February 21, 2025
Voletta Wallace, the mother of The Notorious B.I.G., passed away at 72.
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Voletta Wallace, the mother of the Notorious B.I.G., has died at 72.
She passed away Friday morning while receiving hospice care in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, according to Monroe County Coroner Thomas Yanac. Her death was attributed to natural causes, as reported by TMZ.
A Jamaica native, Wallace welcomed Biggie with Jamaican welder and politician Selwyn George Latore, who left the family when her son was just two years old. She raised him as a single mother in their brownstone apartment in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, while working as a preschool teacher.
For years, Wallace was a strong advocate for her son, who was murdered in 1997. She managed his estate and worked to ensure his legacy and wealth were passed on to his family, including his daughter, T’yanna Wallace, and his son, Christopher Wallace Jr., whom he had with singer Faith Evans.
Under her management, Biggie’s estate grew from $10 million at the time of his death to the $160 million it is worth today. Wallace used her voice and platform to champion her son, being present in any and everything involving his name and using her social media to share his accolades, including his foundation, streaming numbers, pop culture references, and tributes.
When she released her memoir, “Biggie: Voletta Wallace Remembers Her Son, Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G.” in 2005, Wallace explained the importance of telling his story and ensuring his legacy lived on.
“He has touched so many people and so many people loved him and, you know, still do,” she said.
“That cannot take my pain away. What I am feeling inside is like a 100-pound lead weighing down in my chest. It’s very cold, and it’s very heavy, and I am so dying to get rid of it. But it’s not something you can get rid of because that was my son. He was my baby. I am a mother, and I will always be a mother.”
In 2009, she worked as a producer on the biopic Notorious, in which Angela Bassett played her role. In a 2009 interview, she shared that she visited the set daily and was left feeling angry by the final film due to its many revelations about her son.
“[The film] made me angry, made me sad. I learned a lot… about my son — a lot that I never knew. But I still love him because he was from here [gestures to heart].”
One of her final public tributes to her late son took place in 2022 when she joined Biggie’s children, Lil’ Kim and Lil’ Cease, to change the Empire State Building’s colors to red and white to celebrate his 50th birthday.
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