As Eminem grieves the loss of his estranged mother Debbie Nelson, the Mirror looks at some of the demons that have shaped his life from his complex relationship with his late mother to multiple suicides

Eminem is currently grieving the loss of his mother, Debbie Nelson, and it’s sadly not the only time the hip-hop icon has faced tragedy.

Debbie passed away on December 2 at the age of 69, following an advanced lung cancer diagnosis. Although Eminem, real name Marshall Mathers, made sure to provide his mother with financial support, their relationship was complicated, and at the time of her death, they hadn’t been in touch for several years.

Although the 52-year-old has yet to comment publicly on Debbie’s passing, his younger brother half-brother, Nathan ‘Nate’ Kane Mathers, 38, has issued a brief statement, telling Instagram followers that he was feeling “Hatred and mixed emotions today”.

Here, the Mirror takes a look at some of the devastating events that have shaped Eminem’s eventful life…

Complex relationship

Eminem had a complex relationship with his mother

Debbie shared her side of the story in a heartbreaking memoir

Eminem has frequently used his childhood traumas as inspiration for his music, with tracks such as Cleanin’ Out My Closet painting a picture of a homelife characterised by Munchausen syndrome, drug abuse, and abandonment.
Raging in the 2001 song, Missouri-born Eminem seethes as he recalls Debbie allegedly “poppin’ pills in the kitchen”, declaring that his Hailie “won’t even be at your funeral”. For her part, Debbie took issue with such portrayals, and in 2005, Debbie successfully sued her son for defamation to the tune of $25,000 (£18,700) over lyrics suggesting she was a drug user.

Debbie, who was just 18 years old when she gave birth to the rapper, shared her side of the story in her 2008 memoir, My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem. Explaining her wish to set “the record straight”, Debbie wrote: “In my heart I know Marshall still loves me. He’s just confused.”

The poignant final paragraph of the book reads: “The house used to be filled with the sound of children’s voices. And even though I’m alone now, the phone still rings. I have some wonderful friends who have helped me through so much. It still doesn’t fill the empty gap in my heart, but it helps.”

In his 2013 track Headlights, Eminem appeared to show remorse for some of the comments made in Cleanin’ Out My Closet, admitting: “That song I no longer play at shows / And I cringe every time it’s on the radio.”

And despite their differences, Debbie remained proud of her talented son until the end. In 2022, following Eminem’s induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Debbie posted a congratulatory video. She said: “Marshall, I want to say I could not let this day go by without congratulating you on your induction into the Hall of Fame. I love you very much. I knew you’d get there. It’s been a long ride. I’m very, very proud of you.”

Fatal shooting of best friend

On April 11, 2006, Eminem’s best friend DeShaun Dupree Holton – known to fans by his rap artist name ‘Proof’ died during a shooting incident at Detroit’s CCC Club on Eight Mile Road – the area that inspired the name of Shady’s 2002 film debut. Proof and Eminem first met at Lincoln High School in Warren when they were 14. Proof, who would one day become Eminem’s “hype man,” encouraged his now-famous friend’s rapping talents and recruited him to the hip-hop collective D12.

Opening up his 2008 autobiography The Way I Am, Eminem revealed the loss had affected him more deeply than anything else he’d so far endured and had taken a terrible toll on his mental health. He shared: “I have never felt so much pain in my life. I’ve had death in my family before – two of my uncles committed suicide – and it took chunks out of my life… After he passed, it was a year before I could really do anything normal again. It was tough for me to even get out of bed, let alone write a rhyme… my brain was scattered.”

Friend’s heartbreaking suicide

In 2011, Eminem’s friend and collaborator Chaos Kid – real name James Deel – died by suicide. AllHipHop reported at the time that their friendship went all the way back to around 1988, when they met in their hometown of Detroit, Michigan.

While still in high school, the close-knit duo released music together as ‘Bassmint Productions’ and ‘Soul Intent’, and, as adults, remained loyal pals. When Shady was accused of being a racist after using the n-word in his music, Chaos Kid rushed to his defence, stating: “Marshall Mathers is not a racist. Although the songs were in bad taste, they were not intended to be taken seriously or even heard and do not represent the true sentiments of Eminem.”

Drug addiction battle

Grief exacerbated Shady’s drug addiction issues

Shady has previously spoken candidly about his battle with alcohol and drug addiction, which began after he became famous. In a profile piece penned for XXL, Eminem recalled: “Back then, you went on tour, and people were just giving you free drugs. I managed it for a little while. And then, it just became, I like this s*** too much, and I don’t know how to stop.”

Following the death of Proof, Eminem ended up spiralling deeper into substance abuse, and at Christmastime 2007, he nearly died following a methadone overdose. With his major organs shutting down, doctors feared they wouldn’t be able to bring him back from the brink – but he miraculously managed to pull through.

Realising he had a serious issue, Eminem checked himself into rehab but suffered a relapse after leaving the 30-day treatment facility. He then threw himself into recovery, and back in April of this year, he celebrated 16 years of sobriety.

He has been supported on his journey by fellow music legend Elton John, who is his AA sponsor. In 2009, Eminem opened up about how Elton had been there for him in an interview with a Detroit newspaper. He shared: “[Elton] had a substance abuse problem in the past. So when I first wanted to get sober, I called him, because he’s somebody in the business who can relate to the lifestyle and how hectic things can be. He understands, like, the pressure and any other reasons that you wanna come up with for doing drugs.”

Shedding light on their unexpected friendship in his Me memoir, Elton shared: “I’m Eminem’s AA sponsor. Whenever I ring to check in on him, he always greets me the same way: ‘Hello, you c***’, which I guess is very Eminem.”