Karina Moreira, Inspirational Fashion Blogger, Dies at 16

Karina Moreira, a Malden teenager who inspired thousands by starting a fashion blog, “chic by karina,” while battling cancer, died Thursday, Oct. 2. She was 16.

Moreira was first diagnosed with bone cancer in her legs in 2011. It returned last year, and her condition grew worse this past summer, according to a GoFundMe page dedicated to her.

In 2012, while recovering from cancer treatment, Moreira began “chic by karina.” Her blog’s Instagram account, chicbykarina, now has over 150,000 followers, her Facebook page over 28,000 likes. Inspired by Moreira, fashion model Gisele Bundchen visited her last December, and the two made a video together (in Portuguese, below). Bundchen remembered Moreira in an Instagram post Thursday.

The Boston Globe profiled Moreira this past July, “Just 16, Karina Moreira battles cancer in her own style.”

We’ll post Moreira’s full obituary once it becomes available.