A pair of microphones for karaoke is pictured at the home of Mikio Watanabe at Yamakiya district in Kawamata town
A pair of microphones for karaoke is pictured at the home of Mikio Watanabe at Yamakiya district in Kawamata town, Fukushima prefecture June 23, 2014. In July 2011, nearly four months after the massive earthquake and tsunami that triggered a series of catastrophic failures at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Hamako Watanabe returned to her still-radioactive hilltop home, doused herself in kerosene and set herself on fire. She left no suicide note, but her husband Mikio, who discovered her charred body, says plant operator Tokyo Electric is directly responsible. A district court in Fukushima is expected to rule in late August on Watanabe's lawsuit, which Tokyo Electric (Tepco) is contesting. Watanabe's house is still in an exclusion zone, where traffic is restricted to former residents and decontamination crews and he regularly commutes to maintain the empty home. Picture taken June 23, 2014. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Former American Idol contestant Joanne Borgella passed away on Saturday, Oct 18. The 32-year-old model and singer was suffering from cancer.

Borgella's family informed about the death on her Facebook page. "With heavy hearts, we are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our beloved Joanne," the statement said. Reuters reported that Borgella was a contestant on the American talent hunt TV show in 2008. She grew up in The Long Island, New York. She was among the top 24 contestants on the 2008 American Idol. She also appeared on another reality show called "Mo'Nique's Fat Chance". She won the contest, which was looking for the perfect plus-sized model. She eventually launched a clothing line of her own and did modelling on a professional level in recent times. Her most recent appearance on TV was for NUVOtv's "Curvy Girls."

Even though the Facebook statement by Borgella's family did not reveal where she had breathed her last, Newsday reported that the singer had passed away at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. According to her family, she had battled against cancer for 13 months before she succumbed to death. She used to live on the Upper West Side. Borgella's final performance on the 2008 American Idol was "I Say a Little Prayer." Joel Borgella Jr. 38, one of her brothers, said that she had always been quite humble regarding her success. She never thought she had deserved anything as she fought for achieving her success all the time, he said.

Borgella's mother was a registered nurse and her father an OB-GYN. The family first moved to Uniondale from Brooklyn and then to Oyster Bay Cove. She had a strong religious background. She apparently started singing at the age of 4, according to her brother. When she was around 13, the family moved to Haiti where Borgella's parents originally belonged to. However, they returned after a few years. Borgella graduated from Academy of Saint Joseph, an all-girls school in Brentwood. She also attended the Hofstra University but did not complete her studies there to pursue a career in music.

Borgella shared a video in 2013 that informed her fans that she had been diagnosed with cancer. She gave regular updates of her treatment on Facebook.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au