Woman from 'smiling disaster girl' meme sold original photo for a massive payout

In today's world, memes really are the bread and butter of life on social media.

Some of them are more memorable and funny than others, which is unfortunate for the person(s) involved.

Just ask Take That singer Gary Barlow as, if you've got TikTok, you'll know all too well about the infamous 'day out' meme.

All good memes come and go, which is probably good for the unfortunate soul who features in them, but for a lucky few, a huge payout is in their future.

The name Zoë Roth might not initially ring any bells, but there is a very good chance you've seen one particular photo of her.

Recognise this photo? Of course you do. (David Roth)

When Roth was just four-years-old, her family went to look at a house on fire in their neighborhood in Mebane, North Carolina.

While fires are, of course, never good, firefighters had intentionally set the blaze as a controlled fire, so it was a more relaxed affair.

Neighbors gathered from within the local community, with children even allowed to take turns holding the hose.

Roth was watching the house slowly become engulfed by flames when her father asked her to pose for a photograph.

I mean, the last thing you'd think to do in front of a house burning down is to take

some snaps.

But as this was a controlled fire, the picture taking, I suppose, is more acceptable.

With a knowing look in her eyes, Roth posed with a devilish smile as the fire continued to burn behind her.

This is when the meme known as 'Disaster Girl' was born.

The cheeky snap quickly became viral after Dave Roth, Zoë's father, entered it in a photo contest in 2007 and won.

Zoë Roth is now a fully grown adult. (Noam Galai/Getty Images for BuzzFeed)

As a result, the image has been edited into various disasters in history, and a meme was well and truly born.

Roth's grinning has since been seen as overlay as a meteor wipes out the dinosaurs or the Titanic sinks in the distance.

The 'Disaster Girl' returned to the headlines in 2021 as a fully grown adult because she sold the original copy of her meme.

She sold it as a non-fungible token, or NFT, for nearly $500,000.

Speaking to the New York Times, Roth said she has enjoyed seeing the hundreds of version of her picture.

And to be honest, there's no surprise considering the amount she's made off it.

"You just make it fit however you want to fit it," she said.

"I love seeing them because I'd never make any of them myself, but I love seeing how creative people are."