Tributes have poured in for grieving megastar Mariah Carey after her mother and older sister passed away within hours of each other over the weekend.
The Hero singer, 55, revealed on Monday that her sister Alison, 63, and mother Patricia, 87, passed away within hours of each other over the weekend, saying in a statement:
“I am heartbroken to have lost my mother last weekend. Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day.
“I feel blessed to have been able to spend the last week with my mother before she passed away. I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this difficult time.”
Since then, her countless fans have showered her with good wishes and condolences.
One fan said on X, referring to the collective name her admirers use to refer to themselves: “May peace be with you today and in the future Mimi. You are loved and the Lambilys are always here.”
The Hero singer, 55, revealed on Monday that her sister Alison, 63, and mother Patricia, 87, passed away within hours of each other over the weekend (Patricia and Mariah pictured in 2010 at a Los Angeles venue)
Mariah and Alison (pictured at Mariah’s 1993 wedding to record producer Tommy Mottola) were not close at the end of Alison’s life.
Carey’s fans call themselves Lambily, a combination of the words for “lamb” and “family.”
Carey has constantly called her fans “lambs.”
Another Lamb told X ‘hugs from the lambs and you’ll be in my prayers’, while a third said: ‘We love you Queen Mariah Carey!!! The singer’s singers… May your mum and sister rest in peace.
They then added a quote from their 2008 song Bye Bye: “It’s hard to accept the fact that you’re gone forever.”
@lipsdontliepop said on X: ‘My deepest condolences to Mariah Carey on this unimaginable loss. I hope she finds strength in her memories and peace in her love.’
The social media user added a quote from Carey’s song Hero: “So when you feel like hope is gone, look inside yourself and be strong.”
Alison was 63 when she died, while Patricia was 87. Their respective causes of death were not immediately clear.
Alison and Mariah, pictured in an undated photo, were estranged for years.
Mariah said she felt “blessed” to be able to “spend the last week” with her mother before her passing.
She added: “I appreciate everyone’s love, support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time.”
Alison was Mariah’s older sister and the middle child of Patricia and opera singer Alfred Carey (who died aged 72 in 2002). The former couple, who also had a son, Morgan Carey, 64, were married from 1960 to 1973, and separated when Mariah was three.
Mariah said in her 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, that after extensive therapy, she decided to stop having contact with Alison and Morgan.
“For my sanity and peace of mind, my therapist encouraged me to literally rename and rethink my family… Morgan, my ex-brother, and Alison, my ex-sister… I had to stop hoping that one day they would miraculously turn into the… big brother and big sister I fantasized about,” she wrote.
Mariah added: “I had to stop putting myself out there to be hurt. It has been helpful. I have no doubt that it is emotionally and physically safer for me to not have any contact with my ex-brother and ex-sister.”
Carey with her daughter Monroe and her mother Patricia
Alison was arrested in Saugerties, New York, for alleged prostitution in 2016.
In the book, Mariah claimed that Alison tried to get her to do drugs and “caused third-degree burns” when she was a pre-teen, affecting her development for life.
“When I was 12, my sister drugged me with Valium, offered me a pinky nail full of cocaine… and tried to sell me to a pimp,” Mariah said. “Something in me stopped because of all that trauma. That’s why I often say, ‘I’m eternally 12.’ I’m still struggling to get over that moment.”
In a September 2020 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Mariah described Alison as “troubled and traumatized” amid her upbringing.
The Someday singer recalled: ‘We don’t even really know each other, and that’s the thing. We didn’t grow up together, but we did. I mean, they were on their journeys, by the time I came into the world, they were already damaged, in my opinion.
“But then again, I wasn’t there. I was dropped into this world and literally felt like an outsider among my own family.”
According to a 2015 New York Post report, Alison was a mother of four children, first becoming pregnant at age 15 and having another child in 1988. She had two more children in 2002, the paper reported.