HEART-WRENCHING

‘Masterchef Junior’ Star Ben Watkins Dies at 14 After Battle With Cancer

Ben Watkins had just turned 14 in September.

Ben Watkins, a 14-year-old aspiring chef who starred in season six of the show Masterchef Junior, has died after battling a rare form of cancer. Watkins, who had just turned 14 in September, was diagnosed with angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma after winning over fans of the culinary show when he was just 11 years old. He spent a year and a half undergoing treatment for the rare cancer before passing away on Monday, his family said. “We were praying for a different outcome,” his legal guardian, Anthony Edwards, told the Chicago Tribune. “But Ben’s lungs could no longer give him the air he needed to breathe. It’s been devastating.” Although Watkins lost both his parents in a murder-suicide in 2017, his family said he remained resilient through the tragedy, describing himself as “one of the lucky ones” because he still had other loved ones to care for him.