Ballerina Michaela DePrince’s mother dies a day after her daughter died suddenly at age 29, family says

Tragedy has struck again for the family of ballerina Michaela DePrince, who died suddenly last week. The family said Michaela’s adoptive mother died the day after her daughter.

Elaine DePrince of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, died Wednesday, Sept. 11, following the death of Michaela the day before on Sept. 10, in accordance with Facebook post from family spokeswoman Jessica Volinski.

“There has been a lot of speculation online, so the family would like to officially clarify several issues,” reads the statement, which begins by thanking the general public for his or her support.

“The last few days have been even more difficult than most people realize as the family has also been dealing with the death of Michaela’s adoptive mother, Elaine DePrince,” Volinksi wrote.

She clarified that Michaela didn’t die on September 13, as some media reported, and that Elaine died during a “routine procedure in preparation for surgery.”

Elaine was unaware of her daughter’s death at the time of her death.

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“As incredible as it may seem, these two deaths were in no way connected,” the statement continued. “The only way we can make sense of the senselessness is that Elaine, who had already lost three children many years ago, was spared the pain of losing a fourth child by the grace of God.”

Michaela, a pioneering ballerina who took the dance world by storm in 2011 when she starred within the documentary “First Position,” was raised as an orphan in her native Sierra Leone. She and her sister Mia were adopted by Elaine and her husband Charles and moved to New Jersey. Her many fans all over the world followed her journey and growth in dance as she joined the Boston Ballet and released a memoir and a children’s book. She was 29 when she died.

“What the family is going through right now is truly unimaginable,” Volinski’s latest statement noted, adding: “It is tragic and devastating to grieve the loss of two family members who died within 24 hours of each other. We continue to ask for privacy.”