Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only child of late singer Whitney Houston, died on Sunday at the age of 22, some six months after suffering irreversible brain damage in an incident at her suburban Atlanta home, her family said in a statement.
Brown, whose father is R&B singer Bobby Brown, was found face down and unresponsive in a bathtub in her home by her partner and a friend on January 31. She was moved by her family to hospice care on June 24.
“She is finally at peace in the arms of God,” her family said. “We want to again thank everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months.”
As news of her death became public, media crews and some fans gathered on a darkened cul de sac in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth, where ornate street lamps illuminated the ivy-covered brick nursing home where Brown died.
“We just wanted to show our respect,” said Ali Joyner, 15, who persuaded her mom and a neighbour to drive the 32 kilometres from their home in Dacula, Ga. “I just loved her mom, Whitney. And Bobbi is part of that.”
Celebrities tweeted their condolences. Grammy-winning performer Missy Elliot said: “My heart is truly heavy. May u rest in peace with your mommy... sending prayers 2 the Brown/ Houston family.”
Empire star Taraji P Henson tweeted: “Rest in heaven.” And Oprah Winfrey tweeted: “Peace at Last!”
No one has been charged in the case
Bobbi Kristina’s death came three years after her Grammy-winning mother, who had battled substance abuse, drowned in a bathtub in a Beverly Hills hotel at age 48. Authorities said cocaine abuse and heart disease contributed to Houston’s February 11, 2012 death. Bobbi Kristina Brown inherited her mother’s fortune. She was fabulously wealthy for a teenager, but her money was in a trust, designed to keep creditors and predators from taking advantage of people who cannot manage their money.
Her grandmother, Cissy Houston, and Pat Houston, eventually took over control of the trust and then took Bobbi Kristina to court to protect the estate.
A $10 million civil lawsuit filed last month accuses Bobbi Kristina Brown’s partner, Nick Gordon, of causing her life-threatening injuries and of stealing from her bank account while she was in a coma. No one has been charged in the case.
Bobbi Kristina was an aspiring singer who began performing with her mother as early as 1999, singing duets of My Love is Your Love. In 2003 they recorded another duet of Little Drummer Boy for a holiday album.
Houston and Bobby Brown both struggled with substance abuse and divorced when their daughter was 14. Houston described their 15-year marriage, which ended in 2007, as drug- and alcohol-fuelled.
The couple’s tempestuous relationship and often erratic behaviour was chronicled in the short-lived television series, Being Bobby Brown.
Bobbi Kristina was hospitalised twice with anxiety after her mother’s death.
In 2012 she starred on Lifetime’s reality TV show, The Houstons: On Our Own, in which Houston’s family struggled to recover from the famous singer’s death. The same year Bobbi Kristina guest-starred on For Better or Worse, a television series about a married couple.