Ariana DeBose’s Mother's Cause of Death Confirmed by Daughter in Emotional Post
"I couldn’t be more proud of her and how she fought this insidious disease over the past 3 years."
Published Aug. 20 2025, 12:07 p.m. ET
Actor and Broadway star Ariana DeBose never kept it a secret. Just two days after losing her mother, the Oscar winner opened up to her 700,000 Instagram followers about what took her favorite person from her.
On Aug. 19, 2025, Ariana confirmed her mom’s death — and she didn’t stop there. She shared exactly what caused it, how long her mother, Gina Michelle DeBose, had been fighting it, and asked people to talk about what so often goes unspoken.
Keep reading as we explore more about Ariana DeBose’s mom’s cause of death — and why she chose to shine a light on it instead of staying silent.
Ariana DeBose's mom's cause of death was ovarian cancer according to her daughter’s Instagram post.
Aug. 17, 2025, at 10:28 a.m. — that’s when it happened. Ariana’s Instagram post opened with the moment her world changed.
"My gorgeous, hilarious, outspoken, warrior queen Mother – Gina Michelle DeBose – passed away due to complications with stage 3 ovarian cancer,” she wrote.
According to her daughter, Gina had been fighting the disease for three years. Ariana’s post made it clear that she was proud of the life her mother lived and the way she fought her cancer for three years.
"She fought like hell,” she wrote, “to give me a good life, a good education, and every opportunity in the world.”
Gina was only 57 years old at the time of her passing. The loss was clearly personal, raw, and still fresh — but Ariana didn’t hold back.
Her message was full of love, pain, and admiration. It read less like a public announcement and more like a deeply personal letter she was brave enough to let the world read.
More than a mother — Gina was a teacher, an advocate, and a fighter.
If you’ve followed Ariana’s career, you know her mom wasn’t just a presence in the background — she was the person in her corner, every step of the way. “She was my date to every important moment in my professional and personal life,” Ariana wrote. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
But Gina’s legacy wasn’t limited to raising a future Oscar winner. She spent nearly 30 years teaching in public schools, most recently as an eighth-grade social studies teacher. Ariana made it clear: the classroom was her mother’s stage, and she owned it.
“She was beloved and incredibly respected by her colleagues and students alike,” Ariana wrote. “Her creativity knew no bounds. She was the greatest advocate for the underdog, a believer in arts education, and the smartest person I know.”
Even in grief, Ariana took the time to share the kind of woman her mother was. Gina painted, played cards, listened to music, and loved her cats. She lived with intensity, compassion, and no filter. “She was a force of epic proportion,” Ariana said.
Turning loss into impact — Ariana asks fans to talk about it, not avoid it.
The post could’ve ended there — a personal goodbye from a daughter to her mom. Ariana, however, used her voice for more than just a tribute to her late mother. She used it to raise awareness about the disease that took her mother’s life.
Instead of flowers or gifts, she asked followers to consider donating in Gina’s honor to organizations that are working to change the outcome for others. These include:
These groups focus on research, early detection, support services, and public awareness — all things Ariana now hopes will spare other families from going through what hers just did.
There’s no standard test for ovarian cancer. It’s often caught late, and it remains the deadliest cancers. Gina’s story, shared so openly, adds a personal face to those statistics — and may very well push someone to ask their doctor a question they’ve been putting off.