Boundary-shattering ballerina Michaela DePrince dies at 29
STORY: Sierra Leonean ballerina Michaela Mabinty DePrince, who starred in Beyonce’s “Lemonade” visual album and in TV show “Dancing with the Stars,” died on Friday at the age of 29, her family said.
The news of her death was announced on her personal Instagram page and then confirmed by her family in a joint statement on Facebook, where they expressed "profound sadness."
No cause of death was given.
DePrince was born in 1995 as Mabinty Bangura in Sierra Leone.
She was brought to an orphanage at the age of three by her uncle during the country's civil war.
In her 2014 book, “Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina,” she recounted being isolated from other children due to being born with vitiligo, a skin pigmentation condition, which came with social stigma.
She was adopted in 1999 at the age of four by New Jersey couple Elaine and Charles DePrince, who enrolled her in ballet classes.
At 14, DePrince was awarded a scholarship to attend the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School to study ballet.
She rose to fame after starring in the documentary “First Position" in 2011, and performed across the globe, joining the acclaimed Boston Ballet as a second soloist while also serving as a motivational speaker.
Her family said in their statement that "She was an an unforgettable inspiration to everyone who knew her or heard her story.”
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