Kathy Griffin‘s sister, Joyce Patricia Griffin, died on Thursday, September 14, after battling an undisclosed form of cancer, the stand-up comedian confirmed on Twitter. She was 65.
“My sister Joyce passed away peacefully last night,” Kathy, 56, tweeted on Friday, September 15, alongside a video of her only sister watching a musical performance from her hospital bed. “Check out this beautiful moment.”
The end of the video showed a cartoon version of Joyce and included a message that read, “This is where she always wanted to be… & now she’s having a Mai Tai on the beach in heaven.” Kathy also included a link to donate to the American Cancer Society in her tweet.
My sister Joyce passed away peacefully last night.
Check out this beautiful moment.
Support @AmericanCancer here: https://t.co/llSJg4sLGE pic.twitter.com/ElpwY937ZZ— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) September 15, 2017
The two-time Emmy winner shaved her head in solidarity with her sister’s cancer battle in late July. Kathy’s brother Gary Griffin died of esophageal cancer in 2014. Her estranged eldest brother, Kenny Griffin, also died years ago.
In solidarity with her sister, who is going through chemo, @kathygriffin shaved her head. Donate to @AmericanCancer: https://t.co/NazIbJ9FQ2 pic.twitter.com/UXr9YH1LYc
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) July 31, 2017
This has been a tough year for Kathy, who lost several endorsement deals and a hosting gig after she posed with a fake, bloodied and severed head that resembled President Donald Trump for a controversial photo shoot. The real estate mogul, 71, responded on Twitter after the picture was released in May, saying that his 11-year-old son, Barron, was “having a hard time with this.” The Secret Service reportedly investigated Kathy for the shoot, though she tweeted in July that she had been “completely exonerated.”