Natalie Cole is a famous American singer, actress, songwriter. Daughter of popular jazz singer Nat Cole. Natalie herself was an R&B performer. She has a huge number of released song hits, as well as participation in many famous films.
Biography
Natalie Cole was born on February 6, 1950 in Los Angeles, California. As a little girl, she was introduced to jazz, blues, soul.
At the age of 6, Natalie sang one of the songs in her father's Christmas album, and from the age of 11 she began to perform on her own.
The girl grew up with foster sister Carol, foster brother Nat and twin sisters Timolina and Casey.
The future singer was educated at the elite Northfield Prep School for Girls in New England.
In 1995, her father died of lung cancer, and she entered a very difficult phase in her relationship with her mother.
Natalie Cole went to the University of Massachusetts Amherst and then transferred to the University of Southern California, but later returned. Her specializationwas child psychology, which she studied in German. She received her diploma in this field in 1972.
Career and music
Her musical career was influenced by Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin as a child, whom she often listened to.
After graduating from university, she performed in clubs as part of a group.
In 1975, Natalie Cole released her first album, which immediately became popular. She even won a Grammy nomination. Many of the album's songs became real hits and brought the singer great fame.
Natalie Cole became the first African-American artist to win a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
In 1979, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the same year, she released two more albums that went gold in the US, cementing her popularity.
In 1991, Natalie released the album Unforgettable, which became the best-selling album of her career. It included covers of songs that belonged to her famous father. The album sold 7 million copies in the US. He also brought her victory in several Grammy nominations at once.
In 1995, Natalie Cole received her Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music.
Soon, the singer moves to Verve Records, where she releases two more albums, which also deserve the usual success and popularity.
Movies and albums
Natalie Cole released 23 musicalalbum. The very first of them was called "Inseparable". The last one is "Natalie Cole in Spanish".
She has been seen as an actress in television films such as "Comic Relief", "The Real Housewives of New York" and many others. Basically she was invited as a guest, she played herself.
Cause of death
Natalie Cole was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 2008. The singer herself considered this disease a side effect after using drugs, on which she had been addicted for some time. Later, she even needed a kidney for a transplant, because Natalie began to suffer from kidney failure.
In 2015, the singer canceled several events, citing illness.
1 January 2016 Natalie Cole passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. According to her family, she often complained of feeling unwell. The cause of death of the singer is officially considered idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension - a condition of high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. She was also diagnosed with heart failure. It is believed that drug use in youth contributed to the development of such diseases, although at the time of death, neither drugs nor alcohol were found in the blood of Natalie Cole.
The funeral of the singer took place on January 11, 2016 in the Church of Los Angeles.
