Beloved Meme Icon Grumpy Cat Has Died & the Tributes Are Pouring In

Grumpy Cat, the beloved permanently frowny feline who shot to fame online and became the face of countless memes, has died. She was 7...

Grumpy Cat in 2018 | Shutterstock
Grumpy Cat in 2018 | Shutterstock

Grumpy Cat, the permanently frowny feline who shot to fame online and became the face of countless memes, has died. She was 7. 

Grumpy, whose real name was Tardar Sauce, rocketed to internet stardom thanks to her legendary resting grouch face after a photo of her went viral on social in 2012. She quickly became a fixture of online culture and her iconic expression (the unique combination of both an underbite and feline dwarfism) was featured in a trove of online memes. Her popularity resulted in legitimate real-world celebrity status and led to a string of high-profile media appearances, book deals, and even a merchandising empire. In 2014, she starred in a commercial for Honey Nut Cheerios and her net worth was at one point rumored to be in the mid-eight figures.

Grumpy Cat's owners confirmed her death on Twitter Friday morning, saying she passed away on Tuesday, May 14, following complications due to a urinary tract infection. 

Tributes and reactions to Grumpy's passing from fans and admirers around the world have been flooding in on social media. We've collected some of our favorites below.

Rest in peace, Grumpy Cat. May you live on as the much-loved meme queen you always were way up in the big litter box in the sky. 


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Joe McGauley is a senior writer for Thrillist. Follow him @jwmcgauley.