Gone Too Soon
Amy Winehouse is still one of the most well-known singers and songwriters in the world, even over a decade after her untimely departure. Her chaotic and fraught life was well-documented, and the details of it can be hard to read. But it's important to understand all facets of her memory.
1. She Was A Younger Sister
Amy Jade Winehouse was born on September 14, 1983, in London, England. Her father, Mitchell “Mitch” Winehouse, and her mother, Janis Winehouse, had one child four years prior, Alex. Amy Winehouse’s brother would prove to be a reliable retreat for the singer in her most desperate years.
eddievanderwalt, Wikimedia Commons
2. She Faced Early Resistance
When baby Winehouse was born, Alex didn’t have a favorable point of view on suddenly having a sibling to share their parents’ attention. In a 2013 interview, Alex said, “She smelled and I didn’t like it…I just thought, ‘I don’t like the smell, I don’t like you. Why are you in my house?’”
This would all change dramatically as they grew up.
eddievanderwalt, Wikimedia Commons
3. She Was Raised In A Modest Home
Neither of her parents were musicians by profession. Mitch was a window panel installer and taxi driver, and her mother was a pharmacist. They were Jewish and while they weren’t religiously dedicated, they participated in many of the cultural aspects. In her early life, Winehouse attended Jewish Sunday school which she would later claim taught her little about being Jewish.
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4. She Was Forced To Split Time Between Parents
Her parents separated when Winehouse was only nine, and she had to split her youth living in London with her mother on weekdays and her father in Essex on weekends. Her primary exposure to music at that point was through her grandmother, Cynthia, who had been a singer. Her father also engaged her interest in song, as he also had an interest in being a singer.
The same year her parents divorced, Winehouse had a unique opportunity come her way—one that would help shape her whole future.
eddievanderwalt, Wikimedia Commons
5. She Was Allowed To Pursue Her Passion
In 1992, Cynthia encouraged Winehouse to give the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School a chance. There, she learned how to sing and tap dance every Saturday for the next four years. This experience was enough to give her a taste of what she loved, and she yearned for a more in-depth music education.
But as we’ll see, Winehouse craved real life experience, not classroom lessons.
Philafrenzy, Wikimedia Commons
6. She Was A Rebel From The Start
After leaving Susi Earnshaw, Winehouse attended Sylvia Young Theatre School, where she was able to expand her learning. But she also started exploring her rebellious side and pierced her nose while attending the school. She was actually a great student, it seems, with her English teacher claiming she could be a great writer someday.
They didn’t know how right they would be.
N Chadwick , Wikimedia Commons
7. She Was A Songwriter At Heart
After toying around with her brother’s guitar, Winehouse got her own. She had already learned how to play and started writing her own music by the time she was 14. By the time she was 16, Winehouse dropped out of school completely to enter the music industry. She worked as an entertainment journalist for the World Entertainment News Network and even sang with a band.
Things were going her way—for now.
eddievanderwalt, Wikimedia Commons
8. She Was Getting Opportunities Early
In July 2000, she sang as a featured vocalist with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, which was one of her first major performances. This would be the start of building her repertoire for her burgeoning career. She kept learning other songs by Frank Sinatra, Dinah Washington, and Sarah Vaughan at home, drawn by their ability to “get under the song”. They would be the basis of her inspiration as a singer.
Her dedication to music was a rock in her life, but even rocks erode with time and pressure.
9. She Was Supported By Everyone Around Her
Amy Winehouse’s talent was easy to spot. Even her friends and family knew she could be something larger than life, both in personality and in performance. So much so that her friend, Tyler James, made a daring decision on her behalf. He sent a demo of her music to an A&R scout to try and get her a record deal.
Little did he know, this would spark a wildfire of interest in Winehouse’s talents.
Zalon Thompson, Wikimedia Commons
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10. She Was Kept An Industry Secret
2002 brought about a whole new world of opportunity for Winehouse. She signed with Simon Fuller’s 19 Management, and they paid her £250 while they developed her talent. Shockingly, they kept her a secret in the recording industry. All the while, she anonymously sang jazz standards at the Cobden Club.
This didn’t last much longer, though.
Gregory Gebhardt from Laguna Beach, CA, USA, Wikimedia Commons
11. She Was A Mystery
While she was performing at the club, she caught the attention of Darcus Beese, a representative at Island Records. He heard her sing by chance when the Lewinson Brothers manager showed Beese a production she featured on. When Beese asked who the singer was, the Lewinson Brothers’ manager said he “was not allowed to say”.
This led Beese on a wild goose chase trying to figure out who the mysterious singer was.
12. She Was Quickly Signed To A New Label
He asked around for many months, finding nothing, until finally, he discovered who she was. By then, Winehouse had already signed a deal with a different record label and had recorded a few songs with producer Salaam Remi. But this didn’t deter Beese, and he introduced the young singer to Island Records head, Nick Gatfield.
At the same time, conflict arose between her first label and a third who wanted to sign Winehouse.
Industry Insider - Interview with Nick Gatfield (Xperia Access), XAccessVEVO
13. She Was Something New
With two labels vying for her attention, Winehouse chose to sign with Island. She was enticing to them for her atypical pop star aesthetic. She was real and genuine, and she didn’t have that polish that so many pop singers had.
Her rough-around-the-edges vibe brought her a lot of attention throughout her career, both good and bad.
Fionn Kidney, Wikimedia Commons
14. She Was An Immediate Success
The following year, in October 2003, Amy Winehouse released her first album. Titled Frank, Winehouse co-wrote every song on the album except for the two she covered. Salaam Remi produced it at her side. The album skyrocketed her into the general knowledge of the music industry, and she won many awards for the album.
It seemed like this star was only beginning her upward trajectory.
berlinfotos, Wikimedia Commons
15. She Was Taken By Love
Around the time of the album’s release, she met a man who would change her life. Winehouse and Blake Fielder-Civil met and they were immediately taken with one another. Until this point, Winehouse had dabbled with THC-based inhalants and drinking, but overall wasn’t interested in any other sorts of substances.
This all changed as she and “charming addict” Fielder-Civil set out on their unstable relationship.
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16. She Was Soon Distorted By Her Affections
When the pair met, her manager Nick Godwyn described her personality shift. He claimed she “sounded completely different… more distant”. He said that she used to think poorly of those who participated in harder substances.
Fielder-Civil brought her into the fold of injectable and inhaled narcotics—and her life took a turn.
Winehouse's former manager speaks (2008), On Demand Entertainment
17. She Was Caught In An Unstable Situation
Their relationship was unstable, to say the least. On and off again, their relationship started and stopped as Fielder-Civil was both unfaithful and incarcerated in several different situations. His behavior went on to influence Winehouse’s, and her own personality devolved into something akin to aggressive and withdrawn.
Her stance on the unhealthy nature of her relationship was tragic.
18. She Was Beset By Sadness
After she and Fielder-Civil broke up—not for the last time—his absence left her devastated. She used her sadness as fuel to write more and more music, which would lay the groundwork for her next album. She said, “It sounds such a [bad] thing to say, but I need to get some headaches goin’ to write about”.
Little did she know, the headache of her relationship would plague her for the rest of her life.
19. She Was Struggling—And She Knew It
In 2005, she had her first major wake-up call from Godwyn and her father. Godwyn feared she was “squandering her talent” and life through her increasingly impactful habit. The two tried to convince her that she needed to go to rehab and detoxify from all the substances she was using. She claimed firmly that doing so was unnecessary, and she wrote one of her most famous songs about the incident.
But her initial resistance to rehab would soon be quelled by the severity of her illness.
20. She Was Inundated With Tragedy
In 2006, Winehouse lost an important person in her life. Her grandmother, Cynthia, passed halfway through the year, several months before the release of the singer’s upcoming album. Cynthia was someone who encouraged her endlessly, and the loss was destabilizing for the singer.
She turned even more toward the relief of substances, but this would have a detrimental impact on her ability to perform.
eddievanderwalt, Wikimedia Commons
21. She Was Still Able To Find Success
She channeled this additional misery into recording. She released her second album, Back To Black, in October 2006, the same year as her grandmother’s demise. It featured stylings from 50s and 60s girl groups and was co-produced by Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi. The album was an immediate success and all thanks to Winehouse’s work ethic and her charm.
The success would quickly become a burden on the young star.
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22. She Was Magnificent In The Studio
Her father, Mitch, revealed that he loved watching her work, saying she had a “perfectionism” in the studio. Apparently, she would even go so far as to listen to her songs through his taxi radio to see how it sounded on regular sound systems.
Mitch wasn’t the only one to describe the singer’s focus on songwriting this way.
Charles Severance, Wikimedia Commons
23. She Was Able To Compartmentalize Her Struggles
Binky Griptite, guitarist on Back To Black, called her “a real, 100% bonafide musician. There were hints of her issues, but there was also a lot of getting down to business”. Mark Ronson said about how she wrote one of her biggest hits, Rehab, “She was always so fast. She had the whole song on guitar. All I had to do was come up with a nice beat”.
Her aptitude for the musical medium was immense, but unfortunately, her addiction hindered her abilities.
Utente:Jollyroger (Federico Cantoni), Wikimedia Commons
24. She Was Deep In The Throes Of Addiction
In 2007, Winehouse was not doing well. She was deep into her addiction and was even canceling performances in Europe and the UK. She said this was due to exhaustion and poor health, and she was even hospitalized for some time due to her addictive habits. Apparently, she suffered an excess of multiple different substances which nearly culminated in an early passing.
Fortunately, she was able to recover from this, even after thinking “it was over” for her.
Maggiejumps, Wikimedia Commons
25. She Was Spontaneous, And It Hurt Her
Winehouse and Fielder-Civil got back together and even spontaneously got married in May of 2007. It was a few months after Back In Black’s UK release, and it had just come out in the US a month earlier. Winehouse was fully in the depths of her addiction, which worsened when she reunited with the man who introduced her to the substances she struggled with.
Somehow, she grew even more erratic and her private struggles with addiction became the focus of her entire public presence.
Shirlaine Forrest, Getty Images
26. She Was A Victim
The paparazzi had a field day with her behavior and her illnesses. The singer hated the attention but the presence of photographers was constant. Photographers violated her privacy multiple times, such as when they spotted her wandering near her Camden home in just a bra and jeans, clearly inebriated. They stalked her house constantly, just to catch a single image of the singer.
But Winehouse wasn’t going to take this treatment without some resistance.
daniel arnold, Wikimedia Commons
27. She Was Forced To Take Extreme Measures
Winehouse grew so frustrated, angry, and violated by the paparazzi stalking her through the streets and outside her home that she took aggressive action. Not only was there evidence of her engaging in physical altercations with photographers but in 2008, she went so far as to file an injunction against the paparazzi agency Big Pictures. The injunction banned photographers from pursuing her, from being within 100 meters of her home, and from photographing her with her friends and family.
But the images they did capture showed an alarming side to the singer.
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28. She Was Taken Advantage Of
On several occasions, the photographers had allegedly captured her while inhaling a destructive substance. At the same time, she stated she’d taken a couple of additional substances, mixing a total of three. Her vulnerable state drove her father to move into her apartment to keep a “24-hour watch” over the singer. She couldn’t resist the consumptive impulses of her addiction, but soon after, she decided to go to rehab for two weeks.
Sadly, not even rehab could save her from a devastating diagnosis.
29. She Was Suffering Internally
That same year, her father and publicist revealed that she’d been diagnosed with the early signs of emphysema from the various inhalants she participated in as well as an irregular heartbeat. According to her father, these were all the result of inhaling harmful narcotics. Thankfully, she sought treatment for her health, and for a while, it seemed like she was on the up.
But this was just the calm before the storm.
30. She Was Able To Get Help
Even her substance dependence seemed to be taking a back seat to her healing. She had reportedly stopped all use of hard substances in late 2008. When describing her choice to become sober in an interview, she said, “I don’t want to do this any more”.
Unfortunately, with one problem quelled, another arose and Winehouse focused her attention on alcoholic products.
Amy Winehouse On Individuality | MTV Vault, MTV UK
31. She Was Awarded For Her Genius
2008 was an important year for Winehouse’s career. The release of Back To Black two years earlier sent her to new heights of fame and talent. After the US release, the Grammy’s named her the winner of five different categories, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. The five awards also mean she got into The Guinness Book of Records for Most Grammy Awards won by a British Female Act.
She had the musical world at her fingertips, if only things hadn’t gone so wrong.
Guinness World Records Limited, Wikimedia Commons
32. She Was Finally Free
In 2009, the tumultuous relationship that threw her entire life into a downward spiral came to an end. Winehouse and Fielder-Civil separated. There seemed to be conflicting reasons why, but there was likely a combination of motivations to end their marriage. Some claimed it was based on the two focusing their relationship around substances, and others claimed it was due to his infidelity.
According to one particular source, there were multiple reasons behind their breakup.
Clara Jordan, Wikimedia Commons
33. She Was Convinced It Wouldn’t Actually Happen
They finalized the papers for Winehouse and Fielder-Civil’s divorce in August 2009. This came after the singer stated “I still love Blake…I won’t let him divorce me”, which demonstrated her commitment to her husband and her desire to make things work. This came despite her claim that their relationship was “based on doing” substances.
Winehouse’s love for Fielder-Civil couldn’t withstand her illness—not much could.
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34. She Was Not An Easy Person To Love
Blake Fielder-Civil made his claims at the time and has reiterated them since. He claims he filed for divorce due to “adultery” by an unspecified party. But he also made another statement. He said living with the singer was “intolerable”, with her struggles with addiction and her musician lifestyle.
It came as a shock, then, when rumors circulated that they were looking to reunite merely a year later.
35. She Was Spiraling
Even though it seemed like Winehouse was improving, her reliance on alcohol was constant. She was chaotic and erratic, and her performances reflected that. Though she was recording her third album, she ran into trouble with London officers for “public order offenses”. Her emphysema also sent her to the hospital alongside pain from her chest implants.
It was clear that though she’d given up the harder substances, she was still deep in her emotional struggles.
CNN: 2007 interview with Amy Winehouse, CNN
36. She Was A Mess On Stage
Her performances were a pinnacle of her strange behavior. While in Belgrade, Serbia, her struggles with addiction were on full display. “Everybody was shocked she was doing anything,” said her label’s parent company, Universal. The label canceled the rest of the tour that summer, in the hopes that Winehouse could go home and recover.
But after coming home and being so alone in the face of her fame, her condition took a turn for the worse.
Amy Winehouse - Belgrade 2011 - Last Performance (FULL CONCERT), This Is My Winehouse
37. She Was Supposed To Be Improving
Two days before the discovery of her demise, both her mother and her bodyguard stated that Winehouse was behaving in an intoxicated manner. Though she’d reportedly been clean from other substances, her consumption of alcoholic products had continued.
But aside from that, everything seemed fine, including Winehouse.
38. She Was Impressing Her Doctor
Winehouse visited her doctor for a routine check-up on July 22, 2011. The doctor had apparently been pleased with the state of her health since Winehouse had been making an increasing effort to take care of herself for a little while now.
After their appointment, Winehouse even called him to express a surprising sentiment.
Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good, Amy Winehouse
39. She Was Interested In Full Sobriety
The doctor reported that Winehouse had called after their check-up and confessed, “I don’t want to die”. She went on to explain how she’d done her best to stay sober, but still struggled to maintain it over a longer period. This was the second last thing Winehouse said to other people before her passing.
Her bodyguard remembers an even more shocking statement from the singer.
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black, Amy Winehouse
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40. She Was Frustrated With Fame
Her bodyguard recalls a final conversation with Winehouse, during which she said, “If I could, I would give it back just to walk down the street with no hassle”. He was with her while she continued to consume moderate amounts of alcohol, but he didn’t note that there was anything out of the ordinary.
Not until July 23.
41. She Was Enjoying Her Night
The night of July 22, Winehouse had been “laughing, listening to music” and watching TV late into the night. Apparently, she was also watching films of her previous performances and enjoying the trip down memory lane.
Little did her bodyguard know that when she went to bed that night, she wouldn’t wake up.
42. She Was Hard To Wake Up
He tried to stir her up around 10 am but didn’t have any success. Initially, her deep sleep didn’t concern him, as she often slept in late after being awake into the early hours. After leaving her to rest for another few hours, he went to wake her at 3 pm. But instead, he found her in the same position she was in before, and she wasn’t breathing.
As panic set in, it seemed like her back and forth with substances was finally at an end.
Amy Winehouse - Rehab, Amy Winehouse
43. She Was Not Able To Be Saved
The bodyguard called for an ambulance. The emergency response team took almost an hour to arrive at Winehouse’s flat, where they were unable to revive her. A short while later, Metropolitan officers announced her passing. Amy Winehouse was 27 at the time of her departure, which brought her into the same group as musicians like Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix.
Being a member of the 27 Club was a tragic addition to the singer’s career.
Warner/Reprise Records Uploaded by We hope at en.wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons
44. She Was Once Again A Source Of Gossip
With her history of substance use, reporters and gossip were quick to assume a combination of different chemicals caused her demise. This was later proved untrue by not one but two coroner’s reports. The first was done in 2011 and quickly put into question, but in 2013, Dr Shirley Radcliffe concluded the cause of the singer's passing was “misadventure” due to alcohol toxicity.
But this wouldn’t be the only posthumous confusion or controversy to happen to the singer.
Chris Christoforou, Getty Images
45. She Was Greatly Missed
Her demise devastated the Winehouse family. The surprise of the tragic event shook them all. They held shiva to mourn Winehouse, and there was a private ceremony led by Rabbi Frank Hellner. The ceremony was well attended by the singer’s various famous friends, including Kelly Osbourne, producer Mark Ronson, and her goddaughter Dionne Bromfield.
But this devastation didn’t stop those around her from dredging up her past.
Jim Linwood, Wikimedia Commons
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46. She Was Not Able To Save Herself
In Alex Winehouse’s 2013 interview, he went into detail about his childhood with the singer and his beliefs about what caused her early departure. He believed it was her ongoing eating disorder that caused her to be too weak to other conditions. He believes that “had she not had an eating disorder, she would have been physically stronger”. This struggle with disordered eating began young and continued to affect the singer.
Though it was an important part of her life, some retellings of her life neglect to mention its significance.
Danny Martindale, Getty Images
47. She Was Happiest At Her Favorite Pub
In 2011, long-time friend and pub co-owner Dougie Charles-Ridler described the singer. He said she was happiest in small settings, where she could talk to everyone and perform in intimate scenes. After her years as a famous and tormented star, he said, “I want people to remember that she was also just a girl”.
It wasn’t her “just a girl” vibe that kept filmmakers coming back, though.
48. She Is An Inspiration For Many
In the years following Winehouse’s passing, many biographies and documentaries have been released about the singer. Most lauded by critics is Amy (2015) directed by Asif Kapadia, which uses existing footage and interviews to paint a picture of the singer and all her struggles.
But this film was met with criticism from someone close to the singer.
Montclair Film, Wikimedia Commons
49. He Was Not Happy With This Documentary
The documentary's portrayal of Mitch Winehouse’s role in his daughter’s life insulted Mitch, who had originally supported the project. While the filmmakers took on the project with “total objectivity” and performed more than 100 interviews featuring those who knew the singer, Mitch thought they were pushing a particular narrative that centered him as a villain who chased his daughter’s fame.
Unlike a recent biopic, the film didn’t shy away from exploring his underlying motivation for supporting his famous daughter.
Mitch Winehouse - No Regrets As A Father To Amy | Loose Women, Loose Women
50. She Was Debatably Well-Depicted
The recent biopic Back To Black (2024, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson) focuses primarily on the period of Amy Winehouse’s life after releasing her first album through to the end of her life. This film is well-loved by many as “an overdue antidote”, flipping the narrative she faced in life. Still, many find it both “pedestrian” and overly emphatic on aspects of her life that weren’t necessarily accurate to her lived experience.
But there was more drama associated with the biopic.
BACK TO BLACK - Official Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters May 17, Focus Features
51. She Was Used For Her Clout
Director Taylor-Johnson claimed in a report that she was friends with Winehouse, though there is little additional evidence that they knew each other. She said that her “connection to Amy” began after leaving college and turning to the Camden borough for entertainment.
Then, the director revealed something shocking.
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52. She Was Never The Director’s Friend
According to an article by Virgin Radio UK, Taylor-Johnson has taken back her statement that she knew Winehouse. She now claims that she “never actually met Amy in person” though the singer plagued her mind at every point during filming.
She also received criticism for not making a bigger antagonist of one of Amy’s most influential loves.
If You Only Knew: Sam & Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Larry King
53. She Was Truly In Love With Her Husband
Many who knew Winehouse are angry that Taylor-Johnson portrayed the singer’s relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil through such a sympathetic lens. According to the director, the film approaches him through Winehouse’s perspective, who in life saw her husband as her greatest love. And Fielder-Civil doesn’t try to escape culpability for his role in his ex-wife’s life.
In fact, he has taken a surprisingly mature stance on the whole situation.
54. He Has Expressed True Remorse For His Behavior
In the years since Winehouse’s unfortunate demise, Fielder-Civil has taken accountability for introducing the singer to hard substances. He acknowledges that before they met, “Amy didn’t use [substances]”. Even his mother has since acknowledged her son’s role in the singer’s downfall.
To this day, he remembers Winehouse and the brief time they shared, though shaded with regret over his actions.
Oscar Rohena, Wikimedia Commons
55. She Was A Rising Star Extinguished Too Soon
Amy Winehouse’s flourishing career came to an abrupt end, and it has become synonymous with the parasitic tendencies of celebrity obsession and substance addiction. Her method of coping might have been the very thing that took her from a life that was just beginning. If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction in any form, there is help out there.
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