Bruno Mars’ mother, Bernadette Hernandez, died on Saturday in Hawaii. A publicist for Atlantic Records, Mars’ label, confirmed to the Associated Press that Hernandez had suffered a brain aneurysm. She was 55 years old and died at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu.
Hernandez, a hula dancer and singer who was born in the Philippines and immigrated to Hawaii, had been supportive of her children’s early musical ambitions, according to the AP. Mars has four sisters who sing together in a group called the Lylas, and a brother who plays the drums in Mars’ band.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Mars (born Peter Hernandez) talked about his musical family roots, and impersonating Elvis Presley in the hugely successful family band when he was two years old. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he said of that time with his family and their subsequent financial struggles. “Because I feel like I can enjoy this so much.”
[RollingStones]