‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Shares Devastating News

A Grey’s Anatomy star shared some devastating news.

Debbie Allen took to her Instagram to say goodbye to her mother, Vivian.

“Mommie you have transformed into that cosmic bird Hawk that lives and breathes Freedom,” she wrote. “We will follow your trail of golden dust and continue to climb higher. We promise ‘to be true be beautiful be Free’ Love Love Love Love Love.”

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A post shared by Debbie Allen (@therealdebbieallen)

Vivian Ayers was 102 years old and actually just celebrated her birthday, according to an Instagram post by Allen on July 30. Alongside the caption, she shared a compilation video of her mother. Many fans and famous friends took to the comments of Allen’s tribute post, including Yvette Nicole Brown, who wrote, “Sending love to your entire family.”

Per Parade, Ayers was a poet and playwright, writing the 1952 Pulitzer Prize-nominated poetry collection Spice of Dawns. She also wrote Hawk in 1957. Additionally, Allen is not her only famous daughter. Ayers was the mother of actress Phylicia Rashad. She was also the mom to Hugh Allen and Andrew Arthur “Tex” Allen Jr., sharing all four kids with the late Andrew Allen.

“It was my mother who taught us choral speech; it was my mother who taught us to tumble across the living room floor,” The Cosby Show star told NPR in 2010. “It was my mother who gave us a real appreciation for art and literature as living things, not just as something hung on the wall or placed on the shelf — an appreciation for ideas and the power of thought and human intention. My mother gave us a lot — she gave us everything.”

Debbie Allen can currently be seen as Catherine Fox on the long-running ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, which is entering its 22^nd season this fall. It’s unknown if Allen will be taking any time off to mourn her mother, but she’s only been recurring on Grey’s, so she doesn’t need to be in every episode, which will certainly help. She also serves as an EP on the series and has a handful of projects in the works that she’s an executive producer on, including the upcoming A Different World sequel series. Again, it’s unknown how much time, if any, she’ll be taking off, but it wouldn’t be surprising if she were to take some time for herself and family.