Debbie Nelson, mother of Eminem and frequent subject of his lyrics ...

Debbie Nelson, best known publicly for her rocky relationship with rap-star son Eminem, died Monday night in St. Joseph, Missouri. She was 69.

Nelson’s death was confirmed Tuesday by an Eminem spokesperson. She had battled cancer for many years and ultimately succumbed to lung cancer.

Eminem had not publicly commented on his mother’s passing as of Tuesday afternoon. The rapper is scheduled to perform Saturday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the United Arab Emirates.

Their jagged mother-son relationship was chronicled for years by Eminem in song, including hits such as “Cleanin’ Out my Closet.” The internecine hostility also played out in media interviews given by both, becoming one of the trademark traits of Eminem’s public profile during the early years of his career.

The two became estranged during that first stretch of his success, and Nelson even sued her son for defamation.

In 2013, the rapper reflected on their separation in the song “Headlights,” a reference to the imagery of her car pulling away the last time they’d been together.

In that later song, he apologized to Nelson for “Cleanin’ Out My Closet,” pointing out he had stopped performing it live. “I cringe every time it’s on the radio,” he rapped. Still, “to this day we remain estranged.”

Born in 1955 on a U.S. Air Force base in Kansas, Nelson would later write of her own turbulent childhood, saying she had “few fond memories” growing up, which included time living in the suburban Detroit city Warren with her grandmother.

In 1970, at age 15 — then the legal age for marriage in Missouri — she wed boyfriend Bruce Mathers. Less than two years later, on Oct. 17, 1972, she gave birth to her first son, Marshall, in St. Joseph.

Nelson, who spent much of her adult life known as Debbie Mathers, briefly lived in North Dakota with her infant son before moving back to Missouri. She sought to divorce her husband in 1974, citing physical abuse, but he fled to California, Nelson would later write.

Eminem spent his childhood moving between residences in Missouri and metro Detroit’s east side before he and his mom permanently settled in Michigan in the 1980s. Nelson gave birth to his half-brother, Nathan Kane, in 1986.

Following her son’s blockbuster breakout with “The Slim Shady LP” in 1999, Nelson hit her son with a $10 million lawsuit for defamation and emotional distress. Her filing cited 25 remarks he’d made in various interviews accusing her of drug abuse and violent behavior during his upbringing.

Nelson’s mother, Betty Kresin, backed Eminem — her grandson — during the legal dispute.

“The boy had a hellish childhood,” she told the Detroit Free Press in 1999. “I began to think Marshall's name was Come-Here-You-Little-Son-of-a-Bitch.”

In 2000, Nelson told the Free Press: "You've just got to stay positive when you've got so many negative people in your life."

Speaking with the Free Press when his debut album arrived that year, Eminem acknowledged the shock value of the edgy lyrical attacks that lined the album.

"A lot of people are going to be like, 'Oh my God, I can't believe you said that!' But until you've been in my shoes, don't judge me," he said. "My mother doesn't like the fact that I talk about her doing drugs. Even though I say it in a joking kind of way, I think it hits home with her. And she knows. She knows. My mother knows."

The suit was settled out of court in 2000. In his 2002 hit “Without Me,” Eminem famously rapped, “I just settled all my lawsuits,” punctuated by a profane jab at his mom.

To the extent that the film “8 Mile” reflected the real-life Marshall Mathers story, you could say Nelson was the inspiration for “mom’s spaghetti,” the lyrical bit from “Lose Yourself” that became an enduring pop-culture meme. (The phrase also became the name of Eminem’s downtown Detroit eatery, which now sells a retail version of its Mom’s Spaghetti sauce.)

Despite their estrangement, Nelson had hoped for a role in the 2002 movie, which was shot in Detroit — aiming to play the trailer-park mother role that ultimately went to Kim Basinger.

In 2008, Nelson published a memoir, “My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem,” with the subtitle “Setting the record straight on my life as Eminem’s mother.”

In it, she wrote about her difficulties penetrating Eminem’s tight entourage of staff and bodyguards.

“In my heart I know Marshall still loves me,” she wrote. “He’s just confused.”

Nelson, who lived in metro Detroit during Eminem’s rise to fame, eventually made her way back to St. Joseph, where she spent her final years.

Her 226-page memoir ended with a bittersweet paragraph.

“The house used to be filled with the sound of children’s voices,” Nelson wrote. “And even though I’m alone now, the phone still rings. I have some wonderful friends who have helped me through so much. It still doesn’t fill the empty gap in my heart, but it helps.”

Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.