Jane Marczewski, who uses the stage name Nightbirde, was born on December 31, 1990, in Zanesville, Ohio. Nightbirde is a name that quickly soared into our hearts earlier this summer when she offered a powerful audition during AGT that earned her a Golden Buzzer from judge Simon Cowell. She may not have been able to progress further on America’s Got Talent, but she’s continuing to capture the attention and hearts of fans everywhere.
That’s enough for the background info. So, let’s dive into the things you didn’t know about her.
1. Early Life
Jane was raised in Zanesville, Ohio, where she attended a Christian school named Licking County Christian Academy. She lives with her parents Mitchell and Sharon Marczewski, 5 brothers, and a sister named Katelyn.
She graduated with a marketing degree from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 2013. Besides she performed at her church, venues around the Lynchburg area, and was a “favorite at Liberty’s biannual Coffeehouse,” according to an article in the school’s Liberty Journal.
2. Struggles with Cancer
After getting married, she moved to Nashville and was ready to begin performing again when she was first diagnosed with terminal cancer on New Year’s Eve in 2019.
At my worst, I was given three to six months to live and a 2% chance of survival. On top of all that, I then realize my marriage is ending. The next thing I know, I’m going through a divorce while fighting this disease.
Nightbirde
Jane has been diagnosed with cancer a third time, sharing on “America’s Got Talent” that it is in her lungs, spine, and liver. She frequently makes blog posts about her life and struggles with cancer. In fact, she shared that she originally wanted to be an author.
3. Relationships
Jane fell in love with fellow musician Jeremy Claudio back in 2015 and after dating 8 months they got married in the same year. Eight months after they met, Jane and Claudio had a lovely intimate wedding in an old building from the 1920s in Newark, Ohio. But the couple separated in 2019.
I had imagined that I would walk into the courtroom like J. Lo in some girl-power movie. I would stand with square shoulders and sharp eyes; dignified and articulate and lovely. But the truth is I could barely stand at all. He shook his head and looked past me. I heard him say our marriage was ending. I heard myself say, “But I still love you.”
Nightbirde
She shared in her blog that she got into this marriage against the advice of her whole family.
4. Singing Career
Jane thinks her stage name — Nightbirde — carries a message of hope. She told the Liberty Journal she chose the name because she dreamed about birds singing in darkness for three straight nights.
She made her debut in 2018 with the authorial single “Girl in a Bubble”; Pop track, light, fun and influenced by the 80s. The release came shortly after Jane beat cancer for the first time. Her other singles are Ocean & sky (2013), New Year’s Eve (2020), and BRAVE (2021).
She sang an original song called “It’s OK” in AGT and since then has taken the internet by storm with her audition reaching 30 million+ views in three days. On June 10, “It’s OK” reached the top of the all-genre singles chart on iTunes.
The singer-songwriter also celebrated a big milestone in her career when she revealed on Instagram that her audition song, “It’s OK”, had turned one year old.
5. Favorite Things & Hobbies
You can call Jane a bookworm because she loves to read a lot. She prefers to read books by American poet Mary Oliver, Ellen Bass, Sarah Kay, Dilruba Ahmed, and English writer and poet J. R. R. Tolkien. Her favorite movies are The Wizard of Oz (1939) and George Bailey’s It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).
She also admires Black Panther’s Chadwick Boseman who died of Colon cancer.
So while she may not be okay in every way, she said,
It’s important that everyone knows I’m so much more than the bad things that happen to me. You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.
Nightbirde
After enduring a 4-year-long battle with Cancer, Jane Marczewski died on Feb. 19 at the age of 31. In 2019 Doctors told her that she only had three months to live, but the singer lived another three years. The singer’s family confirmed her death on her Instagram by posting a video message from the singer herself about dealing with sadness, grief, and loss.
Her family asked to donate to a memorial foundation on GoFundMe in her honor to give funding to cancer research and give grants to support those unable to afford the treatment they need.