American Idol Alum Mandisa’s Cause of Death Revealed 2 Months After Her Demise
The Grammy-winning Mandisa’s cause of death was revealed nearly two months after she died at the age of 47. According to the autopsy report, she died as a result of class III obesity complications. At the time of her death, her weight was 488 pounds, and listed her death as natural.
Class III obesity is considered a complex chronic disease in which a person with a BMI (body mass index) of 40 or higher or a BMI of 35 or higher is experiencing obesity-related health conditions, as per the Cleveland Clinic.
The report also added that she was found dead in her home by friends on April 18 and that she “was last known alive approximately three weeks” earlier.
Mandissa’s representative confirmed her death on April 19 in a statement. They said, “We can confirm that yesterday Mandisa was found in her home deceased,” and continued, “At this time we do not know the cause of death or any further details.” They also requested her fans for prayers for her family during that “incredibly difficult time.”
Soon after her death, a statement was shared on her Instagram account, which added, “Mandisa was a voice of encouragement and truth to people facing life’s challenges all around the world.”
Mandisa was born in Citrus Heights, California, and she studied vocal jazz at American River College in Sacramento. She appeared on the sixth season of American Idol in 2006 by performing the cover of Alicia Key’s ‘Fallin.’ She came in the top nine alongside Katherine McPhee, Taylor Hicks, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Elliot Yamin, and Paris Bennett.
After being eliminated from the show, Mandisa released her first album, True Beauty, in 2007, which debuted at No. 1 on the chart of Top Christian Albums, making her the first female artist to accomplish this in the 27-year history of the chart. For that album, she also earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album.
Throughout her career, Mandisa released five more albums, including It’s Christmas (2007), Freedom (2009), What If We Were Real (2011), Overcomer (2013), and Out of the Dark (2017).
In her albums, she received five Grammy nominations, and the album Overcomer made her grab the Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album.
After the death of her best friend due to cancer in 2014, Mandisa developed depression and anxiety, which led her to turn to food, gain a lot of weight, and eventually disappear from the limelight.
After that, she returned to the public eye in 2017 and spoke about her struggle with depression. In 2022, she published a memoir, Out of the Dark: My Journey Through the Shadows to Find God’s Joy.