Natalie Cole dies at 65 (photos)

Natalie Cole featured image Twitter

Legendary and “Unforgettable” singer Natalie Cole dies at 65 reportedly of congestive heart failure on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015. The daughter of the late jazz singer Nat King Cole and singer Maria Hawkins Cole, won the first of her nine Grammy Awards in 1976 for Best New Artist and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female. The following year she won another award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female, for her song “Sophisticated Lady.” In 1992, Cole won three Grammy Awards – Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Performance. Her most recent Grammy was won was in 2009.

Even though she received a kidney from an anonymous donor while on dialysis, due to hepatitis C – linked to earlier drug abuse, a cocaine addiction, and experimenting with drugs like LSD and heroin – the illness resurfaced. It forced Cole to cancel tour dates towards the end of last year.


Cole leaves to cherish her memory her son Robert Adam Yancy, who also has the voice of song. He was born from the union of Cole and Rev. Marvin Jerome Yancy who died at age 34 of a heart attack in his Chicago home in 1985.

Rev. Jesse Jackson tweeted on New Year’s Day: “Natalie Cole, sister beloved & of substance and sound. May her soul rest in peace.” See the photo gallery below of Cole with her celebrity friends in music and beyond.


Celebrity deaths in 2015

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