Grumpy Cat dies: Viral feline was a big hit with Hollywood

Actors Michael Ian Black and Angela Kinsey pose with Grumpy Cat at the Friskies awards show in New York in 2013.

May 17, 2019 9:56 AM PT

Grumpy Cat, the feline who built an empire off of her permanently ticked-off expression, was more than a hit with everyday fans: She was a sweetheart in Hollywood, too, showing up in selfies taken by the “American Idol” crew, at SXSW and during promotional appearances.

Grumpy Cat died Tuesday at age 7 due to complications from a urinary tract infection, her owner, Tabatha Bundeson, said Friday on Instagram. The cat’s real name, for the record, was Tardar Sauce, and she was chosen Meme of the Year in 2013 at the Webby Awards.

“Besides being our baby and a cherished member of the family, “ Bundeson wrote, “Grumpy Cat has helped millions of people smile all around the world — even when times were tough.”

The famous smiles, however, did get a bit, well, grumpy. Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Seacrest and Harry Connick Jr. put on sourpusses for a GC selfie when the cat visited “Idol” in 2014.

Michael Ian Black of “Insatiable” and Angela Kinsey of “The Office” posed with Grumpy Cat at the Friskies awards in New York in 2013, while Stan Lee crossed paths with the kitty at his comics convention in 2015.

Conan O’Brien met Grumpy Cat once in 2014 at the MTV Movie Awards, and it was, of course, awful. Hulk Hogan held the kitty at a licensing expo, showing off how similar his mustache was to the cat’s visage. Oscar the Grouch shared the screen with the furry celebrity in 2015.

Meanwhile, Ian Somerhalder of “The Vampire Diaries,” a known cat guy, simply fell in love. No grumpy look from him. (Just don’t trust any selfie with Peter Dinklage — Grumpy Cat never met the “Game of Thrones” star, and the widely circulated pic was a hoax.)

Any why shouldn’t the cat have had famous friends? After all, she was a movie sensation in her own right, starring in the 2014 Lifetime movie “Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever” (voiced by Aubrey Plaza).

She appeared on shows including “The Bachelorette,” “Anderson Live” with Anderson Cooper and “Watch What Happens Live” with Andy Cohen, and did commercials for Honey Nut Cheerios and Friskies. The cat has an IMDb page, for goodness sake.

Here are some more snapshots of Grumpy’s short but sweet reign.