Loss and death are never easy things to deal with. The grieving process that follows can also potentially be a long and hard battle. There are no rules when it comes to mourning the loss of a loved one. Actress and comedian Yvette Nicole Brown, who lost her mother earlier this year, is speaking on what she is experiencing in her grieving process.
Community actress Yvette Nicole Brown has always credited her mother, Fran or “Mama Fran,” for being a strong support system and major influence. Although she has no children, she played the role of a divorced mother named “Shirley Bennett” for 5 seasons on the aforementioned show, as well as “Dina Rose” on The Mayor. For both roles, Brown states that she pulled from experiences with her mother.
“My greatest influence is my mom actually,” she told Essence in a December 2020 interview. “She is a very funny person. She has always been the life of the party and really goes out of her way to make folks laugh.” Brown also expressed that her mother was a “very loving” individual who provided her with the balance she needed to fulfill those roles.
Yvette Nicole Brown also reflected on their Mother’s Day celebrations, sharing that no matter what they choose to do, she just loves to spend quality time with Mama Fran. “Seriously, my mom is the most giving person I know and she has always supported me throughout the ups and downs of my life,” Brown added. “Like all moms, she never really asks for anything in return, so I love to treat her.” Sadly, Yvette Nicole Brown would take to her social media in May to announce the passing of her mother. Saying goodbye to her “Tiny Wonder” was undoubtedly rough, as she noted on her Instagram page that she was too “devastated” to find the words.
She was magic. #RIP my tiny wonder. 💔 #MamaFran 🕊 pic.twitter.com/X83UOtHzQH
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) May 30, 2021
A mother’s impact is an irreplaceable one. The actress shared with Jemele Hill recently on her Unbothered podcast what losing her mother has taught her. Her father is still alive, but she left her Community role in order to take care of him in 2015. However, the loss of a mother, in particular, is “a loss like no other,” Brown said.
“You are acutely aware that you have to figure out how to mother yourself,” Yvette Nicole Brown emotionally expressed. “There’s so many things that your mother tells you. ‘Drink some water.’ ‘Take a nap.’ ‘You’re focusing on that too much you probably need to not let that become a thing.’ Or simple things like ‘It’s gonna be alright.’ You know, there’s something about an ‘It’s gonna be alright’ from your mother that’s different than an ‘It’s gonna be alright’ from anybody else. It cannot be replicated. It cannot be duplicated.” She then pointed out the difference between hearing those words from someone else other than her mother, father included. “It’s not the same,” she claims.
Brown also touches on the vicissitudes of life, as it is full of moments of celebration as well as disappointment. That’s why those words are often important to hear. However, she stated she is now “acutely aware that I’m never gonna get that from the person that I want it the most from ever again.”She added, “So I say to those that have your mothers, cherish them. Because everything that she may do that annoyed you, or ‘why’s she on me again?’ All of that stuff are the things that you’re going to miss.”
