Elaine DePrince

Elaine DePrince (née DiGiacomo, August 6, 1947 – September 11, 2024) was an American author, hemophilia activist, teacher, and advocate of adoptive parenting. The mother of 11 children, she is best known as the adoptive mother of ballet star Michaela DePrince and the co-author of her memoir, Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina (2014). She was interviewed in the 2011 documentary First Position, discussing the racism they encountered as Michaela pursued training in classical ballet. She was also the author of Cry Bloody Murder: A Tale of Tainted Blood (1997), which tells the story of her family's ordeal after their three hemophiliac sons were infected with HIV/AIDS in the 1980s. In the book, DePrince holds pharmaceutical companies, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Hemophilia Foundation responsible for failing to ensure the safety of blood plasma products.