Kanye's Mom Dies After Plastic Surgery

This weekend Kanye West's mother (and manager), Dr. Donda West, died after surgery - which the BBC is reporting was cosmetic (UPDATE: she was warned prior to getting the surgery). West was very close with his 58-year-old mother, often speaking publicly about their bond and even writing a song for her. Just this summer the two were at Borders to promote her new book, Raising Kanye.

Kanye was in London when told of the death, and traveled back to the States this weekend. His mother was a noted scholar, college professor and most recently the CEO of West Brands LLC and chairperson of the Kanye West Foundation. Last night at Hammerstein Ballroom Jay-Z dedicated his concert to her, and "near the end of his nearly two-hour set, the rapper asked for a moment of silence to pay respect to Donda West."

In 2004, author Olivia Goldsmith died after a routine face-lift -- Suzanne Vega wrote a song for her soon after called Edith Wharton's Figurines. After her death, another woman at Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat for a face-lift also died. Makes one wonder how the new cosmetic walk-in clinics will fare -- and how Jocelyn Wildenstein is still alive.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in News on November 12, 2007 12:17 PM

Comments [rss]

use_as_directed

why is michael strahan wearing a wig?

matty

what does this have to do with patrick moberg?

Dirk

50 Cent is behind all of this. Just you wait and see...

bmfesq

SIMPLY PUT: He made a deal with the devil.

TimSPC

According to the last track on The College Dropout, Kanye and his mom moved to Newark (and got furniture from Ikea) so he could break into the business. So, I guess that makes it local.

Toby von Meistersinger

Norman Mailer was born in Jersey.

Tgirl

speaking of which- how is it that Michael Jackson has survived all of his plastic surgeries????

HughGass

Gothamist is the new TMZ.

yakatori

c00n, the only things that doesn't belong on this site is you.

Elderta

She was at Chicago State University. And she is Dr. Donda West, not Dr. Cornel West. LAist briefly mentioned her death.

Ared

Isn't it professor Cornel West?

If, however, the commenters were making a joke, that's hilarious.

jammer

i guess Chicagoist doesn't deem it newsworthy...not mentioned over there. Well at least New York cared enough.

jammer

I think this is more appropriate for Chicagoist, yes?

Would be helpful to know WHERE Ms. West was a noted professor...if in New York, then it would make the story's place on Gothamist more apropos.

But then again, anything pertaining to celebrities is fair game for reporting...best to the West family.

Novanglus

To step back and talk about this site for a moment, I think that if you disagree with a certain piece even being posted, why can't you just rip on the person in the articles anyway like we always do no matter what?

The "not for this site" argument cna technically be applied to many things published here, but this isn't a normal news site, and we are all here to have a good time, crack jokes and see what's going on in a way that's a little more off-beat than ny1.com or something.

This article DOES belong here, but if you don't like it and don't have some good contribution, just go to the next piece.

Besides, ANY article where you an mention Wildenstein is a winner in my book. She should play Cher's daughter in the re-make of Mask.

As for Donda West, I don't think her son is very talented. Regardless, through her son, she's obtained a level of wealth that she didn't get to experience in the previous 50 years of her life. I agree that people should be happy the way they are (thank God I'm hot! haha), but she is just an innocent victim here. I have no problem cracking jokes, but it is certainly a shame nonetheless.

dbc

This belongs on Celebrityist, not Gothamist.

Elderta

That, fishfryin, I would agree with you on. That, however, wasn't a certain poster's question.

c00n

Kanye West is the celebrity. She's not. And there are hundreds of thousands of professors in much more prestigious Universities and more notable authors. What makes her so special?

People please...

fishfryin

Elderta- Norman Mailer is from New York. Kanye and his mom are not.

babyhitler

Yeah Kanye is always saying He's the best. Maybe Kanye's mom was embarrassed cause if he's the best so should his mom be, and decided to go under the knife for him. If only Kanye hadn't set the bar so high for himself his mother would still be alive today.

Elderta

It's news because Kanye West is a celebrity. It's also news because Mrs. West was the former chair of the English Department at a major American college and a noted writer. Not as well known as Norman Mailer, but known nonetheless.