Kathy Griffin's mother Maggie dies at 99: 'I am gutted'

Rachel Yang
·5 min read

Kathy Griffin's mother Maggie has died at age 99.

"My Mom, the one and only, Maggie Griffin, passed away today," the comedian tweeted Tuesday night, along with a photo of her and her mom at the pool. "I am gutted. My best friend. I’m shaking. I won’t ever be prepared. I’m so grateful you guys got to be part of her life. You knew her. You loved her. She knew it."

Griffin maintained a sense of humor despite this tough news, ending her message with, "Oh, and OF COURSE she went on St Patrick’s Day."

Many of her fans and friends, including Chrissy Teigen and Suzanne Somers, replied with messages of support.

Last June, the comedian rang in her mom's 99th birthday while sharing the news that Maggie's dementia was worsening. She also posted a photo of the two on the red carpet "to celebrate happier times."

In January 2019, Griffin first opened up about her mother's ailing health.

“As heartbreaking as this is, I feel the need to share some important info about my mom Maggie. I’ve always been honest with you all, but this one is really hard. The pic below, taken in September, was the last time I was able to have a proper/coherent conversation with her,” she said then. “Since that photo was taken, she has rapidly fallen into the throes of dementia. This is never easy for any child, I know this is a reality that millions of people deal with every year. But when it comes to my mom this is particularly hard because her sharp mind was everything.”

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As heartbreaking as this is, I feel the need to share some important info about my mom Maggie. I've always been honest with you all, but this one is really hard. The pic below, taken in September, was the last time I was able to have a proper/coherent conversation with her.Since that photo was taken, she has rapidly fallen into the throes of dementia. This is never easy for any child, I know this is a reality that millions of people deal with every year. But when it comes to my mom this is particularly hard because her sharp mind was everything. My mom is 98 and up until this past couple years she was so sharp she always kept me on my toes. Her mind was so naturally quick, funny, and smart. No one could get anything past her. Watching that slip away so fast has been devastating.I want to assure you all that she is not in pain and she is getting the best 24-hour care. In terms of how she is now, at this point she only knows my name and I love you. I know many of you know what that reality is like...I'm still grappling with it. A big reason I'm sharing this news with you is that so many of you have asked why I haven't posted a video of Maggie & her beloved dog Twinkle in the past few months. Now you understand why we haven't been able to share anything, here is a moment between them from this summer. What I am most proud of when I comes to My Life On The D List is that show gave me the opportunity to show the world how naturally funny my parents were. When people tell me they feel like they know my mom, I always respond "you do!" She never put on a show, she was the show. If you ever met my mom and asked for a photo, you should know it was a pleasure as much for her as it was for you. She loved making people happy and making people laugh. And trust me, I know she was the bigger star...thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving us a lifetime of memories.

A post shared by Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) on Jan 3, 2019 at 3:40pm PST

Griffin's mom Maggie appeared on her Bravo reality series My Life on the D-List from 2005 to 2010. In her January Twitter thread, the comedian also talked about what it meant for viewers to learn about her mom on the show.

"What I am most proud of when it comes to My Life On The D List is that show gave me the opportunity to show the world how naturally funny my parents were. When people tell me they feel like they know my mom, I always respond 'you do!'" she wrote.

The comedian has gone through a lot in the last few years; she lost both her older siblings, Gary and Joyce, to cancer, in 2014 and 2017, respectively. One positive development, however, came earlier this year when Griffin married her longtime boyfriend, Randy Bick, with Lily Tomlin officiating.

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