It has been confirmed that Debbie Nelson, the mother of famous rapper Eminem, has died.
Debbie Nelson, best known publicly for her rocky relationship with Eminem, died at 69, She passed away on Monday night in St. Joseph, Missouri, according to reports.
News of Debbie Nelson’s death was confirmed by Eminem’s spokesperson, Dennis Dennehy, on Tuesday; her demise comes after a years-long battle with lung cancer.
Nelson was born in 1955 at a military base in Kansas. Her turbulent relationship with her son, Marshall Mathers III, has been well-documented since the Detroit rapper rose to prominence.
Eminem has made fun of his mother in songs like 2002’s “Cleaning Out My Closet.” Eminem sings, “I saw your mama popping prescription medications in the kitchen… My entire life, I was led to feel I was ill when I was not.”
In the lyrics to his Oscar-winning hit “Lose Yourself” from the film “8 Mile,” his feelings appear to have simmered, evoking his “mom’s spaghetti.” The song won Best Rap Song at the 2004 Grammy Awards.
Nelson filed and resolved two defamation cases over Eminem’s accusations against her in periodicals and on radio talk shows.
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In her 2008 book, “My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem,” she attempted to set the record straight by telling readers about the rapper’s early childhood, claiming that Eminem had forgotten the happy moments they shared.
“Marshall and I were so close that friends and relatives commented that it was as if the umbilical cord had never been cut,” she wrote. She also detailed her own childhood, describing a violent home life in which her dad’s mother, who she spent summers with, was “the one woman in my large, dysfunctional family to show us kids love.”
Eminem, who is yet to open up about his mother’s death, is, however, scheduled to perform Saturday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the United Arab Emirates.
