Mariah Carey pays tribute to the death of her mother and sister on the same day
Mariah Carey has announced that her mother and sister have died. (Getty)
Mariah Carey has announced that her mother and sister died on the same day.
On Monday evening (August 26), the Grammy-winning singer told People magazine that her mother Patricia and older sister Alison both died over the weekend.
“I am heartbroken to have lost my mother this past weekend. Unfortunately, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life the same day,” she said. “I feel blessed to have been able to spend the last week with my mother before she passed away. I am grateful for everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time.”
No cause of death was given for either woman.
Patricia, a trained opera singer and singing teacher, was 87 years old. Mariah’s father Alfred died of cancer in 2002. The pop superstar had a turbulent relationship with her mother.
In her memoirs The meaning of Mariah Carey, She wrote that professional “jealousy” had arisen between her and Patricia.
“Like many aspects of my life, my journey with my mother was full of contradictions and competing realities. It was never just black and white, it was a whole rainbow of emotions,” she said.
However, they eventually reconciled and Carey dedicated her book to her mother. “For Pat, my mother, who did her best despite everything. I will always love you as much as I can,” she wrote on the inside cover.
According to the New York newspaper Times Union, 63-year-old Alison was in a hospice at the time of her death.
The sisters’ relationship was also strained. Carey wrote in her book that it was “safer” for her not to have contact with Alison or her younger brother Morgan.
Following the publication of Carey’s memoir, Alison sued the “All I Want For Christmas Is You” hitmaker, citing “immense emotional distress” and calling the book “heartless, malicious” and “vindictive.” She demanded £1.1 million (about $1.25 million at the time) in damages, but the case never went to court.
Carey begins her Christmas Time tour in the USA in November.
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