7 Things You Should Know About Jim Carrey's Ex Who Committed Suicide

Suicide has a ripple effect: even if the person who takes their life isn't someone who's close to you, it affects you. We remark how sad and tragic their suicide was, how the life ended was too short, and we wonder if there was anything that could've been done to prevent this senseless death.

We think of the loved ones left behind and we mourn for all of them. It's practically impossible for us, the outsiders, to imagine being in a place where suicide appears to be your best option. 

Understanding is something the suicidal need desperately, but only seem to get after their death. There have been a number of suicides in my family, and their deaths have become what they're remembered for — they become suicide famous in our family history.

Cathriona White was Jim Carrey's ex-girlfriend, which is why her death first became news. Now she's far more famous then she was when she was fame-adjacent.

But Cathriona White was a real life person with hopes, dreams, and things that made her feel joy. She was more than a famous actor's ex who ended her own life. What makes her death even sadder (if that's possible) was that September is Suicide Prevention Month, and that she'd just turned 30.

Jim Carrey released a statement that said, "I am shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of my sweet Cathriona. She was a truly kind and delicate Irish flower, too sensitive for this soil, to whom loving and being loved as all that sparkled."

Here are 7 things about Cathriona White that make her much more than just a footnote in suicide history:

1. She was a proud Irish lass. Cathriona came from the village of Cappawhite, in the county of Tipperary, Ireland. There's a song called "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" that was sung by the British soldiers during the first World War. She seemed proud of her Irish roots since her Instagram and Twitter was LittleIrishCat.

2. She was a positive person. Cathriona had an optimistic outlook on life. On her Instagram were the words Love, Learn, Laugh a Lot, Be Creative, Be Silly, Be Kind, See the World.

3. She worked as a make-up artist. But she also had other aspirations, and was interested in all kinds of things like biking, traveling, cooking, and Transcendental Meditation.

4. She took breath-taking photographs. Her Instagram is full of pictures of stunning outdoor photos, selfies with clients, and of things like artistically posed shoes. She had an artist's ability to see beauty in random bits and pieces of life.

5. She was family-orientated. Cathriona often posted pictures of her nieces, nephews and sister. She tweeted, "My sister is the most stunning bride I have ever seen."

6. She was a Scientologist. Cathriona had (allegedly) gotten involved with Scientology four or five years ago, through members of musician Beck's band, and was in the process of taking an intensive survival Scientology course. A year ago, she participated in the Scientology detoxification program Purif (a treatment that's unproven and potentially dangerous, as it involves sauna treatments and exercises designed to sweat out toxins in the body).

7. She and Jim Carrey dated on and off again since 2012. Cathriona and Jim Carrey started dating when they first met and dated for about a year before breaking it off. Two years later, they reportedly got back together. Carrey's name is mentioned (in what capacity hasn't been disclosed) in a suicide note found by her body.

On her Instagram, Cathriona posted this quote from the Irish poet W. B. Yeats. Alongside the quote is a beautiful vase bursting with tiny white flowers: "Faeries, come take me out of this dull world, For I would ride with you upon the wind, Run on top of the disheveled tide, and dance upon the mountains like a flame."