Nicole Taylor of country music trio Taylor Red dies at 35

Nicole Taylor, a member of the country music trio Taylor Red, has died after battling breast cancer for the past four years, according to her sisters and fellow bandmates.

“We are shocked and heartbroken to announce the passing of our sister,” said Nika Taylor and Natalie Taylor in a social media post published on Monday. “She’s at peace and no longer suffering, so we’re thankful for that.”

Originally from Mississippi, identical triplets Nicole, Natalie, and Nika first began making music together in 2010 under the name Red Roots before renaming their band Taylor Red 8 years later, and eventually moving to Nashville, Tennessee.

The country music trio became immensely popular online after their song “Country Money” went viral on social media in 2021. A year later, Nicole was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.

“I remember we were out in a public place, and she got a phone call from the nurse about her biopsy results,” Natalie said as part of a 10-minute social media video she did with Nika opening up about their sister’s death. “And she was like, ‘You have cancer.’ I remember just breaking down in utter shock.”

“If you know anybody with cancer, there’s so many MRIs, scans, treatments, appointments that you have to go through, and it’s very stressful,” Nika said in the video.

Nicole’s cancer eventually progressed to stage 4, the sisters said.

According to the band’s website, Nicole died on Sept. 28 and her family held a private funeral service afterwards.

“Nicole told us soon before she passed that she had peace, and we are really thankful for that,” Natalie said.