Photo: XOSophiaLeone/Instagram
Adult film star Sophia Leone urged her Instagram followers to "appreciate life a little extra" in a post shared months prior to her death.
"Go outside and just appreciate life a little extra today," Leone wrote in a post shared in September, which showed her making a peace sign and posing with a white handbag over her shoulder while wearing sunglasses.
Leone died earlier this month at the age of 26, her family revealed on a GoFundMe launched in her memory.
“Sophia was a beloved Daughter, Sister, granddaughter, Niece, and Friend,” Leone’s stepfather, Mike Romero wrote. “She had a deep love for all animals, specifically her 3 pets. She enjoyed traveling and always found ways to make everyone around her smile.”
Leone was reportedly found "unresponsive" at her New Mexico apartment on March 1 and authorities are investigating her cause of death as a "robbery and homicide," according to the Los Angeles-based modeling agency, 101 Modeling, which handled some of the actress' bookings.
"To be clear, Sophia death is being investigated as a robbery and homicide," the agency wrote on its X account. "We're going to take time off social media because this is difficult. But we do appreciate seeing the stories from people who knew her. We all agree she was a sweetheart, kind, and gentle. We all love her."
Leone broke into the adult film industry in 2014 at the age of 18 and starred in more than 80 films, according to her IMDB page. Reports of the Miami's native's death came days after the family of fellow adult film actress Emily Willis revealed she was "fighting for her life" in a "vegetative coma" one month after suffering cardiac arrest at a rehabilitation center in Malibu, as well as the recent deaths of former adult film actresses Kagney Linn Carter, 36, in February and Jesse Jane, 43, in January.