Notorious B.I.G.’s Mother Voletta Wallace Dies at 78

Voletta Wallace, mother of late rapper Notorious B.I.G., has died. She was 78.

Wallace had been in failing health and passed away from natural causes in hospice care at her home in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania on Friday, Feb. 21, Monroe County coroner Thomas Yanac told Rolling Stone.

Wallace was born in Trelawny Parish, Jamaica. She and fellow Jamaican immigrant Selwyn George Latore were parents to one child, Brooklyn native Christopher Wallace.

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After her son was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in 1997, the retired preschool teacher managed his estate and founded the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation. According to published reports, the estate’s value grew significantly under her guidance.

In November 2020, Wallace did an interview with “The Breakfast Club” radio show the day before Notorious B.I.G. was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

“As a mother, of course I’m very, very happy about it. I’m elated about it, I’m thrilled. I’m only sorry he’s not here to be a part of it,” she said.

In March 2024, Rolling Stone published an interview with Wallace on the growing allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs, who signed her son to a recording contract at Bad Boy Records in 1993.

“I’m sick to my stomach,” she told the publication. “I’m praying for his mother. I don’t want to believe the things that I’ve heard.”