Amy Winehouse Biography

NAME: Amy Winehouse

OCCUPATION: Entrepreneur, Songwriter, Music Producer, Singer

BIRTH DATE: September 14, 1983

DEATH DATE: July 23, 2011

EDUCATION: Sylvia Young Theatre School

Singer, performer. Born Amy Jade Winehouse on September 14, 1983, in the suburb of Southgate, North London. Her father, Mitch Winehouse, worked as a cab driver, while mother Janis was employed as a pharmacist. Winehouse's upbringing was surrounded by jazz; many of her uncles on her mother's side were professional jazz musicians, and her grandmother was once romantically involved with British jazz legend Ronnie Scott.

She played her brother's guitar and received her own guitar at age 13. Young Amy Winehouse was a rebellious girl. At age 14, she was expelled from Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone, London. At that time she pierced her nose and tattooed her body. She briefly attended the BRIT School in Croydon, and began her professional career at 16, performing occasional club gigs and recording low cost demos. At age 19, she recorded her debut, Frank (2003), a jazz-tinged album that became a hit and earned her several award nominations. During the next several years, she survived a period of personal upheaval, a painful relationship, and has been struggling with substance abuse. Her 2006's album 'Back on Black' was an international hit, and 'Rehab' made No. 9 on the US pop charts.

In 2005, Winehouse teamed up with producer Mark Ronson and began writing her second album after an 18-month song-writing hiatus. Winehouse said Ronson’s involvement was so inspirational she wrote the album in six months.In April of 2007, Winehouse's relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil also blossomed into an engagement. Winehouse revealed that her romance with the 23-year-old was the inspiration for several of the Back to Black tracks. The couple married May 18, 2007, in a ceremony in Miami, Florida.

Award success aside, 2008 was a memorable year for all the wrong reasons for Winehouse. Further breakdowns and attempts at intervention by her family have all but bought promises of an exceptional career to a shuddering pause. Her turbulent marriage to Fielder-Civil has continued to deteriorate to the point that he has requested a divorce, based on both claims of adultery and also to 'save' the life of his wife. They divorced in August 2009.