After coming to the US as an orphan from war-torn Sierra Leone, ballet star Michaela Mabinty DePrince’s ascent to the world stage was seen as a story of success over adversity.
But in a double tragedy for the young star’s family, it has emerged that both the 29-year-old dancer and her adoptive mother died within 24 hours of each other this week.
DePrince, who was hailed as a trailblazer and performed alongside Beyonce, suffered a “sudden death” on Sept 10, her family said. No cause of death was provided.
They have since revealed that the last few days were “even more difficult than most people realise” because they were also contending with the death of her adoptive mother, Elaine.
Mrs DePrince died during “a routine procedure in preparation for a surgery on September 11”, said Jess Volinski, a spokeswoman for the DePrince family.
“What the family is going through right now is truly unimaginably painful,” she said. “Grieving two family members to die within a 24 hour period is tragic and devastating.”
In a further statement, the family said: “Michaela touched so many lives across the world, including ours. She was an unforgettable inspiration to everyone who knew her or heard her story”.
“From her early life in war-torn Africa, to stages and screens across the world, she achieved her dreams and so much more.”
Born in Kenema, Sierra Leone, in 1995, DePrince was just three years old when she lost both her parents during the country’s civil war and was sent to an orphanage.
She had previously spoken of how her vitiligo, a skin pigmentation condition, saw her branded the “devil’s child” and receive less food and clothes than the other children.
“I wasn’t treated very well,” she said, but recalled how a photograph of an American ballet in a magazine that blew against the gate of the orphanage captured her imagination.
“All I remember is she looked really, really happy,” DePrince said in 2012, describing how she wished “to become this exact person.”
Her life took a turn when she was adopted – along with her sister, Mia Mabinty DePrince – after a year at the orphanage by an American couple living in New Jersey.
Her adoptive mother, noticed her interest in ballet and enrolled her in classes.
After graduating from high school and the American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, DePrince made history as the youngest principal dancer at the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
By the age of 17, she had featured in a documentary and had performed on the TV show “Dancing With the Stars.”
She went on to dance with the Dutch National Ballet before returning to the US and joining the Boston Ballet in 2021.
DePrince performed across the world, including in Beyoncé‘s “Lemonade” music video album.
Her 2014 memoir, co-authored by her mother Elaine, detailed her journey from the orphanage to the stage.
The ballet dancer remained an advocate for orphans in developing nations throughout her career, helping “inspire young black dancers to pursue their dreams”, her family said.
She is survived by five sisters and two brothers. The family requested that in lieu of flowers, donations could be made to War Child, an organisation DePrince championed as an ambassador.
DePrince’s sister, Mia, described the double blow they had suffered this week.
While the ballet dancer’s death occurred before her adoptive mother’s, Mia said she learned of the tragedies in reverse order.
“I had just gotten off the phone with my mum’s doctor with her news when I was alerted about my sister, it just didn’t seem believable,” she told the BBC.
“It was really hard to hear because I normally pick up the phone to call my mum with anything, and it occurred to me that I couldn’t call her”.
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