Denise Francine ‘Fran’ Boyd Andrews, a drug counselor whose battle with addiction inspired a book and HBO miniseries, dies

Denise Francine “Fran” Boyd Andrews worked on street outreach, HIV education and outreach, overdose counseling and case management at Bon Secours Health System. (Amy Davis / XX)

Denise Francine “Fran” Boyd Andrews worked on street outreach, HIV education and outreach, overdose counseling and case management at Bon Secours Health System. (Amy Davis / XX)

Denise Francine “Fran” Boyd Andrews, whose desperate, determined, despairing — and ultimately triumphant — battle with drug addiction was chronicled in the Emmy Award-winning HBO miniseries “The Corner” died Tuesday in her Parkville home after a brief illness. She was 65.

The cause of her death is unknown.

Mrs. Andrews’ life took her from the shooting galleries and flophouses of Baltimore’s Franklin Square neighborhood to a bed in a rehabilitation facility and ultimately, the Hollywood red carpet.

Her first husband died from a drug overdose. Her 2007 wedding to her second husband, Donnie Andrews, who inspired the character of Omar Little on the HBO series, “The Wire,” was chronicled on the front page of the New York Times. The couple later spoke at Harvard University.

“Don’t let nobody tell you what you can’t do,” Mrs. Andrews said often. “You can turn your life around.”

Even after she’d accomplished so much and helped lift up many members of her family, Mrs. Andrews’ life continued to be marred by tragedy. In 2012, she lost her eldest son to a drug overdose and her second husband to a fatal tear in his artery.

But Mrs. Andrews never stopped fighting. She worried over and cared for and tried to find resources for the clients she counseled at the Bon Secours Health System, whether she was on the clock or not. She refused to lose.

Despite his grief, Stanley Boyd couldn’t help laughing when he talked about the woman he called “my big little sister.” Though Stanley Boyd was four years older than Fran, he said he looked up to her.

“She could do anything,” her brother said. “Despite all the trials she had in her life, she affected so many people.”

The Baltimore Sun

Skip The Scoop | Seek Understanding

Facts Matter (May 19): Auditor Reveals Data Deleted From Election Machine Has Been Recovered

Show Me

Facts Matter (May 19): Auditor Reveals Data Deleted From Election Machine Has Been Recovered

Show Me

GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Vernon Jones Calls for ‘An Immediate Forensic Audit of the Georgia 2020 Election’

Show Me

AZ Senate Majority Whip Sonny Borrelli Shares His Observations On the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors: “They’re Very Disrespectful”

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 2 | Recorded May 20, 2021 | Video: 47 Minutes 59 Seconds

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room | Evening Edition | Recorded May 20, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 59 Seconds

Show Me

Afghanistan: Joint call for an immediate end to attacks against human rights defenders and need for protection and accountability

Show Me

Israeli Human Rights Group B’Tselem: Israel Is Committing War Crimes by Killing Civilians in Gaza

Show Me

Colorado to pay unemployed residents to get them to go back to work

Show Me

Biologically Male Sexual Predators Housed In Washington Female Prisons, Court Documents Show

Show Me

May 19, 2021 | Nightly News Rebroadcast | Video: 51 Minutes 49 Seconds

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 1 | Recorded May 19, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 32 Seconds

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 2 | Recorded May 19, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 15 Seconds

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room | Evening Edition | Recorded May 19, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 59 Seconds

Show Me

The Media’s Matt Gaetz Source – Joel Greenberg – Just Pleaded Guilty to Making FALSE Pedophilia Allegations about His Opponents.

Show Me

Supreme Court Unanimously Rules Against Warrantless Gun Seizures

Show Me

Disturbing footage of Texas abduction shows alleged kidnapper taking 4-year-old

Show Me

More than 600,000 American kids ages 12 to 15 got Covid vaccines last week

Show Me

REPORT: Bill Gates Hoped Epstein Could Help Him Win Nobel Peace Prize

Show Me

Tlaib Confronts Biden on Israel, Saying Support Enables Crimes Against Palestinians

Show Me

May 18, 2021 | Nightly News Rebroadcast | Video: 53 Minutes 52 Seconds

Show Me

Biden Snatched War From the Jaws of Israel Peace Deals. Pence Explains How He Did It

Show Me

Officials Identify Slain Dallas 4-Year-Old as Cash Gernon, Suspect Being Held on $1.5 Million Bond

Show Me

Canada Will Need 75% Vaccination Before U.S. Border Reopens, Trudeau Suggests

Show Me

Amazon’s Ring Is Largest Civilian Surveillance Network U.S. Has Ever Seen + More

Show Me

Biden Wants to Surveil Soldier Social Media Pages, Use Private Firms to ‘Circumvent’ First Amendment

Show Me

AP’s Sally Buzbee Mired in Scandal as She Preps for Role as Washington Post Executive Editor

Show Me

Amnesty International wins Webby Award for multimedia tear gas project

Show Me

Arizona Senate Hearing on Maricopa County Audit and 2020 Election Issues – 4:00pm ET Livestream Links

Show Me

Michigan Judge Dismisses Antrim County Election Case

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 1 | Recorded May 18, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 37 Seconds

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 2 | Recorded May 18, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 30 Seconds

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 3 | Recorded May 18, 2021 | Video: 47 Minutes 58 Seconds

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room | Evening Edition | Recorded May 18, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 58 Seconds

Show Me

May 17, 2021 | Nightly News Rebroadcast | Video: 53 Minutes 52 Seconds

Show Me

White House Defends ‘Quiet’ Diplomacy in Israel-Gaza Crisis

Show Me

Exclusive – Former Israeli Ambassador to U.N.: ‘I Would Expect from AP to Check Who Your Neighbors Are,’ IDF Warned Them Before Strike

Show Me

Parler Names George Farmer as CEO as It Returns to Apple’s App Store

Show Me

Arrest Made After Boy, 4, Found Slain on Dallas Street

Show Me

EXCLUSIVE: Republican ‘Team Effort’ Killed Bill To Stop Child Transgender Surgeries, ‘Texas GOP Needs A Housecleaning’

Show Me