Michaela DePrince, resilient ballerina who worked with Beyoncé and Madonna, dies at 29

Ballet dancer Michaela Mabinty DePrince, who defied the odds of her early childhood in war-torn Sierra Leone to become a trailblazing performer and choreographer, has died.
DePrince died Tuesday, her family said in a statement Sunday on her sister Mia DePrince’s Instagram. In a previous statement released Friday, the family said the dancer, who performed with the Dance Theater of Harlem, the Dutch National Ballet and Boston Ballet, leaves “an indelible mark on the world of ballet, and beyond.” She was 29.
A cause of death was not revealed in either statement, though Sunday’s missive shut down speculation that DePrince’s death was related to that of mother Elaine DePrince, who adopted Michaela and Mia in the 1990s. Elaine DePrince “died during a routine procedure in preparation for a surgery” on Wednesday and did not know of her daughter’s death “at the time of her procedure,” Sunday’s statement clarified.
“The only way we can make sense of the senseless is that Elaine, who had already lost three children many years ago, was by the grace of God spared the pain of experiencing the [loss] of a fourth child,” the family said. “What the family is going through right now is truly unimaginably painful. Grieving two family members to die within a 24 hour period is tragic and devastating.”
As news of DePrince’s death spread over the weekend, ballet and dance luminaries including trailblazing American Ballet Theater principal dancer Misty Copeland and Debbie Allen paid tribute to her.
“Michaela had so much more to give, not just to ballet, but to the world. Her legacy will continue to inspire generations of dancers, but her absence leaves a void that will be felt deeply,” Copeland said on Instagram.
“Your footprints will forever reverberate around the world,” Allen said of DePrince, who was recently a guest artist at Allen’s dance academy’s summer program. “You brought a light that inspired millions of brown girls to rise to an unprecedented level of resilience and continue to dream.”
DePrince seemingly knew no bounds onstage as she executed pieces — from ballet classics including “Don Quixote,” “Swan Lake” and “Coppélia” to George Balanchine‘s “Who Cares” and “Jewels” — with undeniable grace, strength and precision. Beyond the ballet world, DePrince brought her talents mainstream, appearing on “Dancing With the Stars” and collaborating with brands including Nike and Tommy Hilfiger. She also worked with pop divas Beyoncé, for her “Lemonade” visual album, and Madonna, who was set to adapt the dancer’s life for the screen.
DePrince was prominently featured in the ballet competition documentary “First Position,” in which she spoke of the “miracle” of her survival. “Everywhere you looked you saw someone die and it was just for no reason,” she said in the film before recalling how rebels had shot her parents.
Offstage, DePrince used her platform to raise awareness for children affected by war as an ambassador for War Child, speak about her vitiligo and her experiences as a Black dancer, and advocate for more diversity in the ballet world.
“I would like to change the way people see Black dancers,” she told the Guardian in 2012. “I just want to be a great role model for kids. I would hate to disappoint anybody.”
DePrince was born Jan. 6, 1995, in Sierra Leone amid a civil war that counted her parents among its tens of thousands of casualties. Labeled “the devil’s child” for her vitiligo at her orphanage, DePrince found hope in a magazine photo of an American ballerina in pointe shoes.
“I ripped the page out and I stuck it in my underwear because I didn’t have any place to put it,” she told the Associated Press in 2012.
Elaine DePrince and Charles DePrince adopted Michaela and her sister in 1999. DePrince studied at the Rock School of Dance in Pennsylvania and had competed at Youth America Grand Prix, the prestigious international ballet competition at the center of “First Position.” The ballet competition awarded DePrince with a scholarship to continue her studies at the American Ballet Theater’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.
She graduated in 2012 and joined the Dance Theater of Harlem, where she became the company’s youngest dancer to perform principal roles. In 2013, she took her career overseas to perform with the Dutch National Ballet, where she climbed the ranks from the junior company to soloist in the main troupe. She returned to the U.S. in 2022 as a soloist with Boston Ballet.
“We were so fortunate to know Mabinty,” Boston Ballet said in an Instagram tribute. “She was a beautiful person, a wonderful dancer, and she will be greatly missed by us all.”
DePrince published her memoir, “Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina,” in 2014. She also received recognition in Time’s Inspiring Women in the World and Forbes 30 Under 30 in Arts & Culture.
Michaela is survived by her sisters, Mia, Beelee, Jaye, Mariel and Amie, and her brothers, Adam and Erik.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.