Former World's Heaviest Woman Died on Thanksgiving

Pauline Potter, who appeared on "My 600-lb Life" in 2015 and once held the world record as the heaviest living woman, has died, according to her son.

Her son, Dillon Brooks, announced the news in a November 29 YouTube video. She passed away more than a week after beginning in hospice care.

"August 20th was the last time she was at home, and she has been in the hospital since then," Brooks said. On November 19, she moved from a rehab facility to his aunt's house for hospice care.

She died on November 27 this year. Thanksgiving Day.

Doctors at the rehab facility told them "there was nothing else they could do for her" and sent her home. Earlier, when she was hospitalized, they'd found "signs of heart failure and respiratory failure" and doubted she would "make it much longer."

What Happened

Potter's health declined after a car accident 10 months earlier on a two-lane highway in California.

"My injuries weren't really that severe," Brooks said, but his mother suffered arm injuries and broken ribs they didn't know about at first.

Over the summer she was hospitalized again because she "could not keep any food down." Tests found a blockage in her esophagus while she was also battling COVID-19. She ended up in the ICU with a severe infection from a wound on her back.

After about a month in a rehab facility trying to get strong enough for surgery, doctors told them there was nothing more they could do.

Brooks started a GoFundMe to pay for cremation.

Her Story

Potter appeared on "My 600-lb Life" in 2015. She wasn't happy with how the show portrayed her—said they "turned and twisted a lot of things"—but she kept appearing on the follow-up series "My 600-lb Life: Where Are They Now?" Her last appearance was in 2020.

In 2011, Guinness Book of Records confirmed Potter as the heaviest living woman at 643 pounds. She told them she hoped going public would help her "get my story out there so that a doctor or nutritionist could help me."

On "Dr. Phil" later that year, she talked about her struggle with food addiction. "Food you can't quit cold turkey. You have to eat to live."

She told Phil she felt "embarrassed. It's not a happy title at all, but I knew that I'd have to degrade myself to get my story out there. It's embarrassing."

Nobody wants to hold that world record. But she did it anyway hoping someone could help.

Potter told Guinness she believed her weight was due to genetics and a childhood with too much food around. The thing is, she actually lost the weight. By 2020, she shared on Facebook that she was down to 223 pounds. That's over 400 pounds lost from her peak.

The Last Year

So, she made this incredible transformation. Lost over 400 pounds. Got down to 223. Then in January 2025, the car accident happened followed by COVID and a couple of other health complications.

August 20 was the last time she was home. Four months in hospitals and rehab facilities. Then doctors said there was nothing more they could do. They sent her to hospice at her sister's house November 19. She died eight days later on Thanksgiving.

Her son announced it two days after that and started a GoFundMe for cremation costs.

What Stays With You

Potter told Dr. Phil back in 2011 that she had to "degrade" herself to get her story out there. That she was embarrassed but desperate for help.

She got help, lost the weight, and made a massive, real transformation. Then died at her sister's house on Thanksgiving after doctors ran out of options.

Her son's YouTube video lays it all out without drama—just the facts of what happened over those last 10 months. The car accident. The hospitalizations. The heart and respiratory failure. The decision for hospice.

That's how it ended for someone who once held a Guinness world record she never wanted, lost over 400 pounds trying to change her life, and spent her last four months in hospitals before dying in hospice on Thanksgiving.

Pauline Potter was embarrassed to be the world's heaviest woman but went public anyway because she needed help. She got it. Although she did not get to live long enough to truly enjoy her newfound transformation, her dedication and triumph over her food addiction will hopefully be what people remember her by.

Pauline Potter’s story resonated with many viewers. Readers can bookmark or share this article to remember her journey beyond television.