Sarah Harding, Girls Aloud Singer, Dead at 39 From Breast Cancer

Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images

By Jennifer Drysdale‍

Rest in peace, Sarah Harding. The Girls Aloud singer has died due to breast cancer, her mom shared on her Instagram on Sunday. She was 39. 

"It’s with deep heartbreak that today I’m sharing the news that my beautiful daughter Sarah has sadly passed away," Harding's mom, Marie, wrote. "Many of you will know of Sarah’s battle with cancer and that she fought so strongly from her diagnosis until her last day. She slipped away peacefully this morning."

"I’d like to thank everyone for their kind support over the past year," Marie continued. "It meant the world to Sarah and it gave her great strength and comfort to know she was loved. I know she won’t want to be remembered for her fight against this terrible disease -- she was a bright shining star and I hope that’s how she can be remembered instead."

Harding rose to fame as part of Girls Aloud, winning Popstars: The Rivals in 2002 alongside Cheryl Cole, Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle and Kimberley Walsh. 

She first revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer in August 2020, sharing in her memoir, Hear Me Out, that she thought the strap of her guitar had "probably irritated an area around my breast." 

The Celebrity Big Brother alum ended up undergoing chemotherapy and a mastectomy. 

"I can't look at myself in the mirror anymore. I can't face it. On top of everything else, I just don't look like me anymore. I don't recognize myself. It's very hard to wake up every morning knowing that a part of me is missing; that part of my womanhood is gone," she wrote in her memoir of struggling with the changes to her body. "The loss of it breaks my heart."

Harding added in her book that she'd love to see "everyone -- all my friends, all together. One last time." 

"Then I'd throw a great big f**k off party as a way to say thank you and goodbye," she said. "Wouldn't that be amazing?"