All About Missy Elliott's Parents, Mom Patricia and Dad Ronnie Elliott

Mar. 15, 2025

Missy Elliott speaks onstage during 2019 Urban One Honors at MGM National Harbor on December 05, 2019 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. ; Patricia Elliott.Photo:Paras Griffin/Getty ; Missy Elliott/Facebook

Paras Griffin/Getty ; Missy Elliott/Facebook

Missy Elliott’s parents, Patricia and Ronnie Elliott, influenced her in different ways.

Although the Grammy Award-winning artist grew up with her mom and dad, Missy has called Patricia a “single parent.” Throughout her career, the rapper has been open about the alleged physical abuse her mother faced from Ronnie.

Missy admitted on VH1’sBehind the Musicthat witnessing it deeply impacted her outlook on life. With everything she went through as a child, music was her “outlet.”

“I said, ‘One day I’m gonna be famous, and I’m gonna rescue my mother,’ ” the “Work It” singer recalled. “I’m gonna get my mother out of this situation.”

Despite the challenges she dealt with, Patricia always encouraged her daughter’s creative pursuits — she would even let Missy write songs on her bedroom walls,per Facebook.

The R&B star shared onX(formerly Twitter) in 2023 that “even through some of her toughest times,” her mom has “always been there to hold” her up, adding, “I will always do the same for you Mama.”

Here’s everything to know about Missy Elliott’s parents, Patricia and Ronnie Elliott.

Missy is Patricia and Ronnie’s only child

Roy Rochlin/Getty

Ronnie and Patricia welcomed their daughter, Melissa Arnette Elliott, a.k.a. Missy Elliott, on July 1, 1971.

The “Get Ur Freak On” vocalist posted onXin 2022 that she’s an “only child” but wishes she “had siblings like” her cousins.

Reflecting on her childhood,Missy recountedher mother and father teaching her to respect them and other adults.

“The old school parents always reprimanded us when we did wrong.. We learned respect that way & it made many of us do right," she elaborated in adifferent 2015 post.

They raised Missy in Virginia and North Carolina

Missy was born in Portsmouth, Va., and she grew up in Jacksonville, N.C., after her dad’s career in the Marines caused the family to relocate. While Ronnie served, Patricia was apower company dispatcher.

The “Gossip Folks” artist and her mom noted inBehind the Musicthat their mobile home in North Carolina didn’t have a bathroom or running water. Patricia also recalled them eating bread with butter for breakfast and dinner as they navigated poverty.

When Missy’s father finished his Marine service, they moved back to Virginia, where they lived in a “shack” without heat, according toThe Guardian.

Since then, the singer has returned to her hometown, where astreet was renamedin her honor in 2022.

Missy credits her parents for her “vocal style and harmonies”

Getty

Starting at age 4, Missy began expressing her interest in becoming a performer. In a 2003 interview withThe Guardian, she shared that she would sing Jackson 5 songs for her neighbors and at family gatherings.

Decades later, Missy revealed that her mom and dad inspired her music largely because the two had contrasting tastes.

“The reason my vocal style & harmonies was different is because my mom was from the church & my dad only listened to R&B,” she wroteon Xin 2024.

Missy continued, “In a unique way I found a way to blend the feeling of harmonies in Gospel with the vibe of R&B that became a different feel 🙌🏾.”

Patricia and Ronnie went their separate ways when Missy was 14

“My father was very abusive, and it was hard for my mother at first to leave because we had depended on him for so long,” she toldThe Guardianin 2003.

The breaking point happened when Ronnie threatened Patricia with a gun, and Missy ran over to her uncle’s home for help, according toBehind the Music. Soon after, Patricia left Ronnie in 1985 when Missy was a teenager.

PerThe Guardian, Ronnie was out one day when relatives came to the house and loaded a truck with their belongings, reportedly leaving Missy’s dad with only a fork, spoon and blanket.

“When we left, my mother realized how strong she was on her own, and it made me strong,” Missy told the outlet.

“It was like I’m free. I’m finally making a choice that I never thought I could do,” Patricia said in the VH1 special. “I said, ‘It’s gonna change us for the rest of our lives.’ ”

Missy rarely speaks about her father publicly and hasn’t given an update on their relationship in recent years.

Patricia enjoys celebrating Missy

Missy Elliot performs during the 25th Essence Music Festival on July 05, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana.Josh Brasted/FilmMagic

Josh Brasted/FilmMagic

When Missy celebrated her fiftieth birthday in 2021, Patricia gifted her daughter a Lamborghini.

Alongside a video of the vehicle, the rapper wrote onX, “Thank you mommy 4 my BDAY gift she got me a SVJ Lambo roadster she said I work so hard🖤💚🔥🙌🏾 I have been in the industry over 25 yrs and only had 3 vacations🙀 but this BDAY is Amazing.”

Two years earlier, in 2019, Missy received a dazzling present from her mom after gettinginducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

“So many Amazing gifts today i am so humbly grateful😩🙏🏾 a gift from my mommy for getting inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame tonight🥰❤️🤗,” shecaptioned a videoof a ring. “I Love you Mommy!”

Patricia watched Missy perform for the first time in 2023

Missy Elliott performs during the Lovers & Friends music festival at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on May 06, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Candice Ward/Getty

Candice Ward/Getty

The unique tradition changed in November 2023 when Missy was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, becoming the first female rapper to do so.She performeda few of her greatest hits, including “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” and “Pass That Dutch.”

That same night, Missy explained why it took so long for her mom to see her sing onstage.

“I never wanted my mother to come to a show to hear me curse ‘cause she from the church,”she saidin her speech. “But this night is so important, and I wouldn’t have it no other way.”

Ahead of the ceremony, Missy revealed to theNew York Posthow their conversation about the occasion unfolded. “I’m like, ‘Mama, just come on — you just gon’ have to close your ears!’ " she quipped.

source: people.com