Caitlyn Jenner’s Mother, Esther Jenner, Dead at 96

Caitlyn Jenner‘s mother, Esther Jenner, passed away on Thursday. She was 96 years old. The Olympic gold medalist and former Keeping Up with the Kardashians star announced the news on social media alongside a series of happy photos from the past.  “I am heartbroken to announce my mom passed away yesterday morning, peacefully. Losing a mother is unique in the sense that she is the only person that loved me my entire life,” Caitlyn wrote. “I will miss her tremendously. She was a few weeks shy of 97 and lived a full life. Love you mom.” As a guest star on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Esther appeared in one episode in 2013, was later seen along with Caitlyn in the TV docuseries I Am Cait and, most recently, Untold: Caitlyn Jenner in 2021. In the wake of Caitlyn’s Vanity Fair cover reveal of her new identity in 2015, Esther opened up to the New York Daily News about what it was like working on adopting Caitlyn’s new name and using the proper pronouns. “Think about it. It’s a difficult thing when it’s habit. But I will accomplish this,” Ester told New York Daily News. “I love him dearly. It doesn’t matter whether he dresses like a male or a female. Whatever he needs to make him happy that’s all I care about.”

Ester affirmed her pride for her child, saying, “Caitlyn has handled this in a very respectable and respectful way. She’s made comments true to her heart. I have nothing but admiration for my child.” Previously, Caitlyn Jenner was married to Kris Jenner, but the couple separated in 2014, and today, the ex-couple maintains a cordial relationship, even though Caitlyn admitted last year that her relationships with her 10 children vary. “Of course, when you have 10 kids, you have different relationships with all of your children. Obviously, Kendall [Jenner] and Kylie [Jenner], my flesh and blood, I’m very close to them. On the Kardashian side, I see them here and there, but I’m not really close,” Caitlyn revealed on the Full Send podcast. “Kim is probably the closest. My other side, my other kids, my sons, Brandon, Burt, the whole group, they’re all there.”

According to reports last May, Caitlyn was “shocked” after not receiving an invitation to Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s wedding, despite walking her previous stepchildren, including Kim and Khloe, down the aisle. According to Page Six’s report, Caitlyn had expressed frustration that she did not receive her invitation in the mail, even though she was a parent to Kendall and Kylie, who attended. According to a source on Caitlyn’s team, “She is shocked.” According to Kardashian sources, there were no hard feelings on Kourtney’s end, and Jenner “didn’t make the cut.” Caitlyn was also absent from her family’s reality show on Hulu, The Kardashians. She wrote in a tweet, “Of course no bad blood. I love my family and am thrilled for the show continuing. But I was shocked to learn through the press that I was explicitly excluded from the new show.”