Ex Porn Star Kagney Linn Karter Dead By Suicide At 36

Veteran porn star Kagney Linn Karter has died by suicide. She was just 36 years old.

According to reports first published by TMZ on Monday, police officers in the city of Parma, Ohio found her deceased in her home there last Thursday. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office also confirmed to the outlet that they received her body that day from authorities in Parma.

As of Monday afternoon, a GoFundMe page has raised over $11,000 to help Kagney’s mother Tina with memorial costs, far surpassing an $8,000 goal. It was on that page — which was set up by the owners of a pole dancing fitness studio Ecole De Pole with sites in Cleveland and Akron — that we learned what happened. Her friends cite suicide as the cause of death. Tragic.

Kagney first got her start in the porn biz way back in the mid-2000s. After working in the industry for years, she left Los Angeles a few years ago and transitioned into life in Ohio. There, she worked as a dancer in addition to finding her spot in the pole dancing community.

Per that GFM page, Kagney had been a student of their pole dancing classes in the recent past. In fact, she was so good at it, and so determined to improve her skills, that she soon grew to become an expert. And she was instrumental in opening and running the studio’s Akron affiliate in recent months. Sadly, in a memorial post on the GoFundMe page, the studio’s owners cite “mental health issues” as ever present in Kagney’s life:

“Unfortunately, despite all of her many impressive accomplishments and talents, Kagney struggled with mental health issues as the years passed by. Even in her darkest days, however, she still showed up to the studio, always ready to learn, contribute, better herself in whatever small way she could manage. As alone as she undoubtedly felt within the confines of her own head, she continued to make an effort to show up for her friends and the community who cared about her. She fought her own battles with the same tenacity and drive she showed in every other area of her life, with as much strength as she could.”

They went on to confirm their friend died by suicide at her home:

“Her final class with us was February 7th, less than two weeks before Kagney tragically took her own life in her home. … The news sank like a stone in our hearts. The horrible reality of a studio without Kagney — a community without her — seemed all wrong. Unnatural. Too difficult to accept.”

They go on to mourn the loss of her personality and talent:

“Because more than her beauty, her lovely dancing, her singing, her dazzling performances, her business savvy and instructor certifications and loyal fanbase… Kagney was kind. Kagney was generous. As cold as the world could be, Kagney brought with her a light. On her good days, when she was most herself, she could warm up a room with her radiant smile, get others laughing in no time at all. She was all brightness and bubble, with never a cross word to say about another. She forgave easily, gave second chances, saw the value in the small details. … In short, we were firsthand witnesses to Kagney’s spirit. And as much as we have all cried for her, we know she would have cried for us tenfold. That was just who Kagney was. She loved deeply. And, because of that, she will be missed just as deeply.”

So, so sad. We send our condolences to Kagney’s mother, the rest of her family, and her friends and loved ones.

You can view and support the GoFundMe for yourself by clicking HERE.

R.I.P.

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, help is available. Consider contacting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, by calling, texting, or chatting, or go to 988lifeline.org.

[Image via Kagney Linn Karter/Instagram/Instagram]