America's Got TalentCheerleader, 17, Dies by Suicide Just Weeks After Earning a Standing Ovation on the Show

Mar. 15, 2025

Los Osos High School dancer andAmerica’s Got Talentcontestant Emily Gold, 17, has died.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Rodrigo Jimenez said that “officers from the California Highway Patrol Rancho Cucamonga area responded to a pedestrian down in lanes.”

Emily Gold, ‘America’s Got Talent’ Contestant, as seen in a GoFundMe photo.GoFundMe

GoFundMe

Police have asked anybody who saw what happened or has additional information to contact their investigator, Officer S. Gonzalez.PEOPLE has reached out to Rancho Cucamonga Police Department as well as representatives forAmerica’s Got Talentand Los Osos High School for comment.

Just last month, the Southern California teenager had wowed the nation alongside the Los Osos High School dance team onAmerica’s Got Talent. After making it through auditions, the group landed in to the series' quarterfinals before they were eliminated in August.

Despite their elimination, judge Simon Cowell gave the team’s high energy performance a standing ovation.

“It was absolutely brilliant,” Cowell said at the time. “What I loved about this was first of all the energy. I think what I just saw is everything a great school should be doing, which is encouraging talent and friendship. "

Cowell continued, “It reminded me of seeing theHigh School Musicalmovie and thinking every kid should go to a school like that.”

Emily Gold (far right) and members of the Los Osos High School dance group on the ‘AGT’ quarterfinals red carpet on August 13, 2024.Amanda Edwards/Getty

Amanda Edwards/Getty

Speaking with PEOPLE on Aug. 13, Gold said of her time onstage, “When I’m performing, I’m really thinking about all the corrections because we get corrections up until five minutes before we go on stage. So to really just think about all those so that we apply them is my biggest priority on stage.”

Asked how she was juggling being in high school with performing onAGT,she said, “it’s definitely tough to balance it all, but we make it happen.”

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Shortly after the news of her death, Gold’s loved ones organized aGoFundMeto raise money for the dancer’s family.

“With great sadness we share our Los Osos Grizzly Emily Gold has passed away,” the fundraiser read. “As a community lets come together and support the Gold family in this difficult time. Please know this money will go directly to the family to support them and help with expenses.”

source: people.com