Voletta Wallace, Mother of Notorious B.I.G., Passes Away at 72

Voletta Wallace, the mother of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G., has died. The Monroe County Coroner confirmed with PEOPLE that Voletta, the mother of Christopher Wallace, died of natural causes at home under hospice care on Friday, Feb. 21. TMZ was first to report the news. She was 72.

After her only child Biggie's death in 1997, she spent her life celebrating his music and overseeing his estate, which is reportedly worth $160 million. She served as the producer for the 2009 movie about Biggie titled Notorious and was portrayed by Angela Bassett.

In 2020, Voletta celebrated her son's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “Today, I’m feeling great,” she told Billboard at the time. "As a mother, I’m extremely proud of his accomplishments. You know, I still see such a young man at a young age, and sadly, he’s not here to witness all this. But it’s an astute honor, and as a mother, I’m just elated for that."

“Many of [his songs] speak truth,” she continued of Biggie. "It might be gritty, and maybe the language is so out there, but he was honest. There was nothing fake about what he was doing. I think for such a young man to resonate such honesty in his lyrics is awesome."

In September 2024 when Biggie's music hit 2.5 billion all-time plays on Apple Music, Voletta posted about the achievement on Instagram, thanking fans. Her most recent Instagram post was about Biggie's millions of listeners on Spotify.

This is a developing story.