{{Short description|American model}} {{for|the novelist|Katherine May}} {{Infobox person |name = Katie May |birth_name = Katie Beth May |caption = May circa 2015 |birth_date = {{birth date|1981|03|16}} |birth_place = {{nowrap|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.}} |death_date = {{death date and age|2016|02|04|1981|03|16}} |death_place = {{nowrap|Los Angeles, California, U.S.}} |occupation = Model |years_active = 2005–2016 |children = 1 }} '''Katie Beth May''' (March 16, 1981 – February 4, 2016)<ref name=pgobit>{{cite web |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/news/obituaries/2016/03/31/Obituary-Katie-May-The-Queen-of-Snapchat-was-Pleasant-Hills-native/stories/201603310136|title=Obituary: Katie May |date= March 31, 2016 |accessdate=August 16, 2016 |publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|first = Sean D.|last = Hamill}}</ref> was an American model and businesswoman.<ref name="hupost">{{Cite web|title = Katie May: A Single Mom's Journey to Royalty |url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-denmon/katie-may-a-single-moms-j_b_9057972.html|accessdate = 2016-08-16|first = Nicholas|last = Denmon|publisher=Huffington Post|date=January 16, 2016}}</ref> Dubbed "'''The Queen of Snapchat'''",<ref name="hupost"/><ref name="people">{{Cite web|title = Playboy Model Katie May Dead at 34 After Suffering a Stroke, Her Brother Confirms |url =http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20981907_20985060,00.html|publisher=People |first= Julie|last= Mazziotta |date= February 4, 2016|accessdate = 2016-08-17}}</ref> May was known as a social media star and brand ambassador before her death from a chiropractically induced stroke at age 34.<ref name="hupost"/>
== Early life and education == May was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Janet and Joseph May,<ref name="pgobit"/> both teachers.<ref name="hupost"/> She was the youngest of four, with two sisters and a brother.<ref name="pgobit"/> May described her upbringing as "very traditional working-American", with a "real emphasis in my house on education, primarily the arts and history".<ref name="hupost"/> She grew up in suburban Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania and attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Jefferson Hills, where she was a cheerleader.<ref name="pgobit"/><ref name="hupost"/>
From 1999 to 2003, May attended Ohio University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in retail merchandising.<ref name="pgobit"/>
== Career == In 2003, May, who had "dreams and wishes ... far from Pittsburgh"<ref name="hupost"/> moved to Los Angeles. She worked in public relations at Dolce & Gabbana prior to launching high-end denim line SINR Denim with boyfriend Alex Maimon.<ref name="aunews">{{Cite web|title = Queen of Snapchat, Katie May dies after suffering a stroke|url = http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/queen-of-snapchat-katie-may-suffers-stroke-and-is-in-a-critical-condition-in-hospital-in-la/news-story/b495d195c715fec66cf17a35937c23c2|date=February 5, 2016| publisher=news.com.au|accessdate = 2016-08-16}}</ref> May then "broke out on her own",<ref name="pgobit"/> co-founding May-Levy PR and Marketing, which operated from 2008 to 2012.<ref name="pgobit"/> Subsequently, she served as vice president of strategic marketing at Gen Arts, an arts incubator based in Los Angeles. Per May, "Then that company was sold and I was unemployed without a penny to my name."<ref name="hupost"/>
In 2014, a photo shoot featuring May caught the attention of online magazine ''Arsenic'';<ref name="pgobit"/> subsequent shoots published by the magazine went viral.<ref name="pgobit"/><ref name="hupost"/> Less than two years later, May, at the age of 34, had amassed nearly two million Instagram followers<ref name="people"/> and had been named "The Queen of Snapchat".<ref name="hupost"/><ref name="people"/> In addition, May had modeled for such mainstream publications as ''Sports Illustrated'', ''GQ'', and ''Playboy'',<ref name="people"/> and had acted as model for sports betting company JetBet, with which she partnered. Said May, "I am letting my fans see the sexy campaign and billboards while at the same time letting them know that I'm an active and vocal part of the company."<ref name="pgobit"/>
== Personal life == May was a single mother.<ref name="hupost"/><ref name="people"/> She cited her daughter as her source of motivation: "I had the most important person in my world, my daughter, to make proud each day and to remind me what I was working towards. Failure was not an option, not putting her in the best school was not an option, not living the lifestyle that I had dreamed of for us was not an option," she told Huffington Post in 2016.<ref name="hupost"/>
==Death== May tweeted on January 29, 2016, that she had pinched a nerve in her neck on a photoshoot and "got adjusted" at a chiropractor. She tweeted on January 31, 2016, that she was "going back to the chiropractor tomorrow."<ref name="people2">{{Cite news|title =Playboy Model Saw Chiropractor for Neck Pain Prior to Deadly Stroke but Not Medical Doctor, Family Says|work=People|url = http://www.people.com/article/katie-may-model-stroke-saw-chiropractor|first= Julie|last= Mazziotta |date= February 5, 2016|accessdate = 2016-08-17}}</ref> On the evening of February 1, 2016, May "had begun feeling numbness in a hand and dizzy", and "called her parents to tell them she thought she was going to pass out." At her family's urging, May went to Cedars Sinai Hospital;<ref name="pgobit"/> she was found to be suffering a "massive stroke."<ref name="hollife">{{Cite web|title = Katie May's Final Hours Revealed: How Family & Friends Said Their Last Goodbyes|url = http://hollywoodlife.com/2016/02/06/katie-may-family-goodbye-hospital-death-stroke-interview/|first = Jon|last = Boon|accessdate = 2016-08-16|website = Hollywood Life|date = February 6, 2016|archive-date = 2016-08-26|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160826104518/http://hollywoodlife.com/2016/02/06/katie-may-family-goodbye-hospital-death-stroke-interview/|url-status = dead}}</ref> According to her father, May "was not conscious when we got to finally see her the next day. We never got to talk to her again." Life support was withdrawn on February 4, 2016.<ref name="pgobit"/>
A coroner's report confirmed that the stroke was the result of the chiropractor's neck adjustment, which tore her left vertebral artery. The coroner's office ruled it an accident.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/19/katie-may-playboy-model-died-due-injury-chiropract/ |title= Katie May, Playboy model, died due to injury from chiropractor visit: Report |date= 19 October 2016 |accessdate= 20 October 2016 |work= The Washington Times |author= Shepherd, Ken}}</ref> In 2017, a lawsuit, which included claims of wrongful death and professional negligence, was filed against the chiropractor by May's father in Los Angeles Superior Court.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Playboy Model Katie May's Estate Seeks '7-Figure' Payout After She Died from Chiropractor Adjustment |url=https://sg.news.yahoo.com/estate-former-playboy-model-katie-174919765.html |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=sg.news.yahoo.com |date=31 October 2016 |language=en-SG}}</ref> The case was settled in January 2022 for $250,000 without acknowledgement of any wrongdoing.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-21 |title=Suit by minor daughter of late 'Snapchat Queen' ends with $250,000 settlement |url=https://wehoville.com/2022/01/21/suit-by-minor-daughter-of-late-snapchat-queen-ends-with-250000-settlement/ |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=WEHOville |language=en-US}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * [https://www.katiemayforever.org "Katie May Forever" stroke awareness page]
{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Katie}} Category:1981 births Category:2016 deaths Category:Accidental deaths in California Category:Businesspeople from Pittsburgh Category:Female models from Pittsburgh Category:Ohio University alumni Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:20th-century American women Category:21st-century American women Category:Deaths attributed to chiropractic treatment