Traci Braxton, a television personality and singer, passed away on Saturday. She was 50.
One of Mrs Braxton’s sisters, singer Toni Braxton, confirmed her death in a statement from the Braxton family on Instagram. A cause of her death was not immediately available.
“It goes without saying that she was a bright light, a wonderful daughter, a wonderful sister, a loving mother, wife, grandmother and respected artist,” the statement said.
Traci Braxton was perhaps best known for her appearances on the reality TV show “Braxton Family Values” with her sisters Tamar, Toni, Towanda and Trina and her brother, Michael, and their families.
Ms. Braxton was named the Wild Card in the show, which premiered on the WE TV network in 2011 and ran through late 2020. Ms. Braxton also appeared on “Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars” with her husband, Surratt.
Traci Renee Braxton was born on April 2, 1971, the third child of Michael and Evelyn.
Braxton’s children grew up in a religious family in Severn, Maryland. Their father was a part-time preacher who forbade the family from playing secular music.
A complete list of survivors was not immediately available.
Mrs. Braxton sang with her sisters as a teenager and young adult, and the five together formed the Braxtons and released the single “Good Life” in 1990.
Toni Braxton was plucked from the group to become a solo artist, and her debut album was widely acclaimed when it was released in 1993.
The other sisters continued as a group, except for Traci Braxton, who left the music industry in the 1990s to raise her son. She worked as a social worker before the sisters reunited for “Braxton Family Values.”
On the show, she explored her decision to part with music and the unresolved feelings she had about leaving it behind, which set her on her way back to the industry. She released her solo debut album ‘Crash & Burn’ in 2014 and a follow-up album, ‘On Earth’ in 2018.
In February 2016, Mrs. Braxton emerges as the voice behind a momentous moment when an unnamed person can be heard at a White House event yelling “Hey Michelle” at Michelle and Barack Obama.
Obama replied, “We know it’s Black History Month when you hear someone say, ‘Hey, Michelle. Girl!'”
Ms. Braxton acknowledged being the voice during an appearance on the talk show “The Real”, which her sister, Tamar Braxton, hosted.
