Fleetwood Mac star Christine McVie’s cause of death confirmed
Details of the late singer and keyboardist's death certificate have been revealed
By Nick Reilly
Christine McVie’s cause of death has been revealed in a new report which outlined the details of the late Fleetwood Mac icon’s death certificate.
The singer and keyboardist’s death was confirmed in November 2022, with a statement confirming that the 79-year-old had “passed away peacefully” in hospital after a short illness.
Now, The Blast reports that McVie’s death was primarily caused by an ischemic stroke. They are considered the most common type of stroke and occur when blood supply to the brain is interrupted or reduced.
McVie’s death certificate also said she had been diagnosed with “metastatic malignancy of unknown primary origin”, meaning that cancerous cells had been detected in an unknown part of her body.
In an interview with Rolling Stone back in June, McVie acknowledged that she was in “quite bad health.” She said she was struggling with a “chronic back problem,” though didn’t offer any further details.
At the time of McVie’s death, Fleetwood Mac hailed their late bandmate in a statement shared to social media. “There are no words to describe our sadness at the passing of Christine McVie. She was truly one-of-a-kind, special and talented beyond measure. She was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life. We were so lucky to have a life with her. Individually and together, we cherished Christine deeply and are thankful for the amazing memories we have. She will be so very missed.”
In her final interview with Rolling Stone, McVie was asked what advice she might give to herself if she were able to go back to 1976, when Fleetwood Mac was just about to hit really big. For all the drama and tension, however, McVie seemed more than just at ease with how her life had played out.
“To be honest with you, I don’t think I gave myself any advice,” she said. “I think I just kind of got on with what I was doing and thoroughly enjoyed it. Obviously, my best, beautiful days were when we were the Buckingham-Nicks Fleetwood Mac version. That was the best to me.”
A few moments later she added, “I enjoyed the storm… Even though I am quite a peaceful person, I did enjoy that storm. Although it’s said that we fought a lot, we actually did spend a lot of our time laughing.”