December 4, 2024: Eminem’s mother, Debbie Nelson, has passed away at the age of 69 on December 2, 2024, due to complications related to lung cancer, according to a statement from the rapper’s representative.
Debbie Nelson was born in 1955 and married Eminem’s father, Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr., when she was just 16. Two years later, in 1972, she gave birth to the rapper, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III.
Throughout his career, Eminem’s relationship with his mother was marked by turbulence and public conflict. The rapper infamously called out his mother in his 2002 hit “Cleanin’ Out My Closet,” which led to a lawsuit from Nelson for defamation, seeking USD 11 million in damages. Despite the strained relationship, Nelson expressed hopes for reconciliation in a 2008 interview with The Village Voice, saying, “There’s hope for everybody” and emphasizing the importance of moving on and swallowing pride.
In 2013, Eminem released the song “Headlights,” which many interpreted as an apology to his mother. In the track, he sings, “And I’m mad I didn’t get the chance to thank you for being my mom and my dad,” and later adds, “So Mom, please accept this as a tribute I wrote on this jet.” This marked a more conciliatory tone between the two, signaling a potential mending of their relationship.
In recent years, Nelson celebrated Eminem’s accomplishments from afar, including congratulating him in a video for his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. In the video, she said, “Marshall, I want to say, I could not let this day go by without congratulating you on your induction into the Hall of Fame.”
