'World’s fattest woman' from TLC's 'My 600-Lb Life' Charity Pierce dies at 50

Charity Pierce, the My 600-Lb Life star once labeled the “world’s fattest woman,” has died at the age of 50 following a long struggle with severe medical conditions.

Her death was confirmed by her daughter, Charly Jo, who shared an emotional message on Facebook saying her mother was “finally at peace.”

"I wasn't going to post about this. But.. the calling and the texting is making my head feel like it's on fire," she wrote. "Almost all immediate family knows so, my mom passed away today. She's up with her momma and brother and sister and she's finally at peace. Charity fly high momma. I hope you know how much I love you and how grateful I was to be able to be by your side while you took your last breath."

Pierce, who once weighed 778 pounds, documented her life-or-death weight-loss journey on the TLC series, ultimately losing an astonishing 440 pounds. According to a family source speaking to TMZ, she died at 1:20AM Tuesday with loved ones by her side.

The source said Pierce had been in hospice care for the past month or two after her health deteriorated due to multiple medical issues. These reportedly included lymphedema and dangerous fluid buildup in her lungs, which may have contributed to her death. An official cause of death has not yet been determined.

Her passing comes nearly six years after she revealed she had been diagnosed with kidney cancer.

"I found out at Christmas time that I have kidney cancer," Pierce wrote on Facebook in March 2020. "It devastated me bc my mom passed away from brain cancer. So since Christmas I’ve had high anxiety and lots of panic attacks. After lots of testing and a million doctor appointments they figured out the cancer was only in my kidney. The next step was to get my kidney removed as soon as possible before it had a chance to spread to other organs in my body. So on March 2 my kidney was removed. And now I’m recovering at home trying to heal. I just hope the future has something good in store."

Pierce first appeared on My 600-Lb Life in 2015 and later returned for My 600-Lb Life: Where Are They Now?, where viewers followed her ongoing physical and emotional struggles.

By 2014, Pierce was housebound and desperate. She pushed for TLC to tell her story, believing it was her only chance to survive. She also hoped losing weight would allow her to travel to see her mother, who was dying of brain cancer.

Despite being nearly 200 pounds over the recommended limit for gastric surgery, Houston surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan agreed to take her case. Within five months, Pierce dropped to 650 pounds, qualifying her for surgery that reduced her stomach to the size of a baseball.

Tragically, the breakthrough came too late. Pierce, who lived with her daughter Charly and then-fiancé Tony Sauer, was still recovering when her mother died.

Her medical battles continued. Years of food addiction, rooted in childhood trauma from witnessing her father brutally beat her mother, had left her body ravaged. In addition to gastric surgery, Pierce underwent a procedure to remove massive fatty deposits from her legs that weighed 57 pounds alone.

More than a year later, she nearly died after having 38 pounds of excess skin removed. The wound became infected, sending her back to the hospital at risk of septic shock.

When she returned to TLC two years later with Charly, Pierce voiced fears that her daughter was developing the same unhealthy eating habits. Ultimately, both women committed to therapy and major lifestyle changes, addressing the emotional dependence on food that had defined their lives. They shared how cooking healthy meals and shopping together helped reshape their future.

Two years after her first surgery, Pierce proudly revealed she had lost 440 pounds through a combination of surgeries and sustained lifestyle changes.

Her transformation was especially striking compared to her condition in April 2014, when she pleaded to be featured on the show, convinced it was the only way to save her life.

At her heaviest, Pierce suffered from advanced lymphedema that caused massive swelling in her left leg, preventing her from fitting into a car. She launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $5,000 for a private ambulance to transport her to Texas for treatment.

"A doctor in Texas willing to do patients over 600lbs [is] my only hope," she wrote.

"The one thing that's going to save my life is gastric bypass. But I'm a single mother on disability with no one to count on besides myself."

She hoped Dr. Nowzaradan could help her become healthy enough to see her dying mother and live long enough to watch her daughter grow up. She also dreamed of marrying Tony, her boyfriend 17 years her junior, who served as her caregiver for much of their relationship.

She told Best magazine she refused to give up on walking down the aisle.

"I want to be able to walk up the aisle," she said.

Her obesity worsened after developing lymphedema, a condition that blocks the lymphatic system and causes severe swelling.

"The lymphedema feels like another whole person. It feels like cinder blocks hanging off you all the time," she said.

The massive swelling protruding from her leg made exercise impossible, leaving her trapped in a body that would not cooperate.

Her search for help began years earlier. In 2012, she uploaded a YouTube video pleading for assistance and hoping to reach Dr. Phil. In the video, she explained that her lymphedema began in 2001 after she fell down a flight of stairs, followed by a terrifying battle with necrotising fasciitis in her abdomen.

"They had to cut out 40lb of dead muscle and tissue. My left side looks as though a shark took a big bite out of it," Charity said.

"It's a very long road, but I'm going to get there," she added.

Charity Pierce’s life was marked by extraordinary suffering, relentless determination, and a transformation that inspired millions. Her death closes one of the most dramatic and heartbreaking stories ever told on My 600-Lb Life.