Debbie Nelson, the mother of rap superstar Eminem, has died. She was 69.
A representative for Eminem confirmed to People that Nelson died last night (December 2) in St Joseph, Missouri. The cause of death was given as complications from lung cancer.
It was reported in September that Nelson was “terminally ill” and didn’t have long to live.
Eminem’s relationship with his mother was famously tumultuous, and he often depicted her in his lyrics as unstable and difficult. The refrain of his 2002 single “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” went: “I'm sorry, Mama / I never meant to hurt you / I never meant to make you cry / But tonight I'm cleanin' out my closet.”
‘I’m sorry, Mama’: How Eminem’s mother Debbie Nelson became a character in his music
In 2008, Nelson published a tell-all memoir about her life and her experiences with the rapper, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, titled My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem: Setting the Record Straight on My Life as Eminem’s Mother.
Nelson claimed in her memoir that much of what her son had said about her was concocted or exaggerated in order to aid his rise as a rapper. She said she had sued him in 2000 for defamation in order to raise money to stop the foreclosure of her house. She also said she was not angry at her son.
“If I made one mistake as a mother, it was giving in to my eldest son’s every whim,” writes Nelson in the book.
“He never knew his father, and I did all I could to make up for it. I wasn’t happy when he made up a whole new life for himself — what mother wants to be known as a pill-popping alcoholic who lives on welfare? To tell the truth, I was heartbroken.
“The lies started coming thick and fast — and not just from Marshall. ... I think he’s forgotten the good times we had, and this book is my way of setting the record straight.”
Nelson was born in 1955 on a military base in Kansas to parents Betty Hixson and Bob Nelson. She worked at various jobs throughout her life including owning a taxi limousine company.
She was known as Debbie Mathers at the time of Eminem’s birth, but reverted to her maiden name Debbie Nelson after realizing she had become famous through her son’s lyrics.
‘I’m sorry, Mama’: How Eminem’s mother Debbie Nelson became a character in his music
She is survived by her sons Marshall Mathers and Nathan Samra-Mathers, and her grandchildren Hailie Jade, Alaina Marie Mathers and Stevie Laine.
