Nara Smith knows there's no such thing as a picture-perfect life.
The 24-year-old model—who shares four children with husband Lucky Blue Smith—found influencer fame with TikToks in which she's impeccably dressed while whipping up mouthwatering dishes and household items like candles from scratch, all set to her own dulcet narration. But her latest update was a raw look at what's been happening with her family behind the scenes.
Nara has shared that her daughter Whimsy Lou, 2, was diagnosed with cancer toward the end of last year, not long after she gave birth to her fourth child, daughter Fawnie Golden. She and Lucky also share daughter Rumble Honey, 5, and son Slim Easy, 3, plus he's dad to daughter Gravity, 8, with ex Stormi Bree.
“Processing this and navigating all of this as a family has been really hard,” Nara said in a July 1 video. “A lot of you have probably realized I’ve been posting a little bit less and this is the reason why. Having found all of this out and navigating this while postpartum, also loving and caring for our other kids at home, also being in the hospital with Whimsy a lot and balancing work on top of that has been really challenging."
Not least because she's known for creating scenes of domestic bliss, harmonious tableaux with an effortless vibe but that also beg the question, how is she doing that?
"Keep going and doing what you love," Nara advised on a July 2025 episode of On Purpose With Jay Shetty, "and essentially something is going to stick at some point."
But though her rise to online stardom has felt meteorically fast, Nara pointed out that she's been on Instagram since she was 13 (and, shh, claimed to be 14 so she could start posting) and she has no idea why a video of Lucky cutting an apple went viral two years ago.
Originally she was sprinkling in food content amid fashion and beauty videos—morning routines, outfits of the day, etc.—but her cooking demos have since become the main course.
Her first viral cooking video featured her making bread, butter and peach jam—all from scratch—for her kids, she said on On Purpose. And, she recalled, "the voice was more present because my baby was sleeping next to me."
The voice is the soft, mellow ASMR monotone she uses to describe what she's doing, whether that's whipping up dippin' dots in the middle of the night or demonstrating which Chanel products she uses to freshen her skin on the go.
"Whether it’s a meal idea, or a home-cooked meal I’ve made my toddler, or my soothing voice, or whatever it is," she told GQ in 2024, "I just put content out there to inspire people."
What was a legitimate whirlwind, however, was Nara's road to building a family with Lucky.
Born Nara Pellmann, she was 18 when the Utah-born model slid into her DMs toward the end of 2019, after which they exchanged numbers and started texting.
Then 21, Lucky was "the crappiest texter," Nara cracked on On Purpose, but their first phone call lasted for seven hours. They talked every day despite Lucky being in Los Angeles and Nara in Germany, where the South African-born model grew up.
Two weeks after their first call, they found out they were scheduled to be at the same fashion show in Milan.
On the same day they met in person, Lucky asked her to be his girlfriend (she warned him she was going to take his offer very seriously), and on the day he met her parents, he asked Nara's father for permission to marry her. She then flew out to L.A. to meet his parents, they got engaged two weeks later and, two months after that, they got married in February 2020.
"It was so crazy, so quick," she acknowledged, "but so great, and now here we are five years later."
Having their first child, Nara said, "was really us learning how to communicate better, how to be there for each other, how to be less stubborn, how to be more loving and compassionate."
She wasn't hankering to become a mom but, once she met Lucky, Nara said, "that's when everything clicked."
Slim was born Jan. 6, 2022, and then Whimsy arrived on April 8, 2024.
Nara revealed that she was pregnant with baby No. 4 in June 2025, later quipping in a TikTok that it was "getting harder to name children," but she'd be sticking with the two-words-that-go-together formula.
They announced Oct. 11 that the newly renovated Connecticut farmhouse they moved into last year was a little fuller.
"She’s here!" Nara wrote on Instagram, introducing Fawnie Golden. "Welcome to the world little angel."
She had planned to give birth at home, calmly intoning in a Sept. 21 TikTok as the space started coming together, "It's time to get everything ready."
Meanwhile, with Nara having admitted that her latest pregnancy was a surprise, Lucky told People in March that they both thought they were "really done after three."
“And to be honest," the 27-year-old added, "four has been an adjustment.”
But while it was "really tricky to navigate," Lucky said, he and Nara were “finally hitting our stride with it.”
But while this might all sound very tradwife on its face, Nara said she was baffled when someone called her life "traditional," because she wasn't trying to fit into any historic mold when she became a mom at 19.
"I'm like, 'What do you mean?!'" she said on On Purpose. "We split chores. I work, my husband works, we have children, we split everything. I cook because I love to, not because I have to, and Lucky cleans."
The idea that she was trying to set some sort of example "never even crossed my mind," she continued, "because I've always been such a believer in having people make their own choices and never judging someone else based on how they choose to live their life."
But if anyone's inspired to slip on a curve-hugging lace gown and throw together homemade orange chicken after watching Nara make it look impossibly easy, so be it.
"It's just me being in the kitchen sharing my love of cooking," she explained, "but also wearing outfits that you probably typically wouldn't wear in the kitchen."
And Nara is grateful for the online community she has found as she navigates her daughter's cancer treatment, as well as the outpouring of good wishes coming from the countless people already invested in her journey.
“We wanted to share this to hopefully bring someone else that comfort—or even hopefully incentivize you to go check something out that you’ve been avoiding,” Nara said in her July 1 update. “I hope that by sharing this I can bring someone a little bit of comfort and make you feel a little less alone on your journey—whatever that may be."
And no one battling cancer is alone. See all the celebrities who've been through it:
The All My Children alum announced in January 2025 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his third cancer diagnosis throughout his life.
Despite the devastating news, he announced (for the third time) in February 2025 he was cancer-free following successful surgery and treatments.
“Remember, you’re not defined by any of your challenges," he wrote in his February 2025 Instagram update. "You’re grander than it all. I’m not my fear, my anxiousness or my scars but I embrace it all because the only way to transform it is to own it.”
The former Golden Bachelor star shared in Dec. 2024 that he had been diagnosed with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, a bone cancer.
"Unfortunately, there's no cure for it,” Gerry noted to People at the time. “So that weighs heavily in every decision I make. It was like 10 tons of concrete were just dropped on me. And I was a bit in denial for a while, I didn't want to admit to it.”
"I had to have a lil bit o'cancer removed from my body and lymph nodes biopsied," the Vanderpump Rules star revealed to fans at the close of 2018. "(In the clear now!)"
The Up All Night star was declared "100-percent clear" of breast cancer after treatment and a double mastectomy.
The actor, known for roles in The Boys and Supernatural, shared on Feb. 3, 2023, that he had battled prostate cancer for years and was cancer free.
The Desperate Housewives star revealed to fans in September 2018 that she survived anal cancer. "After posting a picture of myself here and uttering the words #cancer and #hairloss, I feel liberated, deliriously free and completely me," she shared on Instagram.
The two-time Oscar winner underwent successful treatment for cancer, and his rep confirmed to E! News that doctors deemed Hoffman "surgically cured."
The X-Men star was treated for his third basal cell carcinoma back in 2014, and after his third treatment, Jackman's rep told E! News that he's "all good" now.
In April 2023, Hugh had two biopsies for additional basal cell carcinoma. At the time, he told fans, "If I can just take this opportunity to remind you summer is coming for those of us in the northern hemisphere, please wear sunscreen."
The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star celebrated one year of being cancer-free in January. The mother of two was diagnosed with endometrial cancer back in 2013 and underwent a radical hysterectomy.
Then in 2017, Camille had surgery to remove Squamous Cell Carcinoma, a type of skin cancer.
Alongside a pair of photos that show a line of stitches running from the bottom of his ear to his jaw, which he later covered with a bandage, the British celebrity chef shared that he underwent a procedure to treat skin cancer.
“Grateful and so appreciative for the incredible team at The Skin Associates and their fast reactive work on removing this Basal Cell Carcinoma,” Gordon wrote on Instagram August 2025. “Please don’t forget your sunscreen this weekend.”
“I promise you it’s not a face lift,” he added. “I’d need a refund…”
The Avengers: Age of Ultron actress battled ovarian cancer at the age of 25 and overcome odds when she welcomed two children with husband Taran Killam.
TV host reveals he underwent surgery for prostate cancer in July 2013 and has since been given a clean bill of health.
The Dancing with the Stars cohost underwent successful surgery for thyroid cancer. The mother of four tweeted, "Thx for all the twitter love. I'm [home] recovering & resting."
"MY DR CALLED ME ON A SAT. MORNING TO TELL ME I AM CANCER FREE!!!!! #wootothemotherf--kinhoo," the actress tweeted after receiving the good news.
The Dexter star used a hiatus from his hit series to slay Hodgkin's lymphoma.
The Australian actress revealed in October 2011 that she had a cancerous mole removed from her calf after her hubby encouraged her to get the suspicious-looking mark checked out.
The Scot is trainspotting just fine these days after having a cancerous mole removed from beneath his right eye.
The singer beat breast cancer in 2004 with a "minimally invasive" lumpectomy and radiation therapy.
The Oscar winner declared in early 2011 that his tumor was gone and he had throat cancer "beat."
Surely the CNN veteran wears his SPF when he's braving the elements now after having a cancerous growth removed from under his left eye in 2008.
The Australian pop star underwent successful surgery for breast cancer in 2005.
The 7th Heaven star was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease when he was only 28. He's 50 now and looking good!
The ER fave had to abandon her role in Parenthood to fight breast cancer in 2009—but her treatment was a success and she was back on the red carpet in no time.
The America's Got Talent judge was diagnosed with colon cancer while shooting The Osbournes in 2002 and used the opportunity to stress the importance of regular screenings while attacking the #@%! with chemotherapy. She was declared cancer-free the following year.
The Oscar winner took prostate cancer down, down to Chinatown, in 2003, and has been in about 400 movies since then.
The Good Morning America cohost proudly flaunted her smooth scalp while undergoing chemotherapy to treat breast cancer in 2007.
The champion cyclist battled back from stage-four testicular cancer before winning seven straight Tour de France titles.
The Grammy and Oscar winner became an inspiring activist after a lumpectomy and chemotherapy cleared her of breast cancer in 2005.
The former Saturday Night Live standout mined her breast cancer battle for comedic material that turned into God Said Ha!, her successful one-woman show that eventually went to Broadway.
(Originally published Sept. 27, 2025 at 3 a.m. PT)