the story of Zoe Roth, the disaster girls of the popular meme

We continue to talk about the heroes of cult memes and “meme” characters from the world of the Internet (which, of course, is “not necessary”). Today we want to pay attention to Zoe Roth. She became famous as the girl who allegedly started the fire. Her sly smile against the backdrop of a burning house has spread all over the internet. In this article we will tell you how this picture was taken and how it influenced the fate of the girl.

At the first glance at the photo it becomes clear why it has become so popular. There is a feeling that the girl herself set fire to the house and is clearly proud of her act.

The history of photography is trivial. In 2005, when Zoe was four years old, her family learned that there had been a fire in the area. Together with her parents and brother, the girl approached the burning house, where it turned out that no catastrophe had happened. So they just got rid of the building to clear a construction site.

Zoya’s father was fond of photography and took a few shots of a burning house, then invited his daughter to pose against his background. Dad told the girl to smile, and she portrayed that signature grin. The frame turned out to be successful, so it was decided to send it to several publications for publication. And the editor really liked the frame. The most resounding success was taking first place in JPG magazine (it’s worth explaining: yes, JPG is the name of the American gloss) among photos that captured vivid emotions. The competition took place in 2008.

Zoya brought this issue of the magazine to school and was immediately surrounded by the attention of her classmates. At that moment she felt famous. But the girl did not even know what awaits her in the near future.

Thanks to its publication in the print press, the photo became world famous and became a meme. Users cut out Zoe’s face and combined it with other images, adding new objects to the original frame, such as the Hindenburg Airship. Well, or just limited to funny inscriptions.

There were those who thought that Zoe was really to blame for something. But her entourage knew the background of the photo, so no one took such accusations seriously.

At the same time, the girl herself was never against using her cunning smile. In addition, she is not shy of fame and periodically participates in various shows where such meme heroes are collected. There, Zoe again portrays the trademark grin. True, in an adult girl she no longer produces that ambiguous effect.

It should be noted that similar programs were also broadcast in Russia on federal TV channels, especially on April 1. Also note the huge portrait of Zoya in Portugal on the wall of one of the houses.

Unlike Hasbeek, which we talked about recently, Zoe failed to convert her popularity into a stable source of income for a long time. She is known to work in a restaurant in a humble position.

But then the popularity of NFT technology happened, and our heroine finally managed to earn money. NFT technology involves monetization of various images. The girl, together with her father and specialists, discussed the possible cost of her photo against the background of a fire. On April 21, 2021, the photo was sold for $470,000. In addition, Zoya’s family will receive 10% of the amount of any further resale of this NFT token. According to the girl, the money went to pay for her college education.

And what collages with Zoe’s participation do you remember? Share photos in the comments (but only decent ones)! At the same time, you can talk about other heroes of Internet memes that you like. Perhaps we will devote the next article to one of them.