Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of Whitney Houston, dies at 22
ATLANTA — The brief, chaotic life of Bobbi Kristina Brown was never really her own.
Born and raised in the shadow of fame and litigation, shattered by the loss of her mother, Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina was overwhelmed by the achievements and demons of others before she could begin to figure out who she was.
Her demise was the most awful inheritance of all.
Bobbi Kristina died on Sunday at Peachtree Christian Hospice in Duluth, Georgia, about six months after she was found face-down and unresponsive in a bathtub in the suburban Atlanta townhome she shared with Nick Gordon, the man she called her husband. She was 22-years-old.
"Bobbi Kristina Brown passed away July, 26 2015, surrounded by her family. She is finally at peace in the arms of God. We want to again thank everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months," Kristen Foster, a representative for the Houston family said Sunday.
Police said she was found Jan. 31 in the suburban Atlanta townhome she shared with Gordon. A police report described it as a "drowning."
Bobbi Kristina was the only child between Houston and Brown.
She was hospitalized for months in Atlanta — eventually being placed in hospice care — after being found in a manner grimly similar to the way her megastar mother died three years earlier. The police report called it a "drowning," and Gordon said at the time it seemed she wasn't breathing and lacked a pulse before help arrived.
Brown — the sole heir of her mother's estate — did have dreams.
She identified herself on Twitter as "Daughter of Queen WH," ''Entertainer/Actress" with William Morris & Co., and "LAST of a dying breed." She told Oprah shortly after her mother's death in 2012 that she wanted to carry on her mother's legacy by singing, acting and dancing. But her career never took off. Actor and producer Tyler Perry said she had a future as an actress after her debut on his TV show "For Better or Worse" in 2012, but she only appeared in one episode. Aside from two ill-fated reality TV shows and the occasional paparazzi video, her image mostly showed up in the "selfies" she posted online.
She attended award shows and appeared on red carpets with her mother and father. She performed a duet on TV with her mother in 2009, singing "My Love Is Your Love" in New York's Central Park. She became social media sensation, sending more than 11,000 tweets and attracting 164,000 followers.
As the news of her death spread across social media, several celebrities tweeted their condolences.
Grammy-winning performer Missy Elliot tweeted, "My heart is truly heavy. May u rest in peace with your mommy #BobbiKristina sending prayers 2 the Brown/Houston family."
"Empire" star Taraji P. Henson tweeted, "Rest in heaven."
"RIP #BobbiKristina My deepest sympathies 2 your father #BobbyBrown n your GrandMa #CissyHouston We will miss ya 4sho darling ;) Actress Vivica A. Fox said on Twitter.
And Oprah Winfrey tweeted, "Peace at Last!"
Whitney Houston, known as "America's Sweetheart," was an impossible act to follow.
The late singer sold more than 50 million records in the United States alone during her career. Her voice, an ideal blend of power, grace and beauty, made classics out of songs like "Saving All My Love For You," ''I Will Always Love You" and "The Greatest Love of All." She earned six Grammys and starred in the films "The Bodyguard" and "The Preacher's Wife."
Bobby Brown had a bad-boy image but also became a huge star, selling platinum records with New Edition and going solo before drugs and legal woes derailed his career.
Bobbi Kristina appeared alongside both parents in 2005 on the Bravo reality show "Being Bobby Brown," which captured her parents fighting, swearing and appearing in court. The Hollywood Reporter said it revealed that Brown was "even more vulgar than the tabloids suggest," and managed "to rob Houston of any last shreds of dignity."
Years earlier, as Houston was preparing to give birth to Bobbi Kristina, she expressly left Bobby Brown out of her will, putting everything in a trust "for the benefit of her children and more remote descendants," according to the Houstons' 2012 petition.
After their divorce in 2007, Houston kept custody of Bobbi Kristina and raised her alongside Gordon, an orphan three years older than her daughter. Houston brought Gordon into her family, and while she never formally adopted him or included him in the will, both teenagers called her "mom."
The threesome's tight bond was shattered when Houston's assistant found the singer's lifeless body face-down in a foot of water in her bathtub at the Beverly Hills Hotel just before the Grammy Awards in 2012. Authorities found prescription drugs in the suite, and evidence of heart disease and cocaine in her body, but determined that it was an accidental drowning.
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