Who is Mama Cax? Google celebrates Black History month with doodle honoring amputee model
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Mama Cax, a Haitian-American model, is the focus of the latest Google Doodle due to Black History Month being observed. The vibrant Doodle, which appeared on Google's homepage on Wednesday, February 8, commemorates the day Cax made her runway debut at New York Fashion Week in 2019.
Google is honoring Cax's efforts to make fashion more inclusive and the doodle is "a reflection of her bright life," according to Google. “The artwork highlights the many facets of her identity including her Haitian heritage, her NYC hometown, and her fashion career with her prosthetic incorporated into the look,” the statement read.
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Who is Mama Cax?
Cax, whose real name is Cacsmy Brutus, was best known for advocating for disability rights and modeling with her prosthetic right leg. Although she was born on November 20, 1989, in Brooklyn, New York City, she spent most of her childhood in Haiti. She was also diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare kind of bone cancer, and lung cancer when she was 14.
The model told MSNBC in 2019 that she broke down after her leg was amputated and she was diagnosed with depression. “I was ashamed of how I looked. I didn’t want anyone to know I had a prosthetic leg because eventually the question of, ‘What happened?’ would come out. Imagine if every encounter would be recounting my story, every single day, multiple times a day,” she reportedly said.
Mama Cax’s career as a model
Cax debuted as a model in 2017 for a commercial campaign for the beauty company Wet 'n Wild. She was later signed by JAG Models. However, she had spoken about being rejected by multiple modeling agencies who told her she "did not look like the average model". “There were definitely places that told me they weren’t interested, or there was no answer, or that I would not be easy to cast for a job, or that I did not look like the average model,” Cax told Here Magazine at that time.
She went on to become a fashion icon, modeling for high-end labels including Tommy Hilfiger, ASOS, Olay and Savage x Fenty. In 2018, Cax appeared on the cover of Teen Vogue alongside fellow disability rights activists and models Jillian Mercado and Chelsea Werner. Her biggest fashion moment was when she walked down the runway for Chromat's Spring 2019 fashion show wearing a perforated prosthetic leg covered in blue lights.
How did Mama Cax die?
Doctors discovered blood clots in Cax's lungs when she was 30. She was hospitalized for a week before dying on Monday, December 16, 2019. After her death, several celebrities, including pop icon Rihanna paid tribute to the fashion icon, writing on Twitter, “A queen. A force. A powerhouse beauty that brought her strength to the @savagexfenty stage this year inspiring so many across the globe. Rest In Power sis.”
A queen. A force. A powerhouse beauty that brought her strength to the @savagexfenty stage this year inspiring so many across the globe. Rest In Power sis ✊🏿😢 @mama_cax pic.twitter.com/Nq43DoJZb9
— Rihanna (@rihanna) December 20, 2019