Eminem's mother Debbie Nelson dead at 69
Debbie Nelson, Eminem's mother, has died. She was 69 years old.
Eminem performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California.
Eminem's mother Debbie Mathers during a portrait session at her house in September, 2005 in Detroit, Michigan.
TMZ was the first to report the story. According to the publication, Nelson died in St. Joseph, Missouri, from symptoms connected to severe lung cancer. Billboard has contacted the Medical Examiner's Office. Reports of her cancer diagnosis emerged earlier in 2024.
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Nelson was the oldest of five children, born on a military installation in Kansas. She married Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. as a teenager and gave birth to Eminem (born Marshall Mathers) on October 17, 1972.
Em and his mother had a tumultuous relationship throughout his youth and throughout his Hall of Fame career. On hits like "Cleanin' Out My Closet" and "My Name Is," the Detroit rap legend mocked his mother.
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Nelson sued her son for slander in 1999, demanding $11 million. Although the judge decided in her favor, she was only granted $25,000 in 2001 and received much less after legal expenses, according to ABC News.
She also revealed a significant part of her relationship with Eminem in her candid 2007 memoir, My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem.
Em has openly offered an olive branch to his mother while lamenting how he had handled their relationship over the years on tracks like 2013's "Headlights."
"And I'm mad I didn't get the chance to thank you for being my mom and dad/ So Mom, please accept this as a tribute I wrote on this jet," he raps on the Marshall Mathers LP 2 track.
In recent years, Nelson congratulated her son on his entrance into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. "Marshall, I want to say, I could not let this day go by without congratulating you on your induction into the Hall of Fame," she said in a video greeting at the time. "I love you very much. I knew you'd make it there. It's been a long ride. I'm quite proud of you. I am also very pleased of [granddaughter] Hailie Jade, my big girl. Hailie, fantastic work on your program, and God bless you. I love you very much." PA
