Joanne Borgella

Joanne Borgella (May 29, 1982 – October 18, 2014) and a top 24 contestant on the seventh season of American Idol in 2008. Borgella died October 18, 2014, due to a rare form of endometrial cancer.

Early life Borgella was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, to an OB-GYN father and a mother who was a registered nurse. The family moved to Uniondale, New York, when she was an infant, and later to the fellow Long Island town of Oyster Bay Cove. She had older siblings: Joel, Jean and Jerald. In 2013 Borgella joined the cast of NUVOtv's show Curvy Girls.

She had been a resident of Hoboken, New Jersey.

Illness and death In October 2013, Borgella posted a video stating she had been diagnosed with cancer. She said she was suffering from severe headaches and, upon going to the emergency room to determine the cause of those headaches, discovered that cancer had spread to her brain. Borgella died early on October 18, 2014, at age 32.

American Idol performances Week #ThemeSong ChoiceOriginal ArtistOrder #ResultTop 24 (12 Women)1960s"I Say a Little Prayer"Dionne Warwick2Eliminated