Double heartbreak strikes family.
Just when you thought things couldn’t get more tragic, this heartbreaking story proves otherwise.
Elaine DePrince, the adoptive mother of ballerina Michaela DePrince, has died just one day after her daughter’s sudden passing at age 29.
Michaela’s roots explained.
Michaela was adopted by Elaine and her husband, Charles DePrince, after living in an orphanage in Sierra Leone.
Born during Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war, Michaela faced horrors that most can’t even begin to comprehend.
Her birth parents died during the war, leaving her in an orphanage where she was labeled “the devil’s child” because of a skin condition known as vitiligo.
But fate had other plans for Michaela when Elaine and Charles stepped in.
The DePrinces adopted Michaela at age four, offering her the chance to escape a war-torn country and pursue her dream of becoming a ballerina.
Michaela’s ballet career highlighted.
Michaela’s incredible talent and perseverance took her from unimaginable hardship to international ballet stages.
Her journey was documented in the 2011 film First Position, a story that captivated viewers worldwide and solidified her as an inspiration for many.
In 2015, she told Glamour magazine that her “parents saved her life,” a testament to the life-changing bond she formed with Elaine.
Michaela eventually joined some of the world’s most prestigious ballet companies, from Dance Theatre of Harlem to Dutch National Ballet, and most recently, Boston Ballet, where she held the role of principal soloist.
Michaela DePrince’s death stuns public.
Michaela DePrince’s death shocked the ballet world, and her mother’s passing so soon after has left everyone in stunned silence.
Michaela’s death was confirmed on Friday, September 13, by a statement on her official Instagram page, signed by ‘Team MDP.’
“Our hearts are broken,” the statement read, “Michaela’s life was defined by grace, purpose, and strength.”
Her team also emphasized that her “brilliance and legacy will continue to shine” despite her sudden departure.
Though her cause of death remains undisclosed, the loss of this extraordinary talent has reverberated through the dance world and beyond.
Now, with the passing of Elaine DePrince, the tragedy deepens.
Michaela DePrince’s mom’s cause of death revealed.
According to a Facebook post by family spokesperson Jessica Volinski, Elaine died during a routine procedure on Wednesday, September 11, without ever knowing that Michaela had passed the day before.
The deaths are said to be unrelated, but the timing is enough to give anyone chills.
“Michaela died before Elaine,” Volinski wrote, clarifying that Elaine was spared from the gut-wrenching pain of losing yet another child.
And yes, another child.
Elaine DePrince had tragically lost three children before Michaela.
Family representative speaks out.
Volinski, the family spokesperson, shared the weight of the family’s anguish, calling the loss of both mother and daughter within 24 hours “truly unimaginable.”
As Volinski explained, Elaine was “by the grace of God” spared from experiencing the death of her fourth child, though the family is now reeling from unimaginable grief.
“What the family is going through is tragic and devastating,” Volinski wrote, summing up the grief felt by those who loved them both.
Elaine was not just Michaela’s mother—she was her biggest supporter, a fierce advocate, and a woman who had already weathered far more loss than most.
Before Michaela, Elaine and her husband had already endured the unthinkable: the loss of three children to hemophilia-related illnesses.
It was this heartbreaking loss that spurred Elaine and Charles to adopt children from war-torn countries, believing they could give those kids a better future.
And they did.
Elaine became a mother to Michaela and five other adopted children, forever changing the course of their lives.
But fate has been cruel once again, and now the DePrince family faces a double tragedy that no family should ever experience.
As the ballet world mourns Michaela, the pain is compounded by the loss of Elaine, a woman who saved her daughter’s life but never lived to learn of her death.