LONDON — British singer Amy Winehouse was ashamed of being an alcoholic and would not drink in front of her family, the late singer’s mother revealed in an interview published Friday.
Janis Winehouse said that her daughter was determined to beat her addiction but told family members she wanted to do it “My Way,” using the words of her favorite Frank Sinatra song.
“Amy didn’t want to die; she didn’t have a death wish,” Janis Winehouse told the Daily Mail. “She had a huge zest for life. There was so much she still wanted to achieve.”
“Amy was incredibly strong, both physically and mentally, but alcohol addiction seemed to creep up on her and then just took her by surprise,” she added.
Speaking for the first time since a coroner’s investigation found that Amy Winehouse was five times over the UK’s legal drunk driving limit when she died, Janis Winehouse said she had visited her daughter the afternoon before her death.
“She didn’t seem drunk or tipsy — she was completely normal and coherent,” she said. “There was absolutely nothing that afternoon which left me worried about her. I had no inkling that I would never see her again.”
The 27-year-old singer was found dead at her flat in north London on July 23. Toxicology tests found no traces of illegal substances in her body but an autopsy found she had huge amounts of alcohol in her system that could have stopped her breathing and sent her into a coma.
“I think what killed Amy was not just the alcohol, but the fact she was less than seven stone [98 pounds] and just over five feet tall,” Janis Winehouse said. “Her body couldn’t cope with that amount of alcohol after three weeks of abstinence. It was the lack of consistency; the stopping and starting again.”
She added, “She could go for weeks without having a drink, but then she’d fall off the wagon. She was like a little girl who just couldn’t resist putting her finger in the fan, even though she knew it was dangerous. But she never drank in front of me. She loved and respected her family too much for that.”