On Thursday 15 November, the LA County coroner’s office confirmed that Kim Porter had been “discovered unresponsive in her home” and pronounced dead at the scene.

They added: “At this time, an autopsy is pending and a cause of death has yet to be determined.”

Since the news broke, we have seen a slew of headlines appear online, almost all of which have described Porter as “Diddy’s ex-girlfriend”. However, while it is true that the model and actress dated the American rapper on and off from 1994 to 2007 (they have three children together: 11-year-old twins Jessie James and D’Lila, and 20-year-old Christian), she was so much more than this.

Indeed, as Janelle Monae points out in her Instagram tribute, Porter “meant so much to so many” – primarily because she “was the woman who single-handedly changed the lives” of so many BAME musicians.

“When I moved to ATL, I was passionate about being an artist but had not gained much exposure,” recalls Monae. “If it had not been for you and the Three Brown Girls’ [Porter’s company with Nicole Johnson and Eboni Elektra] belief in me and inviting me out to do your open mic night Lip Service at Justin’s restaurant, my career would have been on another path.”

Kim Porter was so much more than just Diddy’s ex-girlfriend – and it’s important to remember that