Juliette Powell, who became part of Toronto’s unique cultural fabric as an early MuchMusic VJ and host of Electric Circus, has died at the age of 54.
Her obituary said 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.
Powell was born in Manhattan, New York, in 1970 and later moved to Montreal with her mother when she was eight.
In 1989 she became the first Black Canadian to be crowned Miss Canada and later represented Canada at the Miss Universe pageant.
Her obituary stated that she entered the Miss Canada competition because she was “motivated by a desire to challenge racial biases in beauty pageants.”
In 1992, she began her media career, landing her first gig as a VJ at MusiquePlus.
Four years later she joined MuchMusic in Toronto as a VJ, and went on to host the iconic live dance music show Electric Circus, as well as French Kiss, while at the same time studying economics at the University of Toronto.
She later became a business reporter for CablePulse24, which later became known as CP24.
After leaving Toronto for New York, Powell’s career took a series of exciting turns.
She founded Powell International Entertainment Inc., where she produced segments with the likes of Nelson Mandela and Steven Spielberg, co-authored a section of the UN Plan of Action at the World Conference against Racism, co-authored books, delivered a TEDx talk, taught media, tech and ethics at NYU, and founded a New York City-based consultancy advising on responsible technology and business strategy.
All the while she continued studying, earning a BA in Sociology from Columbia University.
In her application to Columbia, she wrote, “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.”
