Virgin Group’s billionaire founder Richard Branson has revealed that his mother, Eve, has died from Covid-19 at age 96. Branson shared the news on Tuesday in a heartfelt blog post that was published on Virgin’s website titled ‘Celebrating my mum, Eve Branson’.
In the post, Branson called his mother a “force of nature” and said she’d managed to fight off the virus but had “expended all of her energy in the process”. He added that his sister Vanessa and his nephew Louis were by Eve’s side until the very end.
Rather than mourn her loss in the lengthy post, Branson focused on celebrating her life by taking readers through her impressive adventures, which included taking glider lessons disguised as a boy, enlisting in the Women’s Royal Navy Service (Wrens) during World War II, touring Germany as a ballet dancer after the war, acting on the West End stage and working as a pioneering air hostess on the treacherous British South American Airways routes.
He went on to praise his mother Eve and his father Edward, who passed away in 2011, for teaching him and his sisters – Linette (Lindy) and Vanessa – values that stuck with them for life. “They taught us the importance of hard work, of not taking yourself too seriously, of treating people how you wish to be treated, of entrepreneurship, and so much more,” he said. “They showed us how family is the most important thing in the world, and surrounded us with love and encouragement.”
Branson also credited his mother for kicking off his multi-billion dollar career by handing him his first ever £100 in the late 1960s, which he admitted “started Virgin”. Decades later, Branson sweetly named Virgin Galactic’s mothership VMS Eve, after his own mum.
Eve’s lasting legacies include her 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, as well as her foundation The Eve Branson Foundation, which Branson said she created to “improve the lives of women and young girls in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains and provide access to education and healthcare to those in need”.
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Virgin’s official Instagram page shared a sweet photo of the pair alongside the caption, “Today we celebrate the life of Eve Branson who has sadly passed away. From everyone at the #VirginFamily, we send our love.” The comments were flooded with love hearts and well wishes from fans, who were also devastated to hear the news.
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