Oscar queen Ariana DeBose just shared the saddest news ever: her mom, Gina Michelle DeBose, has passed away at only 57 after a tough 3-year battle with ovarian cancer.
Ariana dropped the heartbreaking update on Instagram, and if you thought you were gonna scroll past it without crying—good luck.
She wrote that on August 17th, at exactly 10:28 AM, her “gorgeous, hilarious, outspoken, warrior queen” mom took her final bow. Gina wasn’t just Ariana’s mom; she was her *ride or die, bestie, critic, hype woman,* and basically the co-pilot of her entire life. Ariana even said her Oscar is half her mom’s (which, honestly, facts).
Gina wasn’t only about being a superstar mom—she also crushed it as an 8th grade social studies teacher for almost 30 years. Yup, she was that teacher who actually made history class feel less like a nap and more like a revolution. Students adored her, colleagues respected her, and she was basically a local celeb.
She loved painting, playing cards, blasting good music, and snuggling cats (same). But her real mission was education, arts advocacy, and fighting for the underdog. Imagine a combo of Wonder Woman + Ms. Frizzle + Beyoncé energy—that was Gina.
Ariana ended her tribute with the most gut-punch line ever: “For the record: my greatest and most proud achievement will always be to have made her proud. I love you mommy. Now travel amongst the seas, the winds and the angels as I know you always loved to do.”
Yeah… try reading that without ugly crying.
Sending major love to Ariana and her fam right now.