Iyanla Vanzant has announced the death of her youngest daughter, Nisa Vanzant.
“It is with great sorrow that we announce the transition of Nisa Vanzant the youngest daughter of our Beloved Iyanla Vanzant,” a post shared on the life coach’s Instagram said on Sunday.
“We are asking for your prayers. Please respect the privacy of her and her family at this time. Thank you,” the message continued. A photo was posted with the announcement, in which a burning white candle appeared alongside the words, “Nisa Vanzant 1974-2023.”
No further details on the circumstances surrounding Nisa’s death have been shared.
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The death of Iyanla’s daughter comes 20 years after her daughter Gemmia died at the age of 32 from colon cancer on Christmas Day in 2003.
Iyanla reflected on Gemmia’s death when she appeared on the Making Space with Hoda Kotb podcast in 2021. “God must’ve really, really trusted me to give me a soul to bring into life and to trust me with the courage to send her out,” Iyanla said on the podcast.
Nisa Vanzant Instagram
In 2014, the Iyanla: Fix My Life host recalled how she found journals of Gemmia’s after her death, which Iyanla said “saved my life.”
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“Because I was really ready to leave out of here,” Iyanla told Oprah Winfrey during a 2014 episode of Super Soul Sunday, according to the Huffington Post. “I have had so much pain in my life, I didn’t think I could sustain another hour.”
Iyanla also has a son named Damon, 53.
Iyanla began her career as a public defender, which led to a radio-hosting gig, and eventually, a recurring guest spot on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the 1990s. She then launched her own talk show, Iyanla, in 2001. Following that, Iyanla returned with Iyanla: Fix My Life, which ran for 10 seasons from 2012 to 2021 on Winfrey’s network OWN.
Back in 2013, Iyanla spoke further about dealing with her daughter Gemmia’s death. “I knew she was dying, but she didn’t know,” Iyanla told PEOPLE at the time. “Every day for 15 months I’d cared for her. After that, what do you do? For six months I didn’t get out of bed.”
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Relying heavily on her faith, Iyanla ultimately recovered from that trying time in her life “with prayer and forgiveness,” she told PEOPLE.
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Source: HIS Education