What Happened to Kanye West's Mom Donda and How Did She Die?

Kanye West's life and career is being examined in a documentary film titled Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy.

The Netflix three-parter charts the rapper's journey from young musician to icon, and it will explore all aspects of his professional and personal life.

One person who will feature prominently is West's late mother Dr. Donda C. West who had a huge impact on the musician, so much so that his two most recent albums, Donda and Donda 2 (scheduled for release on February 22), pay tribute to her.

Here is everything you need to know about the matriarch, who tragically passed away in 2007.

Who Was Kanye West's Mother Donda?

West's mother Donda was a professor at Chicago State University where she worked for 31 years, 24 of which in the Department of English, Communications, Media and Theater.

She raised the musician in Chicago as a single mother after she and ex-husband Ray separated when West was 3 years old.

As West's music career grew, his mother decided to retire from her position at Chicago State University and moved to Los Angeles so she could become his full-time "momager" from 2004.

Donda wrote a book titled Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar, in which she reflected on the first time she heard her son's music.

Of his debut album "The College Dropout," per El Pais, she wrote: "I sat in the parking lot and listened to the whole CD. I couldn't pull off. I wanted to be still and take it all in.

"I sat there, listening halfway holding back tears— halfway jamming. I had the music turned up real loud. I wanted to open my window and scream to everybody walking by, 'Hey, this is my kid!'"

In 2004, West said of Donda in an interview with MTV: "This is my mother. I love her. She is my best friend in the whole world.

"My mother let me work on music, she helped me out, she used to drive me to the studio. She was really my first manager. She's still my general manger."

As well as his two recent albums, West also wrote the song "Hey Mama" in dedication to Donda, which he performed in front of her on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2005.

Donda was often seen with her son at events and she also helped him set up the Kanye West Foundation in 2003, which helped provide music education to underprivileged youth.

Following his mother's death in 2007 West decided to rename it the Dr. Donda West Foundation in 2008, however it was closed in 2011.

What Happened to Donda and How Did She Die?

Donda passed away suddenly at the age of 58 on November 10, 2007, a day after she underwent cosmetic surgery.

Following her passing it was found her death was caused by heart failure due to multiple post-operative factors.

West's mother had had liposuction, a tummy tuck and a breast reduction. She chose to recover at home following the procedure.

Donda's autopsy report revealed that she "experienced a sore throat, pain and tightening in her chest, before collapsing in the early evening" the day after her cosmetic procedures.

West has openly struggled with his grief since his mother's death and in an interview with Q magazine he said he felt she would have still been alive had he not started his music career.

When asked what he had sacrificed in his life for success he told Q: "My mum. If I had never moved to Los Angeles, she'd be alive... I don't want to go far into it because it will bring me to tears."

Act 1 of Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy will launch on Netflix on February 16. Act 2 and Act 3 will arrive on the streaming service in the following weeks.