Volletta Wallace, Mother of Notorious Rapper Biggie Smalls, Passes Away at 78.

Volletta Wallace passes away

Volletta Wallace, the mother of the notorious rapper, passed away at the age of 78.

The news was confirmed on Friday (February 21) TMZ after the Monroe County coroner, Thomas Yanak, announced that she died of natural causes in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, where she was in hospice care.

Legacy of a mother

Wallace played a crucial role in preserving her son’s legacy and managing his estate after his murder at the age of 24 on March 9, 1997. She established the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation and served as a producer on the 2009 biographical film, Notorious, directed by George Tillman Jr., with Jamal Woolard portraying her son. Angela Bassett portrayed her in the film.

Born on February 3, 1953, in Jamaica, Wallace later moved to Brooklyn, where she worked as a preschool teacher. Her only child, Christopher George Latore Wallace, known as Biggie Smalls, was born on May 21, 1972. His father, Selvin George Latore, left the family when Biggie was just a toddler, leading Volletta to raise him as a single mother.

Contributions and reflections

She later released her memoir, Biggie, in 2005 and, in 2021, served as an executive producer for the Netflix documentary Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell. When promoting the documentary, she shared with the Associated Press: “They never knew me. The audience never understood me. I was drawn into this environment, I must say, after he died, because I am a very personal person. Extremely private.”

“What he did there, maybe I had to know. But, frankly, I did not. And to this day there are people who say: ‘Oh, she knew. (whispers) But I never knew.’”

She expressed her joy at Biggie’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, stating, “Brooklyn, we did it!!! It’s been so long. Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible for Christopher. I love you all.”

Wallace also spoke candidly about allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2024, stating to Rolling Stone: “I’m sick to my stomach. I pray for his mother. I do not want to believe what I heard, but I saw the video. I pray that he apologizes to her.”