Prince’s Sister Tyka Nelson Has Passed Away – Full Details Inside

After Prince’s death, his only full sibling, his sister Tyka Nelson, has also passed away. Tyka shared both parents with the late singer. She was planning to perform and host at her retirement event before she fell ill.

On November 4, 2024, Charles “Chazz” Smith, who is Tyka’s cousin, shared the news of her passing on Facebook. He wrote that Tyka Evene Nelson had died that morning. Tyka was Prince’s sister, and Charles is also the cousin of the famous singer.

Charles shared a black-and-white photo of Tyka as a child, standing next to an older boy on a lawn with an old car in the background. On November 5, 2024, Tyka’s other cousin, Frank Collier, also posted a throwback picture on Facebook. He shared his sadness, writing, “so i just found out about my cousin Tyka Nelson …..im at a loss for words.”

Reports show that, like her brother Prince, Tyka was also a singer in Minneapolis. Her son, President Nelson, confirmed her death at the age of 64 but didn’t share more details. Tyka was Prince’s only full sibling, sharing both a mother, Mattie Shaw Nelson, and a father, John L. Nelson, with him. They also had five half-siblings. Between 1988 and 2022, Tyka released four albums. Her farewell concert was scheduled for June 7, 2024, at the Dakota.

Sadly, she became ill, and the concert, where she was meant to emcee and perform, went on without her. Before the event, Tyka said, “I’m getting older,” and added, “I really wasn’t a singer. I’m a writer. I just happen to be able to sing. I enjoy singing.” She also mentioned that she was working on a memoir, though it still needed a publisher, and that it would be about her and her family.

Tyka’s last U.S. performance was in 2008 in the Twin Cities at Bunkers, and her final public performance took place a decade later in Australia. After her passing, her sister Sharon Nelson said, “She had her own mind. She’s in a better place.”

Sharon got to know Tyka only after their famous brother’s death in 2016. She moved to the Twin Cities from the East Coast, where she had lived for 50 years. In an interview from June, Tyka admitted that a small part of her was still grieving Prince. She realized this took time because Prince was her last connection to their parents and other family members. During this period, she also understood how much people loved her brother.

In 2017, during a visit to London, Tyka was moved by the stories shared by Prince’s fans, who told her how his music had saved their lives. She recalled how some women even told her they had once considered suicide but found the strength to keep going after hearing his songs on the radio.

The last time Tyka saw her brother was at Paisley Park just days after his emergency plane landing in Moline, Illinois. She remembered protecting him when a tall woman tried to hug him, but Prince lightened the situation with his humor, asking, “What you gonna do?”

Tyka remembered how Prince walked and joked like their father but shared their mother’s build. Although Tyka hadn’t been aware of her brother’s health struggles, she noticed his weight loss when she hugged him. She asked him about his health, but he didn’t go into detail, even though she was worried.

Reflecting on her own life, Tyka expressed how grateful she was for the wonderful people she had known, whose wisdom she missed. She also wished to travel the world to connect with Prince’s fans in his honor.

Tyka Nelson is survived by her sons, President and Sir; her sisters, Sharon and Norrine Nelson; her brother, Omarr Baker; and many cousins.