What happened to Amy Winehouse? Back to Black charts icon's story
The singer tragically passed away in 2011 from alcohol poisoning after a period of sobriety.
Amy Winehouse is getting the biopic treatment, with Marisa Abela starring as the iconic late singer in new film Back to Black.
The movie, which has been helmed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, chronicles Winehouse's life and career, focusing on the troubled star's legacy, relationships and tragic passing.
The singer's death from alcohol poisoning in 2011 isn't actually depicted in the biopic, however, with the film concluding with a sober Winehouse moving to Camden and hoping to make a fresh start.
So, what happened to the singer? Read on for everything you need to know about Amy Winehouse's story in real life.
What happened to Amy Winehouse?
The singer shot to fame in her early 20s thanks to her best-selling album Back to Black, but spent much of her career struggling with drug and alcohol addiction as well as long-term bulimia.
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Speaking about how her life in the spotlight exacerbated her struggles, Winehouse's best friend Tyler James told The Times in 2021: "Amy was a girl in her 20s suffering from addiction, and everybody was a part of it. Everybody was watching it.
"When you go to rehab, you have to be the strongest you've ever been in your life, when you are the weakest you've ever been in your life. And she had to go through that in front of people."
Winehouse managed to kick her drug habit in the final years of her life and was also managing to overcome her addiction to alcohol, but it was an alcohol relapse that ultimately took her life in 2011.
Her step-mum Jane Winehouse, who had known Amy since she was two, previously told The Independent that Amy "did get off drugs" before the "alcohol sadly kicked in".
She added: "She did that pretty much herself. Towards the end, the gaps – the periods of sobriety – were getting longer."
Paramedics discovered Winehouse in her flat in Camden Town in north London on 23rd July 2011. An inquest into her death later found she had died of alcohol poisoning after a period of abstinence.
Following Back to Black’s release in cinemas, Winehouse's long-time friend and collaborator Dale Davis revealed they spoke hours before her death.
"I talked to her at 11:30pm, three hours before she went to bed for the last time, and she was on good form," he recalled. "Amy said, 'Dale, I've just been watching myself on YouTube and I can sing, can't I?' I replied, 'Of course you can sing! You're the best… you know.'"
He continued to The Sun: "I'm glad she went to bed with that thought. She needed to appreciate she could sing because she was very humble. Even at her level, a person can never see it in themselves. They probably think, 'Is the adulation real or not?' But to me, Amy is the first star of the millennium."
For support and information on alcohol and drugs addiction, you can visit talktofrank.com or find ways to get help on the NHS website.
Back to Back is out now in cinemas in the UK and Ireland.
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