Amy Winehouse, the beehived soul-jazz diva whose self-destructive habits overshadowed a distinctive musical talent, was found dead Saturday in her London home, police said. She was 27.Winehouse shot to fame with the album Back to Black," whose blend of jazz, soul, rock and classic pop was a global hit. It won five Grammys and made Winehouse--with her black beehive hairdo and old-fashioned sailor tattoos--one of music's most recognizable stars.
Police confirmed that a 27-year-old female was pronounced dead at the home in Camden Square northern London; the cause of death was not immediately known.
London Ambulance Services said Winehouse had died before the two ambulance crews it sent arrived at the scene.
"I didn't go out looking to be famous," Winehouse told the Associated Press when "Back to Black" was released. "I'm just a musician."
But in the end, the music was overshadowed by fame, and by Winehouse's demons.
Winehouse's health often appeared fragile. In June 2008 and again in April 2010, she was taken to hospital and treated for injuries after fainting and falling at home.
Her father said she had developed the lung disease emphysema from smoking cigarettes and crack, although her spokeswoman later said Winehouse only had "early signs of what could lead to emphysema."
She left the hospital to perform at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday concert in Hyde Park in June 2008, and at the Glastonbury festival the next day, where she received a rousing reception but scuffled with a member of the crowd.
Then it was back to a London clinic for treatment, continuing the cycle of music, excess and recuperation that marked her career.
And now, Amy Winehouse joins a list of celebrities to have died at the mysterious age of 27--Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison (lead vocalist of The Doors), Heath Ledger and Kurt Cobain.