Debbie Nelson, Eminem's Mother, Dies at 69

Debbie Nelson, mother of rapper Eminem, has passed away. She was 69 years old.

A representative for Eminem confirms to PEOPLE that Nelson passed away on the evening of Monday, December 2, in St. Joseph, Mo., from complications related to lung cancer. TMZ first broke the news of Nelson’s death.

News of her illness was first reported by multiple media in September.

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Nelson was born in 1955 on a military base in Kan. and said she grew up in a “big dysfunctional family,” according to her 2008 memoir. My son Marshall, my son Eminem. Her parents split up before she was 10, she wrote in the book, leaving her with the responsibility of taking care of the family as the oldest of five children.

At the age of 16, she married Eminem’s father, Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. Two years later, she welcomed the “Lose Yourself” rapper in 1972.

Debbie Nelson in September 2005 in Detroit, Michigan.

Mark Weiss/Getty

Eminem, 52, and Nelson had a rocky relationship during her lifetime. He allegedly called her out in his 2002 song “Cleanin’ Out My Closet,” which led to Nelson suing her son for $11 million for defamation.

ABC News reported that the judge ruled in her favor, but that Nelson only received $25,000 of the $11 million she was seeking. In the end, she was only entitled to about $1,600 after legal fees.

Eminem attends Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s star ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 30, 2020; mine’s mother Debbie Mathers during a portrait outside her home in September 2005 in Detroit, Michigan.

Kurt Krieger/Corbis/Getty; Mark Weiss/Getty

Nelson reflected on a reconciliation with Eminem in a 2008 interview The Village Voice. “There is hope for everyone,” she said at the time. “It’s about swallowing your pride. It’s like a cashed check. It’s over, it’s over. You’ve got to move on.”

When the rapper released the song “Headlights” in 2013, fans speculated that he was apologizing to Nelson. “And I’m angry that I didn’t have the chance to thank you for being my mom and dad,” he sings in one part of the song. “So mom, please accept this as a confession I wrote on this jet.”

Debbie Nelson 2005

Mark Weiss/Getty

In the past years, she celebrated her son from afar. When he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, she congratulated him online.

“Marshall, I want to say that I couldn’t let this day go by without congratulating you on your induction into the Hall of Fame,” she said in the video, which has since been deleted.

Who was Eminem’s mom? All about Debbie Nelson

“I love you so much. I knew you would make it. It’s been a long ride,” Nelson added at the time. – I am very, very proud of you.

Eminem’s estranged father died in 2019 at the age of 67. Along with Eminem, Nelson is survived by his son, Nathan Mathers.

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Source: HIS Education