Melissa Rivers Saved Some Of Her Mother’s Sentimental Items Before Her Home Burned

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Melissa Rivers, the daughter of late comedian Joan Rivers, told CNN on Wednesday that she grabbed the essentials, like passports and birth certificates, before her home burned in the wildfires that are sweeping Los Angeles, but she also made sure to take a drawing of her mother’s.

Melissa Rivers, whose home was destroyed by the fires, says she grabbed the necessities and “my mom’s Emmy, a photo of my dad and a drawing my mother had done of me and my son…I went for a drawing of my mother’s rather than a photo, because I know I can find the photos.” pic.twitter.com/YyIBXzbRYb

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) January 9, 2025

“I grabbed my mom’s Emmy, a photo of my dad, and a drawing that my mother had done of my son and I,” Melissa Rivers said.

She said later in the segment: “It’s amazing what you grab. I went for a drawing of my mother’s rather than a photo because I know I can find the photos.”

Melissa Rivers said she had a “mental checklist” of everything she needed to grab before evacuating her home. She took passports, birth certificates, medication and clothing.

“We literally just have what’s on our backs,” she said.

Joan Rivers (left) and her daughter Melissa Rivers (shown in this 2013 file photo) worked together on the E! show "Fashion Police." Melissa Rivers saved some sentimental items tied to her mother when evacuating her home amid the California wildfires.
Joan Rivers (left) and her daughter Melissa Rivers (shown in this 2013 file photo) worked together on the E! show “Fashion Police.” Melissa Rivers saved some sentimental items tied to her mother when evacuating her home amid the California wildfires.
Dan Hallman/Invision via Associated Press

She said she also grabbed dog and cat food but said the “most important” thing is to “have your papers.”

“Have all your ID, have your passports, have that in one place ready to go,” she said. “Thank goodness we are organized like that.”

She said her heart is “broken” for herself and her town.

Joan Rivers died in 2014 at the age of 81; Melissa Rivers’ dad, producer Edgar Rosenberg, died in 1987.

Joan and Melissa Rivers worked together throughout the years, hosting red carpet segments before award shows and the E! show “Fashion Police,” which Joan and Melissa Rivers starred in and Melissa Rivers produced.

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In November, Melissa Rivers hosted a charity event in honor of her mother called “Dead Funny: An All-Star Tribute to Joan Rivers,” which benefited God’s Love We Deliver, an organization that delivers healthy meals to people with AIDS, cancer and other illnesses.

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