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Both the mother and sister of pop superstar Mariah Carey have died in a “tragic turn of events”.
The pair, named Patricia and Alison respectively, are said to have died on the same day, although the causes of death are not yet known.
“My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend,” Carey said in a statement to People.
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“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.”
Patricia was a trained opera singer and vocal coach before she welcomed her three children Alison, Mariah and a son named Morgan.
When the All I Want For Christmas singer was three years old, Patricia and her former husband Alfred Roy Carey divorced.
The mother-daughter singing duo performed together in 2010 for the US ABC network’s Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to You special, singing a mash-up of O Come All Ye Faithful and Hallelujah Chorus.
Carey dedicated her 2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey partly to her, writing: “And to Pat, my mother, who, through it all, I do believe actually did the best she could.
“I will love you the best I can, always”.
Meanwhile, Carey and her sister Alison were known to have a complicated relationship.
The singer said in her memoir of her sister that it was “emotionally and physically safer for me not to have any contact” with her.
– With AAP