Debbie Nelson, Eminem’s mother passes away at 69!

Published on December 7, 2024 | Published By: shahid | In Death

American singer and rapper, Eminem has lost another close relative. His mother, Debbie Nelson passed away recently. The mother-son duo shared a very turbulent relation. What was the cause of her death?

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Debbie Nelson, Eminem’s mother passes away

Debbie Nelson, the estranged mother of American rapper, Eminem is no more. Eminem’s representative, Dennis Dennehy has confirmed this sad news via an email. She was only 69 years of age at the time of her death.

The details of the email are not shared by the media outlets of the USA. Moreover, the primary cause of her death has not been stated. But it is known that she was suffering from lung cancer for some time now.

Eminem who has the real name of Marshall Mathers III has not shared anything about his mom’s death on his social media. He has made no statement on it. But we do know that the relations of the mother and son were highly strained. They did seem to reconcile towards the end of her life.

Single mother Debbie Nelson’s life

Debbie Nelson’s full name was Deborah Rae Nelson. She was born in Missouri, Kansas in a military base on 6 January, 1955. Her father was in the US air force while her mother was a bartender.

Debbie’s family was dysfunctional. Her parents divorced when she was 9 years of age. Her mother remarried but her stepfather was abusive. Therefore , Debbie fled from home.

She met Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. and the two started a relationship and wed on 20 September, 1970 at her age of 15. The two were in a band together that used to play at Ramada Inns at the Dakotas–Montana border.

And two years later, on 17 October 1972, Eminem was born. Debbie and her husband Marshall Jr. divorced when Eminem was just one year of age.

Poverty gripped the family. Debbie shifted from one state to another with her son. Eminem’s education also suffered due to this repeated shuffling of homes. Ultimately, they settled in Detroit.

Debbie was in a relationship with Fred Samara and their son, Nathan Mathers was born in 1986. Later, she married John Briggs and had a taxi company in Missouri.

The relation highlights of the pair, Debbie and son Eminem

Eminem grew up to become a famous rapper. Quite a few of his songs talked about his tumultuous relations with his mother.

The popular song My Name Is and Cleanin’ out my Closet (2002) dealt about this strained relation of Eminem with his mother. Eminem had accused his mother of neglect of care and drug addiction. His Cleanin’ out my closet song went thus:

“Witnessin’ your mama poppin’ prescription pills in the kitchen.”

Later, the lyrics of the song add:

“trying to take what you didn’t help me to get.”

In Eminem’s semi-autobiographical film named 8 Mile, there was a mother figure that was alcoholic. Kim Basinger had played that role and the character resembled Debbie. After witnessing all this, Debbie sued her son of defamation and asked for USD 10 million compensation for damages to her reputation.

However, the case was settled out of court and Eminem paid her USD 25k.

In 2008, Debbie released her memoir called My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem. In it, she revealed that his songs had left her heartbroken. She added that she was a single mother who always wished the best for her son. But he never acknowledged all that she did for him and only defamed her through his songs.

Debbie stated that Eminem has decided to forget all the good times that they had spent together during his childhood days. As the anger subsided, Eminem apologized to his mother though his song in 2013 called Headlights.

And in 2022, Debbie had congratulated her son during his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In a video that Billboard shared, Debbie is seen saying:

“I love you very much. I knew you’d get there. It’s been a long ride. I’m very, very proud of you.”

Short bio on Debbie Nelson

Debbie Nelson is a musical artist from the USA who owned a taxi company in Missouri. She also is the mother of the famous rapper, Eminem. More bio…

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