Iyanla Vanzant Mourns Her Youngest Daughter 20 Years After Losing The Eldest

Life coach Iyanla Vanzant has announced the passing of her youngest daughter, Nisa. The television personality shared the unfortunate news via her Instagram, requesting privacy as she and her family process the loss.

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A post shared by Iyanla Vanzant (@iyanlavanzant)

“It is with great sorrow that we announce the transition of Nisa Vanzant, the youngest daughter of our Beloved Iyanla Vanzant we are asking for your prayers,” stated the post written by a member of Vanzant’s team. “Please respect the privacy of her and her family at this time. Thank you.”

Vanzant is an advocate for spiritual healing, getting her start on the radio before eventually guest appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show. This led to her signature docu-series on the media mogul’s channel OWN.

Since the rise of her Iyanla: Fix My Life, the mother of three is known for helping people confront and heal from their traumas, including celebrities such as actress Karrueche Tran. The show ran for nine seasons from 2012 to 2021.

Before Nisa’s death, Vanzant lost her eldest daughter Gemmia, in 2003 after a battle with colon cancer. Iyanla shared what she learned in her grieving journey since her late daughter’s passing on the TODAY podcast Making Space with Hoda Kotb in 2021.

“Well, it changes who you are as a woman. It changed who I was as a woman, first for the worse, and then for the better,” detailed Vanzant on losing her first child. “God must’ve really, really trusted me to give me a soul to bring into life, and to trust me with the courage to send her out.”

Nisa will be remembered by her mother and brother, Damon. She was 29 years old, with the cause of death being unknown publicly at this time.

While this latest loss is heartbreaking, Vanzant is more than understanding of how life is all about the experience of love that a mother can have for her child,

“In relationships, people don’t bring you love or give you love. What they do is make you aware of the depth of love that you are.”