict" and close to death.
She began working at a rehab centre in Austin, Texas and last year she Too Fab: "I'm the happiest I've ever been in my entire life. This journey was very unexpected.
"I've been sober for three years and three months now. Not a drink, not a pill, not a joint, not a line, nothing. It's really amazing.
"It's a huge miracle to still be breathing after what I was up to and I'm so grateful. Whatever path and twists and turns I had to take to get here, I don't regret any of them."
What was the cause of her death?
In October earlier this year Jael announced in a Facebook post she had been diagnosed with "incurable" stage 4 breast cancer.
"It has aggressively spread throughout my body and is incurable,” she wrote.
“With treatment it may prolong my life longer than the 'few months' doctors said I could make it. I don't want to die. I need another one of those miracles that I got back in 2013."
But she decided to give up chemotherapy and on Thanksgiving went into a hospice, where she passed away at around 11am on Tuesday.
Source: Read Full Article