Freddie Mercury’s ‘secret’ daughter Bibi has died after being diagnosed with a rare spinal cancer, aged 48.
Her death was confirmed by her widower Thomas who said in a statement that she died ‘peacefully after a long battle with chordoma, a rare spinal cancer, leaving two sons aged nine and seven’. The family live in France.
The statement to Daily Mail continued: ‘B is now with her beloved and loving father in the world of thoughts. Her ashes were scattered to the wind over the Alps.’
Author Lesley-Ann Jones, revealed Bibi’s existence in her book Love, Freddie – with her previously only being publicly known as ‘B’.
She said in response to the news: ‘I am devastated by the loss of this woman who became my close friend, who had come to me with a selfless aim: to brush aside all those who have had free rein with Freddie’s story for 32 years, to challenge their lies and their rewriting of his life, and to deliver the truth.’
In May 2025, the late Bibi revealed she took a DNA test to confirm her paternity when, 34 year’s after the Queen star’s death, it was alleged he fathered a child after having a brief fling with a friend’s wife in 1976.
Mercury died in 1991, aged 45 following complications after being diagnosed with AIDs.
The book, which came out in September 2025, was reportedly based on 17 volumes of journals given to Bibi by her late father in 1991 before his death.
In August she penned some emotional words.
She said at the time: ‘I didn’t want to share my Dad with the whole world.
‘After his death, I had to learn to live with the attacks against him, the misrepresentations of him, and with the feeling that my Dad now belonged to everyone.
‘I cried and mourned my Dad, while fans all around the world mourned Freddie. When you are 15 years old, it’s not easy. I had to become an adult without him, and live all the structuring moments and events without his support.’
Jones has claimed to the Mail that Bibi’s cancer first reared when she was ‘very young’ leading to the family regularly relocating to seek the best treatment.
After it returned following ‘some years’ in remission, she contacted Jones in 2021 to tell her story.
She added: ‘We worked together for 4 years to get the book written and published – on borrowed time.
‘Last summer, towards the end of her life, she, her husband and two young children undertook an epic trip of a lifetime to South America.
‘Against the odds, she was able to get to the Inca ruins at Macchu Pichu, her ‘bucketlist’ destination. When they returned at summer’s end, she went straight into a treatment programme of 4 days in hospital for chemo, 3 days at home with her family. Our book was published on 5th September.’
Mercury’s close friend and former fiancée, Mary Austin, has denied that she had any knowledge of a secret child’s existence, despite Bibi claiming otherwise.
The 74-year-old said: ‘The truth is that I am simply not the guardian of such a secret.
‘I’ve never known of any child, or of any diaries. If Freddie had indeed had a child without me knowing anything about it, that would be astonishing to me.’
As well as Austin, Love, Freddie also claimed his bandmates were aware of Bibi’s existence.
The wife of bandmate Brian May, EastEnder’s Anita Dobson, told The Telegraph: ‘Why wait this long? Brian thinks it’s a load of rubbish.
‘I knew Freddie really, really well – I was a good friend of his – and I think Brian would trust me with that knowledge.’
In response to calls for DNA tests to be made public, author Jones wrote on social media: ‘To those “demanding” to see proof of a DNA test, otherwise they won’t believe it – please rest assured that the requisite verification was obtained, legal teams have been involved, but that such measures are private & not shared publicly. Thank you.’
A passage from the book itself reads: ‘ ‘He adored me and was devoted to me.
‘The circumstances of my birth may seem, by most people’s standards, unusual and even outrageous.
‘That should come as no surprise. It never detracted from his commitment to love and look after me. He cherished me like a treasured possession.’
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