All About Diddy's Parents, Melvin and Janice Combs — and What His Mom Has Said About the Scathing Allegations Against Him

Sean "Diddy" Combs grew up in New York City being raised by his mother, Janice Combs.

The "I'll Be Missing You" rapper was born in November 1969 to his parents, Janice and Melvin Earl Combs. However, when he was 3, Diddy's father was killed.

"I don't have a lot of memories of my father," he told REVOLT in 2013. "They say you can't miss something you never had, that's only a little ways right. There's definitely been times as I've gotten older that I've missed my father."

Following Melvin's death, Diddy was primarily raised by Janice, a model and teacher's assistant, in Harlem and Mount Vernon. N.Y. Now, following Diddy's arrest on Sept. 16 and the multiple accusations of sexual assault and sex trafficking against him, which he has pleaded not guilty to, Janice is defending her son.

“It is heartbreaking to see my son judged not for the truth, but for a narrative created out of lies,” she wrote in a statement shared by her attorney on Oct. 6. “To bear witness what seems like a public lynching of my son before he’s had the opportunity to prove his innocence is a pain too unbearable to put into words.”

Here's everything to know about Diddy's parents, Janice and Melvin Earl Combs.

Melvin died when Diddy was a child

Melvin died in 1972 when Diddy was 3 years old. Janice originally told the rapper his father died in a car accident, but when Diddy got older, he discovered that Melvin was a drug dealer who had been shot.

Diddy only found out his father died from a gunfight when he started school at Howard University and looked up his dad's name in the school's library, he shared during a commencement speech in May 2014.

"When I typed in my father’s name and the day he died, I read in the Amsterdam News that he had been murdered in a drug deal gone bad," he said. "Right there in that library I realized there’s nothing greater than a mother’s love and desire to protect her child."

In October 2013, Diddy told REVOLT that his father was a "hustler," which led him to learn early in life that there were "only two ways out" of a life of drug dealing: "dead or in jail."

Janice put Diddy through private school

Following Melvin's death, Janice raised Diddy on her own, prioritizing his education and making sure he was able to graduate from an all-boys Catholic school and attend college. The two moved back to Mount Vernon, N.Y., where Janice was raised, and Diddy went between the suburb and Harlem, where his grandmother lived, as he grew up.

In a 2006 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Diddy shared that his mom took on the role of a father, while his grandmother acted like his second mother, and that shaped the person he became.

"My mother likes to spend time with me," Diddy said. "She loves me so much, and she’s so proud of me. She almost killed herself to make sure I went to private schools, to expose me to travel."

Diddy has tried to help his mom date

Diddy shared in a 2022 livestream video that his mom was single and he'd taken her to strip clubs in the past. The two joked that they would make a dating show for her, but she's too "picky."

"Me and my mom talked about one time doing a dating show with her," he said. "She's so picky. She's so picky they don't stand [a chance]."

The rapper went on to say Janice "knows how to have a good time."

He bought her a car and gave her $1 million in 2020

Diddy has been generous with his mom over the years, buying her a Bentley and giving her a $1 million check for her 80th birthday in 2020. He posted about the day on his Instagram Stories, showing off the black luxury car he bought for her.

"I only exist because of this beautiful, hardworking, loving, hilarious, ass-whooping, always telling me the truth, genuine, smart, fly [and] absolutely amazing Black Goddess Queen!!" he wrote in the caption of his post. "Happy 80th Birthday to the best mother in the world! Love you forever and ever! ❤️ ... and this is actually her at 80th ... no filter ... no edit 🖤!!!"

Janice defended Diddy after his arrest

In the weeks following Diddy's arrest and not guilty plea, Janice released a statement of her own pleading the public to not make assumptions about her son's guilt.

She shared that she was “profoundly saddened” by the allegations against Diddy and asked that he be given the chance to “prove his innocence” in court. Janice also referenced a November 2023 lawsuit brought forth by Diddy's ex, singer Cassie, in which she alleged the rapper raped and assaulted her. The lawsuit was settled within a day, but in May 2024, CNN released hotel surveillance footage in which Diddy could be seen physically assaulting Cassie, matching the description of a 2016 incident mentioned in the lawsuit.

“I am not here to portray my son as perfect because he is not,” Janice said in her statement. "He has made mistakes in his past, as we all have. My son may not have been entirely truthful about certain things, such as denying he has ever gotten violent with an ex-girlfriend when the hotel’s surveillance showed otherwise.” 

“Sometimes, the truth and a lie become so closely intertwined that it becomes terrifying to admit one part of the story, especially when that truth is outside the norm or is too complicated to be believed,” her statement continued. “This is why I believe my son’s civil legal team opted to settle the ex-girlfriend’s lawsuit instead of contesting it until the end, resulting in a ricochet effect as the federal government used this decision against my son by interpreting it as an admission of guilt.”