Irish Grinstead Of The ’90s Group 702 Has Passed Away At Age 43

Source: Prince Williams / Getty

Irish Grinstead of the popular 1990s girl group 702 has died at the age of 43. Grinstead’s sister and 702 groupmate, LeMisha Grinstead, confirmed the news via social media Saturday, Sept. 16.

In a stunning black and white photo of Irish, LeMisha confirmed that her sister died following a “long battle.” She wrote on Instagram, “It is with great sadness that I have to let you know that my beautiful sister and friend has passed away this evening. She has had a long battle and she is finally at peace.” LaMisha then added that her talented sister was “as bright as the stars.”

She continued by sharing that Irish was “not only beautiful on the outside, but also within.” She concluded the post by writing, “Sharing the stage with her was a joy I will cherish for the rest of my life. We the family ask for prayers and respect for our privacy as we grieve an outstanding loss to our family.”

Check out the post below.

While the exact cause of Irish’s death has not yet been revealed, the news of her passing comes almost a year after the group announced that she took “a medical leave of absence.” At the time, the absence was said to be due to “serious medical issues.”

Several of the group’s celebrity friends were devasted by the news of Irish’s passing. Entertainers like Missy Elliot, Toni Braxton and Da Brat shared their condolences with LaMisha and the group by way of the comments section. Elliott wrote “💔🙏🏾🕊️ Multitude of Prayers for your family🙏🏾.” Braxton echoed those sentiments and added, “💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔 sister I’m so sorry.” Rapper Da Brat shared her words of support by posting as well, writing “💔💔💔💔💔💔💔 I’m so sorry. Here if yawl need ANYTHING” underneath the post.

Fellow groupmate Kameelah Williams also took to Instagram to express her feelings of sadness on Irish’s passing. She shared a photo of Irish to her feed and wrote that she was “Devastated & heartbroken 💔” by the loss and “struggled with this post” because it didn’t feel real.

She concluded her tribute post by sharing that she’ll always love Irish, writing, “You’ll always be my “IBG” & I still love you my forever lil sis!!!”

Our prayers and condolences go out to the family and friends of Irish Grinstead.

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