NEWS

Tributes paid after death of Scottish artist Heir Of The Cursed

Scottish artist Heir Of The Curse has died, her family have confirmed in a statement.

The musician, whose real name was Beldina Odenyo Onassis, was 31 years of age. A cause of death has not been made public at present.

“We are devastated,” her family said, announcing that the artist had died on Friday (November 5). “Bel was so loved and will be so missed. We ask that our privacy be respected at this time of profound grief.”

Onassis was born in Kisumu in Kenya before moving to Dumfriesshire in Scotland with her family as a child. She later relocated to Glasgow where she became a vibrant part of the city’s arts scene.

As Heir Of The Cursed, she shared two tracks on Bandcamp – both in 2020 – in the form of ‘A Way From Rage’ and ‘Holding Myself’.

The musician recently performed at the SAY Award 2021 ceremony in Edinburgh as part of a ’10 years of SAY’ celebration. During the segment she played Kathryn Joseph’s ‘The Bird’.

In 2017, Onassis was named one of Scotland’s 30 most inspiring women under 30. She also worked with the National Theatre of Scotland and was a member of the Scottish all-female songwriting collective Hen Hoose. With the latter, she was a part of their debut compilation, ‘Hen Hoose: Equaliser’, contributing ‘Burn It All’ with Inge Thomson.

In September, Onassis also released a collaborative single called ‘Footsteps’ with Joseph Malik.

Kathryn Joseph said of the musician’s death: “There is no one more beautiful. Our hearts are broken.”

Inge Thomson added: “RIP Beldina, you beautiful thing.” Hen Hoose said they were “totally devastated” by the news of Onassis’ death. “We are heartbroken and our thoughts are with her family and friends,” they said.

Scottish Women In Music also paid tribute, calling Onassis “an outstanding talent”. See more tributes below.