Amy Winehouse’s mother has shared, in heartbreaking detail, the moment she was told her beloved daughter had past away – a decade after the star died of alcohol poisoning.
The Back to Black singer was the daughter of taxi driver Mitch Winehouse and his ex-wife Janis and was born in London in September 1983.
On 23 July 2011, tragedy struck as Amy passed away aged 27-years-old following years of drug and alcohol addiction and at a time when it looked as though she was finally turning her life around.
Now, speaking to OK! Magazine, proud mum Janis has shared details and memories of Amy, giving her side of the story of her death a decade on.
She explained that when she was first told of Amy’s passing by her husband Richard, she thought he was talking about his own mother, who had been ill at the time.
Janis explained: “His mum was seriously ill at the time so when he came into the room and said ‘She’s gone’, I thought he was talking about his mum.
“But then he repeated, ‘Your baby’s gone’. I was numb. It felt matter-of-fact, like being told ‘Amy’s crossed the road’.”
Janis explained that a family liaison officer was quickly sent to offer her support, and that family too soon arrived to comfort her.
She said: “Amy’s dad Mitch flew back from New York and the following day he came straight here from the airport. We stood in the living room and hugged and cried, but the hard, cold reality of what had happened only really hit when I went to the coroner’s office to identify the body.
“Amy looked like she was asleep in her bed. I wanted to say, ‘Amy, get up, you’ve got to get up, it’s time to go to school’. She looked so normal and peaceful.”
Janis went on to reflect on Amy’s “addictive personality” which ultimately saw her hooked on alcohol, crack cocaine and heroin.
She said: “Amy always had an addictive personality but it’s only with hindsight that I can see that. Looking back, she seemed like a normal teenager doing what normal teenagers do.
“And of course 99% of what normal teenagers do is done behind their parents' backs. With me and in front of family she was always so sweet and constantly apologising.
“She was protective of me. She pushed the boundaries but then if she swore in front of me she’d say ‘I’m sorry, mummy, I’m sorry’.”
Janice went on to explain that even when Amy’s career took off, propelling her into the celebrity spotlight and the realm of the A List, she was always “the same” when she was at home.
She said the star would refuse to even smoke a cigarette in front of her, and that she considered her family home a “safe space” away from the spotlight.
Casting her mind back to the day before Amy’s death, Janice said that she spent time with her daughter looking through old photographs together.
She also stated that she knew Amy had been drinking that day, but that she wasn’t drunk when they were together and that they spent their discussing memories.
Amy died in bed at her home in Camden on 23 July 2011 with a coroner later concluding her death was a ‘misadventure’.
It was reported she had five-times the drink-drive limit level of alcohol in her system when she died, and her bodyguard had confirmed at the time that she had been drinking the day before her death.
She was laid to rest in a private funeral on 26 July 2011 attended by family and close friends.
Read the full interview with Janis Winehouse at Ok.co.uk now
