Brandi Mallory, who appeared on Season 4 of ABC’s Extreme Weight Loss series in 2014, died Nov. 9 in Stone Mountain, Georgia. She was 40.
Her death has been confirmed by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office, and an obituary posted on Legacy notes that a funeral will be held in Georgia on Nov. 20. A cause of death has not been disclosed.
Mallory, a makeup artist, initially auditioned for the show The Biggest Loser, but although she was passed over for that show, producers recommended her for Extreme Weight Loss. At the time, Mallory said she weighed 329 pounds, and under the training of Chris Powell went on to compete in a Half Ironman swimming-biking-running fitness challenge.
In addition to her makeup career, Mallory regularly posted updates on Instagram, and in a 2018 YouTube interview with Atlanta journalist Kirby Carroll said she had continued to “dance [her] pounds away.” Also in the interview, Mallory said she was motivated to adopt a healthier lifestyle after the death at 29 of a friend and sorority sister.
“When it’s playing on your mind that I might need to do something about my weight, because I’m afraid I might die too,” she said, “then you might need to pay attention to something like that.”
In an Instagram tribute, Extreme Weight Loss Season 5 contestant Kim Williams Maxile said Mallory was an inspiration.
“I’ll never forget while I was at boot camp for season 5 we watched your season and it inspired us to keep going,” Maxile wrote, adding, “When my episode aired a year later you reached out and even though we never met in person (at that moment) you and I became sisters as only a small group of us know what life was like on the show and life after the show…You truly made an impact on this world with your zest and your passion for body positivity. I’m blessed to have gotten to experienced you in this world. Love you so much sis.”