Rock legend Jon Bon Jovi has paid tribute to his mother, Carol Bongiovi, who died yesterday aged 83.
The 62-year-old rocker remembered his mother as a ‘force to be reckoned with’ after she died on Tuesday 9th July 2024 at the Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, New Jersey, three days before her 84th birthday.
Carol was a former Playboy bunny, and met her husband John Bongiovi Sr. after enlisting in the US Marine Corps in 1959.
She was the founder of Bon Jovi’s fan club and operated several other businesses while raising her family.
Jon released a statement to People magazine on behalf of his family, which read: ‘Our mother was a force to be reckoned with, her spirit and can-do attitude shaped this family. She will be greatly missed.’
As well as Jon, his wife Dorothea, and their four children – Jake, 22, Jesse, 29, Stephanie, 31, and 20-year-old Romeo – Carol is survived by her husband, their two other sons, Anthony and Matthew, and their respective families.
The Always singer previously praised his parents for their encouraging attitude and giving him ‘the ability to make the dream reality’, even if it meant performing late at night while still having school the next morning.
He told Big Issue magazine: ‘Even if you truly weren’t any good at your craft, if you believed you were, you could work on it.
‘As I got older I realised that was a great gift that I got from my folks.
‘They truly believed in the John Kennedy mantra of going to the moon. ‘Yeah, of course you can go to the moon. Just go, Johnny.’ And there I went.
‘They were always supportive of me, which in retrospect, was incredible. Because I could get home at one or two in the morning, and have to still be in school by eight o’clock. They just said, show up on time for school, you know that is your responsibility, but pursue your dream.’
Jon chatted to last month about Glastonbury and ageing as a rock legend.
‘I stand before you as a grey-haired 62-year-old male where I could be dyeing my hair and getting Botox or, or doing duets with hip hop guys, because it’d get me on the BBC,’ he said.
‘I’d rather just live in the truth than pander to your collective approvals.’
Having never played at Glastonbury Festival before, Jon said this is something he’d be up for in 2025.
He said: ‘I never went to it. But I heard about that legend slot. I’m aware of the festival obviously. But I never went…
‘I feel like it would be pretty legendary. Let’s think about it, for next year.’
It’s been a busy year for Jon, as he watched his son Jake marry Stranger Things star, 20-year-old Millie Bobby Brown.
‘They are great, they are absolutely fantastic,’ he told BBC’s The One Show in May while confirming the news they had married.
‘It was a very small, family wedding and the bride looked gorgeous and Jake is happy as can be. It’s true.’