Sen. Mark Warner's daughter dies after decades-long battle with diabetes

Madison Warner died at 36 after a decades-long battle with juvenile diabetes and other health issues, leaving Sen. Mark Warner and his wife, Lisa Collis, to ask for privacy as they grieve a loss they described as “heartbroken beyond words.”

Warner and Collis, who live in Alexandria, Virginia, have three daughters and two grandchildren. In a statement, the couple identified their daughter as Madison Warner and said her death came after years of illness that had shaped the family’s life in private and public ways.

The senator has spoken before about how diabetes touched his own household. He previously said one of his three daughters lives with Type 1 diabetes, and he has linked that experience to his long-running support for diabetes research and easier access to care. That work has included backing efforts to improve diabetes prevention and treatment, along with broader efforts to make prescription drugs more affordable.

In January 2024, Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine praised $35 monthly insulin caps adopted by the largest insulin manufacturers after implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. Their office pointed to Kaiser Family Foundation analysis showing that one in four privately insured people paid more than $35 a month for insulin in 2018, and that more than 5% of insulin users paid more than $150 a month.

The loss lands against the backdrop of a disease that remains a major burden for American families and the health system. The American Diabetes Association says diabetes accounts for $1 of every $4 spent on health care in the United States. Its 2026 statement said more than 40 million Americans live with diabetes, and more than 8 million rely on insulin to survive.

For Warner, the issue has never been abstract. His support for diabetes research, patient access and lower drug costs has been bound up with his family’s experience, including the reality that chronic illness can shape daily life for decades before bringing public mourning into view. Madison Warner’s death places that burden in the starkest possible terms.