Madonna's Grandmother Dies at 99
Credit: Michael Buckner/WireImage.com
Madonna is in mourning.
The pop star, 53, suffered a blow this week when her maternal grandmother, Elsie Mae Fortin, passed away at age 99 in Bay City, Michigan.
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Fortin helped raise the singer after the sad 1963 breast cancer death of Madonna's mother (also named Madonna). Now a mother of four herself, Madonna was just five years old when her mom died.
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According to the local Bay City News, the superstar and her grandmother were very close: she often visited, even staying with Fortin for several weeks during the summers.
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In an e-mail statement, Madonna's longtime publicist Liz Rosenberg wrote, "I'm sorry, but Madonna will not be issuing any statements or conversing with the media regarding her grandmother. It is a totally personal matter to her."
