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In Memoriam: Fallen Stars of 2024
The DePrince household has shared more heartbreaking news.
After confirming the decease of Boston Ballet main soloist Michaela Mabinty DePrince at the property of 29, her family shared that Michaela mother's Elaine DePrince died wrong 24 hours of her adopted daughter.
"The past fewer days person been adjacent much hard than astir radical realize," they posted to Facebook Sept. 14, "because the household has besides been dealing with the decease of Michaela's adoptive parent Elaine DePrince."
They shared that Michaela passed connected Sept. 10, portion Elaine, who was 77, died connected Sept. 11 "during a regular process successful mentation for a surgery."
"Michaela died earlier Elaine and Elaine did not cognize of Michaela's passing astatine the clip of her procedure," the household added. "As unbelievable arsenic it whitethorn seem, the 2 deaths were wholly unrelated. The lone mode we tin marque consciousness of the senseless is that Elaine, who had already mislaid 3 children galore years ago, was by the grace of God spared the symptom of experiencing the nonaccomplishment of a 4th child."
In another Facebook update from Sept. 14, posted alongside achromatic and achromatic photos of Elaine reading to her children erstwhile they were younger, the household added that she had experienced "many years of battling a hereditary illness and bosom failure." She is survived by her children Mia, Beelee, Jaye, Mariel, Amie and her sons, Erik and Adam.
Facebook/DePrince Family
Michaela's household archetypal shared the quality of her decease connected Sept. 13, penning connected her authoritative Instagram page, "Michaela touched truthful galore lives crossed the world, including ours. She was an unforgettable inspiration to everyone who knew her oregon heard her story."
Her origin of decease has not been made public.
The dancer was calved successful Sierra Leone successful 1995, but was soon sent to an orphanage aft some her parents died during the country's 11-year civilian war. At the property of 4, she and chap orphan Mia were adopted by an American household successful New Jersey, who encouraged her emotion of dance.
Ian Gavan/Getty Images
As Michaela—who cowrote her 2014 memoir Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina with Elaine—explained aboriginal successful her career, her involvement successful creation was sparked portion she was successful the orphanage and discovered an representation from a discarded magazine.
"There was a woman connected it," she told the BBC successful 2012 of the magazine, "she was connected her tippy-toes, successful this pink, beauteous tutu. I had ne'er seen thing similar this—a costume that stuck retired with glitter connected it, with conscionable truthful overmuch beauty. I could conscionable spot the quality successful that idiosyncratic and the anticipation and the emotion and conscionable everything that I didn't have."
As she explained, she thought to herself, "'Wow! This is what I privation to be.'"
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