How Did Soledad O’Brien's Mom Die?
Her father recently passed away, too.
Instagram In just two months, Soledad O'Brien lost both of her parents.
The news anchor announced the death of her mother, Estela, on Twitter Monday.
"My mom died today. Joining my dad who passed away 40 days ago. She was a pretty remarkable lady," O'Brien tweeted alongside a series of photos to remember her mom by.
Soledad, a former CNN anchor and the founder and chairwoman of Starfish Media Group, a multi-platform media production and distribution company, shared a lot about her mother following her passing and has received many messages of love and support. Our condolences to Soledad and her family as they get through this hard time.
So how did Soledad O'Brien's mom die? Here's what we know about Estela and her death.
1. Her husband had just passed away.
Estela's death came 40 days after her husband, Edward, died in February at age 85.
"I could not have asked for better parents," Soledad said on Buzzfeed's "AM to DM."
2. Soledad shared an emotional tribute on Twitter.
Soledad paid tribute to her late mother in a thread of photos on Twitter. She included pictures of her mother as a child, young woman, and mother accompanied by heartfelt messages about her life.
"She was pretty great. Miss you, Mami," she captioned one photo.
3. Soledad revealed her mother's struggles as an immigrant.
Estela was an immigrant from Cuba and grew up in a poor family, Soledad wrote. She was able to make her way to America to get an education and started a family in the States.
Although her mother was "always sad about leaving Cuba," she "hated" what Castro had done to the country.
“She went back once to visit — and said — I’ll never go back again," she continued.
4. Estela fought back against discrimination.
Throughout her life, Estela encountered much discrimination but always fought back for her rights.
"Here are her mom and dad, Luz and Jose, at the famous La Floridita Bar in Havana," Soledad tweeted with a photo of her grandparents. "They were a very poor family. My mom was able to leave Cuba to get an education in the U.S.”
In another post, Soledad went on to say how her mother didn't allow her struggles to affect her success.
“She learned two more languages fluently—English and French, and became an educator," she continued. "She had a reputation for being super-strict, which made me very popular (not!) since she taught at my high school.”
Estela married Soledad's dad once it was legal for interracial couples to wed.
"She’d go on to marry my dad (mixed race marriages were illegal in Maryland in 1959)," Soledad wrote on Twitter. "The year their sixth child (my little brother) was born the US Supreme Court would overturn the ban on interracial marriage."
5. Soledad noted her mom's wisdom.
"One of the things that I really miss about my mom is she had great advice for women," Soledad said on "AM to DM."
Soledad tweeted that her mother's wisdom made her such an influential person.
"She was pretty awesome. But mostly I wish lots of young, working women had access to her wisdom," she wrote, going on to quote some of her mom's most memorable advice.
“Everyone gets the same 24 hours. Decide how you’ll spend yours," Estela would say. “Take 24 hours to sit in bed and cry.. then stop complaining and make a list and plan your comeback."
Other words of wisdom Estela told Soledad were “Keep ten dollars in your bra so you can leave when you want," “People are basically full of s--t, stop taking their stupidity to heart," and “You never stop fighting for the important stuff."
Sarah Gangraw writes about all things news, entertainment and crime. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.