Singer Mariah Carey’s mother, Patricia, and sister Alison both died on the same day, over the weekend, in a shocking coincidence.
- According to The Times Union, Patricia died at the age of 63 from complications related to her organ function. She had been in hospice care. Details on Alison’s death are not known/disclosed yet.
Patricia was an opera singer who studied at Juilliard school and Mariah said that she had inspired her to become a singer.
“I would sing little tunes around the house, to my mother’s delight. And she always encouraged me,” she had said in her 2020 memoir, ‘The Meaning of Mariah Carey’.
Patricia was married to Alfred Roy Carey (Mariah’s father). They divorced when Mariah was three. Mariah lived with her mother for most of the time. Her father died of cancer in 2002. He was 72.
Mariah spoke about the deaths saying, “My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend. Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day.
“I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mom before she passed. I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time.”
In her memoir, Mariah also spoke about her complex relationship with her mother and her sister, saying they would often be at loggerheads, causing her to feel “pain and confusion”.
”Like many aspects of my life, my journey with my mother has been full of contradictions and competing realities. It’s never been only black-and-white – it’s been a whole rainbow of emotions. Our relationship is a prickly rope of pride, pain, shame, gratitude, jealousy, admiration and disappointment. A complicated love tethers my heart to my mother’s,” she had said in her book.
Mariah inherited her vocal talents from her mother. Despite their estranged relationship, Carey did record a duet with her mother for her Christmas album in 2010. The song was titled “O Come All Ye Faithful/Hallelujah Chorus.”