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On what was a celebratory summer evening on Lake Michigan, tragedy struck around Navy Pier when Chicago hair stylist and Instagram personality Zahrie Walls, 27, died after falling overboard during the annual Black Yacht Weekend..CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
The fall occurred around 5:30 p.m. on June 21, 2025, in the 600 block of East Grand Avenue. Witnesses describe that Walls was having fun at the party scene when she slipped and fell face-first into churning waters of the lake. Even though friends threw a rope and vest and even dove in to try and rescue her, currents on the lake proved too much. She was eventually pulled from the water by first responders and was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Cook County’s Medical Examiner later confirmed the cause of death by drowning.
Walls, known on Instagram as @zahriethestylist, had amassed a devoted following of more than 75,000 fans who regularly tuned in to see her high-end hair transformations and personal milestones. A self-made businesswoman from Chicago’s West Side, she managed up to a dozen clients a day, traveling across cities to style celebrity clients and everyday customers alike.
“She started braiding hair on our porch when she was just a teen,”
her mother, Kizzy Wells, told local media.
“Zahrie worked hard for everything. She didn’t party much—she was always focused on her craft.”
The death was a shock to the beauty world of the metropolis, more so because Walls was openly friends with 19-year-old woman Kenneka Jenkins who mysteriously passed on in 2017 in a cold storage room of a hotel, drawing nationwide headlines.
“I find it unbearable that we lost both of them,”
a friend posted on Instagram, reflecting on one of the hundreds of individuals who came to populate Zahrie’s account page with a cyber memorial.
The tragedy has brought renewed focus to Lake Michigan’s hidden dangers.
“People underestimate how much this lake can behave like an ocean,”
said Dave Benjamin of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project.
“Winds, waves, and unpredictable currents make it especially hazardous.”
ABC7 Chicago reported multiple water rescues across the city that same weekend, including at 63rd Street Beach and the popular Playpen area. Three other individuals were hospitalized and another person drowned during the same timeframe.
Zahrie was not wearing a life jacket during the incident, something that rekindled debate on boat safety. In 2023, 17% of the fatal boat incidents were a result of consuming alcohol, and lack of wearing a life vest was the number one contributing factor.
“Boat safety is so important… praying for our lost ones,” read one TikTok tribute viewed over 50,000 times.
In the wake of Walls’ passing, organizers of Black Yacht Weekend issued a statement encouraging attendees to wear life jackets and monitor weather forecasts closely. While the event itself was not directly tied to her fall, the community has collectively paused to reflect.
A vigil was held on Chicago’s West Side Sunday night, where friends, family, and clients gathered to light candles and remember Zahrie not only for her talent but for her warmth and drive.
“She changed lives with her hands,”
said longtime client Jasmine R.,
“but more than that, she made people feel beautiful from the inside out.”
As summer heats up and lakes across the U.S. fill with boaters, authorities are urging the public to respect water safety rules and always wear a life vest reminders written now in the memory of Zahrie Walls, a bright light extinguished far too soon.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
