Traci Braxton Rejoined Sisters After Social Work

Traci Braxton, a singer, actress, and social worker who appeared with her sisters on the reality TV show Braxton Family Values, died Saturday. She was 50. Braxton had been treated for esophageal cancer for about a year, said her husband, Kevin Surratt, People reports. "She was a bright light, a wonderful daughter, an amazing sister, a loving mother, wife, grandmother and a respected performer," her sister Toni posted on Instagram, per CNN. "We will miss her dearly."

Traci Braxton began her music career as part of a quintet, the Braxtons, with her sisters Toni, Tamar, Towanda, and Trina, releasing the single "Good Life" in 1990. Toni Braxton left shortly to start a successful solo career, and Traci Braxton entered social work, per Rolling Stone. Her website says she worked with children with disabilities, per the AP, staying out of show business for almost 20 years. Starting in 2011, she appeared for seven seasons on Braxton Family Values on WE tv.

With her husband, Braxton also appeared on Marriage Boot Camp. She also acted in movies, including Sinners Wanted, and onstage, and she had a radio show. In 2014, Braxton released an album, "Crash & Burn," and a single, "Last Call," that reached No. 16 on Billboard's Top 100, per TMZ. In 2018, Braxton released another album, "On Earth." Toni Braxton's post said, "We are family forever." (More obituary stories.)