Who is Lorna Smith Tyson and what is her connection with Mike Tyson?
Lorna Smith Tyson is the mother of former world champion boxer Mike Tyson.
Originally from Charlottesville, Virginia, she spent most of her life in Bedford Stuyvesant. Lorna Smith Tyson had three children, sons Rodney Tyson and Mike Tyson and a daughter Denise Tyson.
According to reports, Lorna Smith Tyson married a Jamaican man named Percel Tyson after they met in New York. However, according to Mike Tyson, his biological father was a man named Jimmy 'Curlee' Kirkpatrick Jr.
According to Bleacher Report, Tyson's mother died when he was just 16 years of age. Speaking of their strained relationship, Mike Tyson said:
"I never saw my mother happy with me and proud of me for doing something. She only knew me as being a wild kid running the streets, coming home with new clothes that she knew I didn't pay for. I never got a chance to talk to her or know about her. Professionally, it has no effect, but it's crushing emotionally and personally." (h/t Bleacher Report)
When Mike Tyson paid tribute to Lorna Smith Tyson
Mike Tyson claims to know very little about his mother Lorna Smith Tyson.
'Iron' Mike in fact stumbled across a picture of his mother for the first time in 2020. The boxing legend took to Instagram to share the image and pay tribute to his late mother.
According to Mike Tyson, Lorna Smith Tyson knew famous personalities like Malcolm X and Miles Davis back in her youth.
Revealing further details about her, Mike wrote on Instagram:
"My mother in 1947. I just saw this pic for the first time today. She's 20 years old. She grew up knowing Malcolm X, Miles David and she knew the original Harlem Globetrotters. She was a first class dresser no wonder why I love clothes. I knew nothing about my mother. She never told me anything except what my dad told me about her later on in life. I'm proud to be the son of Lorna May Smith. Her roots are from Charlottesville, Virginia but she lived in Bedford Stuyvesant, 203 Franklin Ave between Dekalb and Willoughby. She was a part of the Swing Era."