top of page
The Best of 27 Club
Personal Life - Amy Winhouse
Birth name : Amy Jade Winehouse
Born : 14 September 1983 Southgate, London, England
Died : 23 July 2011 (aged 27) Camden, London, England
Cause of death : Alcohol poisoning
Resting place : Edgwarebury Cemetery, Edgware, London
Occupation : Singer songwriter
Genres : Soul blue-eyed soul neo soul rhythm and blues jazz
Instruments : Vocals guitar drums
Early Amy Winehouse was born in Chase Farm Hospital in north London, to Jewish parents. Her father, Mitchell "Mitch" Winehouse, was a window panel installer then a taxi driver; her mother, Janis Winehouse (née Seaton), a pharmacist. The Winehouse ancestors were Russian and Polish immigrants to London. Amy had an older brother, Alex (born 1979), and the family lived in London's Southgate area, where she attended Osidge Primary School.
Many of Winehouse's maternal uncles were professional jazz musicians. Amy's paternal grandmother, Cynthia, was a singer and dated English jazz legend Ronnie Scott. She and Amy's parents influenced Amy's interest in jazz. Her father Mitch often sang Frank Sinatra songs to her, and whenever she got chastised at school she would sing "Fly Me to the Moon" before going up to the headmistress to be told off. Winehouse's parents separated when she was nine, and she lived with her mother and stayed with her father and his girlfriend in Hatfield Heath, Essex on weekends.
In 1992 her grandmother Cynthia suggested she attend the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School, where she went on Saturdays to further her vocal education and to learn to tap dance. She attended the school for four years and founded a short-lived rap group called Sweet 'n' Sour with Juliette Ashby, her childhood friend before seeking full-time training at Sylvia Young Theatre School. Winehouse was allegedly expelled at 14 for "not applying herself" and also for piercing her nose. Sylvia Young has denied this—"She changed schools at 15—I've heard it said she was expelled; she wasn't. I'd never have expelled Amy"—as has Mitch Winehouse. She also appeared in an episode of The Fast Show, 1997, with other children from the Sylvia Young School and later attended the Mount School, Mill Hill; the BRIT School in Selhurst, Croydon; Osidge JMI School and then Ashmole School.
Death
Winehouse's bodyguard said that he arrived at her residence three days before her death and felt she was somewhat intoxicated. He observed moderate drinking over the next few days. He observed her "laughing, listening to music and watching TV at 2 a.m. the day of her death". According to the bodyguard, at 10 a.m. he observed her lying on her bed and tried unsuccessfully to rouse her. This did not raise much suspicion because she usually slept late after a night out. According to the bodyguard, shortly after 3 p.m., he checked on her again and observed her lying in the same position as before, leading to a further check, in which he concluded that she was not breathing and had no pulse. He said he subsequently called emergency services.
At 3:54 p.m. BST on 23 July 2011, two ambulances were called to Winehouse's home in Camden, London. Winehouse was pronounced dead at the scene. Shortly afterwards, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that she had died. After her death was announced, media and camera crews appeared, as crowds gathered near Winehouse's residence to pay their respects. Forensic investigators entered the flat as police cordoned off the street outside; they recovered one small and two large bottles of vodka from her room. After her death, the singer broke her second Guinness World Record: for the most songs by a woman to simultaneously appear on the UK singles chart, with eight.
Family and friends attended Winehouse's funeral on 26 July 2011 at Edgwarebury Lane cemetery in north London. Her mother and father, Janis and Mitch Winehouse, close friend Kelly Osbourne, producer Mark Ronson, and her boyfriend Reg Traviss were among those in attendance at the private service led by Rabbi Frank Hellner. Her father delivered the eulogy, saying "Goodnight, my angel, sleep tight. Mummy and Daddy love you ever so much. Carole King's "So Far Away" closed the service with mourners singing along. She was later cremated at Golders Green Crematorium. The family planned to sit a two-day shiva. Winehouse's parents set up The Amy Winehouse Foundation to prevent harm from drug misuse among young people, and Amy Winehouse's brother Alex is an employee. Winehouse did not leave a will; her estate is inherited by her parents.
Amy Winehouse's ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil has finally visited her grave for the first time
On 17 December 2012, British authorities reopened the probe of Winehouse's death. On 8 January 2013, a second inquest confirmed that Winehouse died of accidental alcohol poisoning. In a late June 2013 interview, Alex Winehouse revealed his belief that his sister's eating disorder, and the consequent physical weakness, was the primary cause of her death:
She suffered from bulimia very badly. That's not, like, a revelation – you knew just by looking at her… She would have died eventually, the way she was going, but what really killed her was the bulimia… I think that it left her weaker and more susceptible. Had she not had an eating disorder, she would have been physically stronger.
bottom of page