Subscribe
Hellobeautiful Featured Video
CLOSE
FOX's 'American Idol' Finale For The Farewell Season - Arrivals

Source: Jason LaVeris / Getty

Jordin Sparks‘ step-sister has passed due to complications with sickle cell anemia, People reports.

The American Idol alum’s sibling, Bryanna Jackson-Frias, died Tuesday evening after a long battle with the blood disorder.

She was only 16.

“Bry went peacefully to Heaven,” Sparks’s mom, Jodi Jackson, wrote on a Facebook post. “I can’t help to think [that] she’s smiling just like this. Thank you all for your prayers.”

Sparks, who was recently married, revealed her sister was in the ICU early Tuesday,  “Please keep my little sister, Bryanna, in your prayers,” the American Idol alum captioned an Instagram Story. “She’s suffering from complications from sickle cell and is in the ICU fighting for her life.”

The family asked that donations be sent to El Paso Children’s Hospital in her honor.

SOURCE: PEOPLE

RELATED LINKS

#CouplesWeLove: Jordin Sparks & Dana Isaiah Got That New Love That Feels Like A Lifetime

2 For 1: Jordin Sparks Is Married With A Baby On The Way

Jazmine Sullivan, Jordin Sparks, Andra Day And More Star In The Must Watch PSA #SaveMyEdges

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.