Gemma Collins has announced the death of her mother, Joan, who passed away peacefully at the age of 70. The former 'The Only Way Is Essex' star shared the news on Instagram, stating her mother was "surrounded by love."

Joan Collins had been hospitalized with pneumonia the month prior to her passing. Gemma had updated her followers at the time, sharing that her mother was "doing well" and thanking the medical staff. This was not the first time Joan had battled pneumonia; she had experienced the illness twice in the six months leading up to her death. She had previously been admitted to the hospital in December 2025 for pneumonia, recovering after five weeks, and had another hospitalization in March 2020 for the same condition.

In 2024, Joan experienced a severe health scare where she stopped breathing and was taken to intensive care. This led to Gemma fearing the worst, as she was told her mother might not be resuscitated if she went into cardiac arrest. "So imagine that, you know, I'm in the hospital having been out for dinner the day before, and then the next day I'm like, 'Wow', so that was a massive shock," Gemma said at the time.

Gemma penned a touching tribute to her mother on Instagram, expressing her grief. "My heart is shattered into a million pieces," she wrote. "Today our beautiful mum passed away peacefully surrounded by LOVE. Mum, Today, every piece of my heart left with you. No words will ever be enough to thank you for loving me, guiding me, and being my mum. You gave me life, you gave me strength, and you gave me memories that I will carry for every day I have left."

Joan, a former hairdresser, was a familiar face to fans of 'TOWIE' and made several appearances on the show. She also featured in Gemma's 2024 episode of 'Who Do You Think You Are?', which explored their family history. During the program, it was revealed that Joan's biological mother had been forced to give her up to a foster family. Joan had spent much of her life believing her mother, also named Joan, had abandoned her. However, the show uncovered that her mother may have been compelled to give her up due to misdiagnosed mental health issues and was subsequently forced to limit contact.

Joan spoke emotionally during the episode about feeling abandoned and unloved as a child. "You're always left wondering. My foster family was my family. I went into foster care a two weeks old," she shared. The revelation led both Joan and Gemma to tears as they read Joan's foster statement. Joan also recounted being sent to a children's home at age 13 for truancy, describing the experience as feeling like a "prison." She recalled only meeting her biological mother three times.

Gemma Collins has also recently spoken about her own health journey, detailing how her use of Ozempic led to a gallbladder attack and forced her to stop the medication, despite significant weight loss. She described the experience as initially