Eminem's mother Debbie Nelson, whose fraught relationship fuelled the rapper's lyrics, dies aged 69

Debbie Nelson, the single mother of rapper Eminem whose rocky relationship with her son was known widely through his song lyrics, has died aged 69.

Eminem’s longtime representative Dennis Dennehy confirmed Nelson’s death and did not provide a cause of death, although Nelson had battled lung cancer.

Nelson was born in 1955 on a military base in Kansas. The eldest of five children, she gave birth to her son, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, on 17 October 1972, as just a teenager. 

Her fraught relationship with her son has been no secret since the Detroit rapper became a star.

Eminem has disparaged his mother in songs such as the 2002 single 'Cleaning Out My Closet,' in which Eminem sings: “Witnessin’ your mama poppin’ prescription pills in the kitchen. ... My whole life I was made to believe I was sick when I wasn’t.”

There was also the song ‘My Name Is’ (“I just found out my mom does more dope than I do/ I told her I’d grow up to be a famous rapper/ Make a record about doin’ drugs and name it after her”) and ‘My Mom’ (“My mom loved Valium and lots of drugs/ That’s why I am like I am ’cause I’m like her/ Because my mom loved Valium and lots of drugs/ That’s why I’m on what I’m on ’cause I’m my mom”).

In lyrics from his Oscar-winning hit 'Lose Yourself' from the movie 8 Mile, his feelings seem to have simmered, referencing his "mom’s spaghetti.” The song went on to win best rap song at the 2004 Grammy Awards.

Nelson brought and settled a pair of defamation lawsuits over Eminem’s statements about her in magazines and on radio talkshows.

In her 2008 book, “My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem,” she attempted to set the record straight by providing readers details about the rapper’s early life, writing that Eminem had forgotten the good times they had.

“Marshall and I were so close that friends and relatives commented that it was as if the umbilical cord had never been cut,” she wrote. She also detailed her own childhood, describing a violent home life in which her dad’s mother, who she spent summers with, was “the one woman in my large dysfunctional family to show us kids love.”

Over the years, the relationship between Eminem and his mother began was less tense, with the rapper expressing regret and apologizing to Nelson on 'Headlights' in 2013: “But regardless, I don’t hate you ‘cause, Ma/ You’re still beautiful to me, ‘cause you’re my mom/ Though far be it from you to be calm/ Our house was Vietnam, Desert Storm."

Nelson publicly celebrated Eminem’s induction day into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022: “Marshall, I could not let this day go by without congratulating you on your induction to the Hall of Fame,” she said in a video. “I love you very much. I knew you’d get there. And it’s been a long ride.”