Nell Carter was an American singer and actress who had a highly successful career in Broadway plays and musicals and reached stardom in the sitcom Gimme a Break!

Unfortunately, she passed away on January 23, 2003, when her son Joshua, who was only thirteen years old at the time, found her body at her home in Beverly Hills. According to official reports, Nell collapsed and died almost immediately.

While she stated in her will that she didn’t want to get an autopsy, other tests that included X-rays, physical examination, and blood tests revealed that arteriosclerotic heart disease probably caused her death.

Apart from that, Nell had diabetes, which might have contributed to her health’s problems and death. She is survived by three children and was interred at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery.

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Even though she was not afraid to talk about any topic, it wasn’t until her death that it was revealed to the public that the singer and actress was in a longtime relationship with a woman named Ann Kaser.

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As GLBTQ Archive reported, before meeting Ann, Nell was married to George Krynicki. Soon after that, she converted to Judaism and, since she couldn’t get pregnant, the couple decided to adopt two sons, Joshua and Daniel.

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They were together for ten years and called in quits in 1992. After that, she married music producer Roger Larocque. Unfortunately for the couple, they divorced a couple of months later.

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In the mid-90s, Nell met and became romantically involved with Ann, whom she referred to as a “friend and business partner.” Soon after that, Ann moved to Nell’s Beverly Hills home and started living there with Nell and her children.

Their relationship was so good that when the singer died, the heir and custodial parent of Nell's two sons was her partner and friend Ann. Only death could take them apart.

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