On Sept. 10, renowned ballerina Michaela DePrince‘s sudden death at just 29 years old shocked the world. Her cause of death is unknown at this time, but now, a week later, a family spokesperson has confirmed that DePrince’s adoptive mother, Elaine DePrince, also passed away.
“The last few days have been even more difficult than most people realize because the family has also been dealing with the death of Michaela’s adoptive mother Elaine DePrince,” Jessica Volinski wrote via a Facebook post on Sept. 14, according to People.
Volinski’s post also clarified that DePrince died on Sept. 10 and not Sept. 13 as many news outlets reported.
How did Michaela DePrince’s mother die?
What’s remarkable is that Elaine “died during a routine procedure in preparation for a surgery” but had no idea that DePrince already passed away the day before.
“As unbelievable as it may seem, the two deaths were completely unrelated. The only way we can make sense of the senseless is that Elaine, who had already lost three children many years ago, was by the grace of God spared the pain of experiencing the loss of a fourth child,” Volinski’s post read. “What the family is going through right now is truly unimaginably painful. Grieving two family members who died within a 24 hour period is tragic and devastating.”
As Blavity reported, DePrince, once an orphan in Sierra Leone, was adopted by Elaine and her husband Charles — moving to the U.S. at four years old. In 2014, DePrince and her mother released the book Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina.
DePrince trained at the American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. Soon after, she made history as the youngest principal dance at the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Throughout her storied career, DePrince performed with the Boston Ballet and the Dutch National Ballet; she even appeared in Beyoncé’s musical film Lemonade.
