Background

Ethnicity: Winehouse's ancestors were Russian Jewish and Polish Jewish immigrants to London.

Amy Jade Winehouse was born on September 14, 1983, in the suburb of Southgate in London, England. Her father, Mitch Winehouse, worked as a cab driver, while mother Janis was employed as a pharmacist. In her early years, Winehouse was immersed in music; many of her uncles on her mother's side were professional jazz musicians, and her father sang as a child with his family. Winehouse's paternal grandmother was also once romantically involved with British jazz legend Ronnie Scott. She has one older brother, Alex.

Winehouse grew up listening to a diverse range of music, from James Taylor to Sarah Vaughan. At the age of 10, she was drawn to listen to American R&B and hip-hop acts, including TLC and Salt-N-Pepa, and she founded a short-lived amateur rap group called Sweet 'n Sour.

Education

Amy Winehouse attended Osidge Primary School. When Amy was barely nine years old her parents decided to separate, at that time her paternal grandmother proposed that Amy be enrolled in Susi Earnshaw's theater school in Barnet.

At the age of 12, Amy competed confidently the prestigious Sylvia Young Theater School. In her application, she wrote: "I would say that my school life and school reports are filled with 'could do betters' and 'does not work to her full potential.' I want to go somewhere where I am stretched right to my limits and perhaps even beyond. To sing in lessons without being told to shut up … But mostly I have this dream to be very famous. To work on stage. It's a lifelong ambition. I want people to hear my voice and just…forget their troubles for five minutes."

But by the age of 16, Winehouse was expelled for "not applying herself" and piercing her nose.

Amy also attended Mount School, Mill Hill, the BRIT School in Selhurst, Croydon, Osidge JMI School, and then Ashmole School.

Career

At 16, Amy's close friend Tyler James, a soul singer, passed her demo tape to an A&R person. The move led to Winehouse signing with 19 Management, the management company owned by Simon Fuller, the man behind American Idol. With this expert backing, Winehouse signed to record label Island/Universal and eventually received a publishing deal with EMI. Winehouse hired a band, the Dap-Kings, who had long been the backing band for New York singer Sharon Jones and set about writing and recording her first album.

Winehouse’s debut, 'Frank', was released on 20 October 2003. The album’s jazz, pop, soul, and hip-hop blend, together with its world-wise lyrics were received well by critics and prompted comparison with a host of artists, from Sarah Vaughan and Macy Gray to Billie Holiday and Lauryn Hill. Apart from two covers, every song on the album was co-written by Winehouse and it marked the beginning of her collaboration with producer Salaam Remi.

Frank was nominated for two Brit Awards for British Female Solo Act and British Urban Act. Winehouse also won the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song for Stronger Than Me. On the back of the album’s success, Winehouse performed at Glastonbury and at the V Festival.

In 2005, Winehouse teamed up with producer Mark Ronson and began writing her second album after an 18-month song-writing hiatus. Winehouse said Ronson’s involvement was so inspirational she wrote the album in six months.

As her fame grew, so did speculation in the press about her lifestyle. Her weight was a particular focus with the once-curvy singer appearing to drop several dress sizes in 2006. Winehouse told an interviewer her new slim look was due to cutting back on marijuana use.

In January 2006, Ronson played early versions of the soon-to-be-hits Rehab and Wake Up Alone on his radio show on New York’s East Village Radio. In late October 2006, Winehouse’s second album, Back To Black, was released. The album, with shared production credits for Remi and Ronson, represented a move away from jazz and drew on 1950s girl-group harmonies, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll. The album was a massive success. It hit number one on the UK charts and debuted at number seven on the United States Billboard 200.

Rehab, the first single off the album, hit number seven on the United Kingdom charts and won Winehouse her second Ivor Novello award for songwriting. The album won album of the year at the MTV Europe Music Awards and Best Pop Vocal Album and Best New Artist at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Rehab won numerous awards including Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Time magazine rated Rehab as the best song of 2007 praising Winehouse as "mouthy, funny, sultry, and quite possibly crazy." "It's impossible not to be seduced by her originality. Combine it with production by Mark Ronson that references four decades worth of soul music without once ripping it off, and you've got the best song of 2007," it raved. Back To Black was the top-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2007 for both over-the-counter and iTunes sales. Several other singles were released from the album and all charted well. In late 2007, Winehouse’s debut album Frank was released in the United States, debuting at number 61 on the Billboard charts.

Awards success aside, 2008 was a memorable year for all the wrong reasons for Winehouse. Further breakdowns and attempts at intervention by her family all but brought promises of an exceptional career to a shuddering halt. Her turbulent marriage to Fielder-Civil continued to deteriorate to the point that he requested a divorce, based on both claims of adultery and also to 'save' the life of his wife. They divorced in August 2009.

Perhaps her family and friends were hoping the split from Blake would encourage her to give up drugs, but sadly this was not to be. Although Winehouse put in a number of performances in the ensuing years, she was booed off stage or unable to complete her set on several occasions. In July 2010, she sang the hit track Valerie alongside Mark Ronson at a film premiere but forgot some of the words.

The singer hit the headlines in June 2011 when she opened what was supposed to be a 12-date European tour in Belgrade. Winehouse appeared to be a shadow of her former self and was booed off the stage. The shambolic performance sparked a storm of media criticism and it was announced shortly afterward that she would not be completing the tour. This was to be the last gig of her short career.

Amy was found dead in her Camden home by a member of her security team on 23 July 2011. The cause of death was established as accidental alcohol poisoning.

Her parents released a statement saying they have been left bereft by the 27-year-old's death, while her record company the Universal Republic said they were "deeply saddened at the sudden loss of such a gifted musician, artist, and performer."

A number of celebrities have paid tribute to the tragic star with George Michael saying she should be remembered as one of the most talented singers and songwriters of our time.

2015 saw the release of Amy, a documentary film about Winehouse's life. Amy was well-received by audiences and critics alike and subsequently won a BAFTA and an Oscar in 2016.

Achievements

• 

  Winehouse's music later blossomed into an eclectic mix of jazz, pop, soul, and R&B. Winehouse won five Grammy Awards connected to her 2006 album Back to Black, and earned acclaim for songs like the title track, Rehab and Love Is a Losing Game.
  
  On what would have been her 31st birthday, a life-size bronze statue of the singer was unveiled in Camden, (north London), where she had lived.

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Amy

    (From BAFTA award-winning director Asif Kapadia (Senna), A...)

    2015
  • Amy Winehouse - Back To Black

    (Back To Black tells the real story of how Amy's best know...)

    2018
  • Lioness: Hidden Treasures 2011

• music

  • Frank 2003
  • Back To Black 2006
  • Amy 2015

Religion

Winehouse was Jewish and her ancestors immigrated to England from Russia in the late 19th century.

Winehouse, though decidedly disturbed, seemed to want a more domestic life, but she expressly addresses the issue of religion during her wistful rambling, indicating that she was likely not very devout in the faith of her family. She said:

"In 10 years’ time, I’m gonna be looking after my husband and our seven kids. I’d really like to get everyone in one place and sit down and eat a meal together. I would like to uphold certain things, but not the religious side of things, just the nice family things to do. At the end of the day, I’m a Jewish girl."

But once she told: "I'm not religious at all. I think faith is something that gives you strength. I believe in fate and I believe that things happen for a reason, but I don't think that there's a high power, necessarily. I believe in karma very much though."

Furthermore, Winehouse’s funeral did stir up some controversy with the orthodox Jewish community. Winehouse was cremated - which is against Jewish law - and apparently proper mourning procedures were not observed. Beyond that, strict Jews frown upon tattoos - of which Winehouse had many.

Politics

Winehouse didn’t have many outspoken political positions. But her lifestyle and death have resulted in some interesting political occurrences.

Her early and tragic death forced much introspection in her home country of England, and even abroad in Europe and the United States. The Swiss People’s Party in Switzerland used an atrocious photo of Winehouse, allegedly quite intoxicated, to make the case against the decriminalization of illicit drugs in the country. And Winehouse’s father, Mitch Winehouse, met with British politicians after her death to urge them to do more to help young addicts who couldn’t help themselves, saying:

"This isn’t about Amy because we were in a fortunate position of being able to fund Amy to go into private rehab - this is about people that can’t afford it."

Views

Musically, Amy Winehouse created a cross-cultural and cross-genre style. She experimented with an eclectic mix of jazz, soul, pop, reggae, world beat, and R&B. She had a special ability to channel hurt and despair into her performances. Her voice, phrasing, and delivery sometimes sounded like a mix between Billy Holliday, Dinah Washington, and Sarah Vaughan, and coupled with similarities in personal problems, she at times resembled another incarnation of legendary "Lady Blues."

Quotations: "I don't think your ability to fight has anything to do with how big you are. It's to do with how much anger is in you."

"I don't listen to a lot of new stuff. I just like the old stuff. It's all quite dramatic and atmospheric. You'd have an entire story in song."

"I don't care what people think about me. Never did, never will. Life is too short to be worrying about that shit."

"Life's short. Anything could happen, and it usually does, so there is no point in sitting around thinking about all the ifs, ands and buts."

"Every bad situation is a blues song waiting to happen."

"Life is so much more rewarding if you strive for something, rather than take what's given to you on a plate."

"Music is the only thing that will give and give and give and not take."

"I don’t need help because if I can’t help myself I can’t be helped."

"If you don't throw yourself into something, you'll never know what you could have had."

"Life happens. There is no point in being upset or down about things we can't control or change."

"I'm romantic. I fall in love every day. Not with people but with situations. The other day, I saw a tramp polishing his shoes. That just gripped my heart."

"I've always had my own style, I've always been different. I don't like to wear anything that anyone else is wearing because it's very important for me to make a statement."

"I love to live and I live to love."

"I don't ever want to do anything mediocre. I hear the music in the charts, and I don't mean to be rude, but those people have no soul. Learning from music is like eating a meal - you have to pace yourself. You cant take everything from it all at once. I want to be different, definitely. I'm not a one-trick pony. I'm at least a five-track pony."

Personality

Amy Winehouse developed a distinctive style of her own. Her signature beehive hairstyle has become the model for fashion designers, while her vulnerability, her fragile personality, and her self-destructive behavior were regular tabloid news, and subject of criticism and controversy.

After Amy passed away, fans camped outside her house for days to show their respect to the singer with flowers and makeshift shrines and mimicked Winehouse's signature look as a tribute to her.

Physical Characteristics: Winehouse had black hair and green eyes.

Her height was 5 ft 2½ in or 159 cm, and her weight was about 50 kg or 110 pounds.

Amy's distinctive features were tattooed arms, extreme black eyeliner, long hair styled in a beehive (1960s style) hairdo, eccentric dancing on stage, deeply soulful voice, front gapped tooth, piercing just above her left upper lip.

She had breast enlargement surgery in late 2009 as revealed by Daily Mail UK. She had her breast enlarged from 32B to 32D.

She also faced bulimia (eating disorder) in her life.

Quotes from others about the person

• "She was annoying, frustrating, a pain in the bum. But she was also incredibly generous, very caring. She'd do anything for anyone, she really would. She was loyal - as a sister, daughter, and friend. She was probably the most loyal friend to people I've ever known." - Alex Winehouse.

Interests

• Writers

  "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller, "Pigtopia" by Kitty Fitzgerald, "Beyond Black" by Hilary Mantel

• Music & Bands

  Beastie Boys, Carole King, Mahalia Jackson, Mos Def, Nas, Teena Marie, Thelonious Monk

Connections

In 2003, Amy met Blake Fielder-Civil in a local bar who at that time was a part-time gopher on music video sets. They started dating in the same year. They dated on and off for the next 4 years and got engaged in 2007. They married on May 18, 2007, in Miami Beach, Florida. They called off their marriage and divorced in July 2009.

She also was in a relationship with Tyler James, Alex Clare, Pete Doherty, Josh Bowman, and Reg Traviss.

Father:

Mitchell Winehouse

Mother:

Janis Seaton

Brother:

Alex Winehouse

ex-spouse:

Blake Fielder-Civil

ex-boyfriend:

Alex Clare

The two British singers Amy and Alex Clare were romantically linked to each other for some time from 2006 to 2007.

ex-boyfriend:

Pete Doherty

From 2008 to 2011, Amy and musician Pete Doherty were an item. The relationship ended due to Amy’s death in 2011.

ex-boyfriend:

Josh Bowman

In January 2009, she had an encounter with actor Josh Bowman when she was seen cuddling and kissing him at a beach in St Lucia.

ex-boyfriend:

Reg Traviss

In May 2010, Amy started dating film director, Reg Traviss. They went on a couple of dates, but the relationship ended all of a sudden in July 2011 due to the death of Winehouse.

Friend:

Tyler James

Friend:

Kelly Osbourne

colleague:

Mick Jagger

colleague:

Tony Bennett

Friend:

Juliette Ashby

With her childhood friend, Juliette Ashby, Amy made a rap group called Sweet ‘n’ Sour.

Goddaughter:

Dionne Bromfield

References

• Amy Winehouse. Blake Wood
  2018
• Back to Amy
  2018
• Loving Amy: A Mother's Story
  2014
• Amy Winehouse - The Untold Story
  2013
• Amy, My Daughter
  2012
• Amy Winehouse: A Losing Game
  2012