This week, Marshall lost another family member. His maternal grandmother, Betty Kresin, died from complications of breast cancer.
She passed away this Tuesday in Missouri, where she lived, reports TMZ.
Complicated Family History
Betty Kresin married at 14 and had six children from three different marriages. Her youngest son, Ronnie, was the same age as Eminem. They grew up together like brothers, and Uncle Ronnie was the one who introduced Marshall to hip hop before tragically taking his own life at 19.
Infamous Interviews
Marshall’s grandmother was not happy about his music, or, rather, lyrics, calling it publicly “vile and disgusting”. In 2000, in an interview with the British tabloid The Mirror, she said, “Neither his mother Debbie nor I can figure out what happened to this sweet, caring youngster. In just over 12 years, he’s gone from telling me ‘Grandma, I love you’, to ‘Go to hell’. It just breaks my heart”.
She attended Eminem’s first wedding with Kim in 1999, as photos from the event show. But eventually, after several interviews in which Betty Krestin talked about his childhood, family history, and relationship with Kim, he stopped talking to her. “After” does not mean “because of”, but the timeline matches.
In 2001, she talked to BBC Radio 1, accusing Marshall of sallying on Ronnie’s memory and “using” his death for profit. She finished the interview by addressing Marshall: “He’s been angry at me and hasn’t spoken to me for the last year. I love him very much. I’m behind him one hundred per cent, do love him and wish he would call me. I miss Hayley, I miss him, and God just bless him”.
RIP
Betty lived longer than her daughter Debbie, Eminem’s mother, who passed away in December 2024 of lung cancer. No matter how complicated a relationship with her grandson was, the loss of life is never easy to accept. It is a difficult time for the whole family, and fans respect it.
