On July 23, 2011, Amy Winehouse, 27, was found dead at her London home. The Rehab hitmaker famously struggled with addiction, mental illness, and substance abuse.
In an interview promoting her 2003 debut album, Frank, she said: "I drink every day but not usually Jack Daniel's. I've been drinking Jack Daniel's for eight years or something. Everyone knows. It's like Jack and Coke."
She went on to discuss her early relationship with alcohol. "It's like when you're younger and you want to get that little bit drunker than everyone else, you drink whisky," she continued. "You know what it's like as a kid."
In the 2021 documentary Reclaiming Amy, her father Mitch Winehouse opened up about their multiple attempts at getting her professional help. "How many times I took her into rehabs, and she'd walk out the next day," he said.
"It's very difficult. I don't think mistakes are the [right word] because there is no right or wrong way to deal with it," he added.
But recently, ahead of the controversial Back to Black biopic, we found an interview with Amy's brother Alex Winehouse, who believed something else caused his sister's often exploited tragic death.
What Was Amy Winehouse's Official Cause Of Death?
In January 2013, a second inquest confirmed that Amy "died as a result of alcohol toxicity." Coroner Shirley Radcliffe stated that the Valerie performer "voluntarily consumed alcohol - a deliberate act that took an unexpected turn and led to her death." The first inquest in 2011 had the same results. However, it was scrapped as the assigned coroner lacked proper qualifications.
Radcliffe added that the musician — whose body was found close to empty vodka bottles — had a blood alcohol level, five times the legal driving limit and above a considerably fatal level. According to the coroner, that level could impact the central nervous system so much that the patient could "fall asleep and not wake up."
Christina Romete — the doctor that treated Amy as she tried to quit drugs and alcohol — said that her patient was "a highly intelligent individual, very determined and willful," who resisted her medical orders and refused to seek psychological help.
She clarified that the singer had successfully quit drugs but couldn't stop binging alcohol. "She said she started drinking again because she felt bored," Romete said of her interaction with Amy, the day before her passing. "I asked Amy if she was going to stop drinking that evening and she said she did not know."
What Does Amy Winehouse's Brother Blame For Her Death?
Speaking to Observer in 2013, Alex talked about Amy's battle with bulimia. "They'd put loads of rich sauces on their food, scarf it down and throw it up," he said of his sister's friends who dealt with the same issue. "They stopped doing it, but Amy never really did...We all knew she was doing it, but it's almost impossible [to tackle] especially if you're not talking about it. It's a real dark, dark issue."
He continued: "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... Absolutely terrible." On how it might have led to her death, Alex said "it left her weaker and more susceptible. Had she not had an eating disorder, she would have been physically stronger."
Alex also expressed his gratitude to the fans that continue to look up to his sister. "Obviously, she touched something in a lot of people and, yeah, it was very strange," he said back then. "We had to go to the flat and all the flowers...You see those things on the telly, but it's always for things that have got nothing to do with you. This was, like, a personal thing...It was incredible."
Who Controls Amy Winehouse's Estate?
Amy reportedly had a net worth of $4 million at the time of her death. Since she didn't have any children, it was equally distributed between her parents, Mitch and Janis Winehouse who split when she was nine. The former was named the administrator of the estate.
A huge chunk of Amy's fortune was used to start the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which helps young musicians battling addiction. Unfortunately, in 2011, Mitch was forced to return the fans' donations after finding out that another organization had already beaten them to the registration of the foundation's name.
"Somebody else pinched [the name] off of us before we could get it registered," Amy's father told BBC that time. He also took to Twitter to share: "All these donations which are coming in – we don't know what to do with them at the moment. we haven't got [a] bank ac in that name. It takes time."
He eventually reclaimed the name. "Today, the Amy Winehouse Foundation helps thousands of young people to feel supported and informed," states the foundation's official website, "so that they are better able to manage their emotional wellbeing and make informed choices around things that can affect their lives."
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