Taylor Swift makes large donation to mother-of-five whose husband died of Covid

Taylor Swift and her mother have donated $50,000 (£36,000) to a mother-of-five who lost her husband to Covid-19.

Theodis Ray Quarles, 48, of Memphis, Tennessee died a week before Christmas, according to a GoFundMe page set up by a family friend.

The page had a target of $50,000 to support Vickie Quarles and her five children.

A donation of that amount was made in the name of Swift, 31, and her mother Andrea, 63.

The PA news agency has confirmed it came from the singer. The fundraiser has so far raised more than $60,000 (£44,000).

This is not the first time Swift, who won album of the year at the Grammy Awards earlier this month, has helped out those struggling during the pandemic.

Early in the health crisis, the pop superstar gave $3,000 (£2,200) each to a number of her devotees who had told of their financial problems on social media.

In August, an aspiring mathematician who lives in London thanked Swift for making her “dreams come true” after the singer donated £23,000 towards her university education.

In December, she donated an on-brand $13,000 (£9,500) each to two mothers experiencing difficulties due to the pandemic.

Swift, whose lucky number is 13, also shared messages on their respective GoFundMe pages after reading about their plights in a US newspaper.