Tyka Nelson, sister of the late pop icon Prince, passed away Monday morning in Minneapolis. Tyka was 64.
Her son, President Nelson, confirmed her death in a statement to the Minnesota Star Tribune on Monday. He didn’t give a cause of death.
Tyka was the daughter of John L. Nelson and Mattie Shaw Nelson. She was Prince’s only full sibling. They also had five half-siblings.
Like her brother, Prince, Tyka Nelson was a singer/songwriter and musician. She released four albums between 1988 and 2011. She was supposed to perform at a retirement concert in June at the Dakota. But she fell ill, and the concert went on without her.
“I’m getting older,” Tyka told the Minnesota Star Tribune before her June show. “I really wasn’t a singer. I’m a writer. I just happen to be able to sing. I enjoy singing.”
Tyka was in the midst of writing a memoir when she died. She is survived by her husband, Maurice Phillips, and their six children.
Prince Rogers Nelson passed away at his home in Minneapolis on April 21, 2016. He was 57. He didn’t leave a will. Tyka finally settled his estate in August 2022.
Filings in the Minnesota First Judicial District ordered that the cash in Prince’s estate be split evenly between Prince Legacy LLC and Prince OAT Holdings LLC.
