Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, Grateful Dead’s first female member, died at 78 on November 3, 2025, after a cancer battle.

Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, the Grateful Dead’s first and only female member, died at 78 on November 3, 2025, after a long battle with cancer. Born in Florence, Alabama, she began as a session singer for Elvis Presley, Percy Sledge, and Cher before joining the Grateful Dead in 1971 alongside her husband, Keith Godchaux. Her soulful vocals shaped albums like Terrapin Station and Shakedown Street, and she co-wrote “From the Heart of Me.” After leaving the band in 1979, she continued performing and released solo work including Back Around and Donna Jean and the Tricksters. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, she is survived by her husband, David MacKay, sons Zion and Kinsman, and siblings Gogi Clark and Ivan Thatcher.