When Michaela DePrince was living in an orphanage during Sierra Leone’s civil war in the late 1990s, death was all around her: Her parents were gone, her uncle had abandoned her, and she witnessed the murder of her teacher.

Professional ballet dancer Michaela Mabinty DePrince joined Boston Ballet in 2021, three years before her death at age 29

Long before fame made her name recognizable throughout the ballet world, Michaela Mabinty DePrince was dismissively called “Orphan 27″ — designated the least likely to be adopted from among the children in a Sierra Leone facility where an uncle had abandoned her during the country’s brutal civil war.

Just one day after Boston Ballet principal soloist Michaela Mabinty DePrince died at the age of 29, her adoptive mother also passed away from an unrelated illness.

Renowned ballet dancer Michaela Mabinty DePrince and her adoptive mother died within one day of each other, their family confirmed to ABC News this week.