Juliette Powell, a trailblazing media personality who became a defining part of Toronto’s cultural landscape as an early MuchMusic VJ and host of Electric Circus, has passed away at the age of 54.
To help family. Even 2$ help.Her obituary states that she died “unexpectedly” from acute bacterial meningitis on June 3, 2025, in New York.
“Her loss is devastating, and she will be deeply, painfully missed by so many,” the obituary reads.
Born in Manhattan, New York, in 1970, Powell moved to Montreal with her mother at the age of eight.
In 1989, she made history as the first Black Canadian to be crowned Miss Canada and later represented the country at the Miss Universe pageant. According to her obituary, she entered the competition “motivated by a desire to challenge racial biases in beauty pageants.”
Powell launched her media career in 1992 as a VJ at MusiquePlus. Four years later, she joined MuchMusic in Toronto, where she became a beloved host of Electric Circus and French Kiss, all while studying economics at the University of Toronto. She later transitioned into business reporting at CablePulse24, which eventually became CP24.
After moving to New York, Powell’s career expanded in remarkable ways. She founded Powell International Entertainment Inc., producing segments featuring figures such as Nelson Mandela and Steven Spielberg. She co-authored a section of the UN Plan of Action at the World Conference against Racism, wrote books, delivered a TEDx talk, taught media, technology, and ethics at NYU, and established a consultancy focused on responsible technology and business strategy.
Throughout her career, she remained committed to education, earning a BA in Sociology from Columbia University. In her application to Columbia, she reflected on her upbringing, writing, “Neither my mother nor my father had a high school education, but they insisted that I was not Black or White, Canadian or American, French or English, Catholic or Jewish, but rather that I was blessed to be all of those things as a citizen of the world.”
Powell is survived by “a myriad of loving friends, colleagues, and collaborators, who are all heartbroken, and her beloved dog, Tyra Banks.”