Singer Natalie Cole has passed away, she was 65 years old.

Cole’s family released a statement confirming the entertainer has passed away from what her family describes as, ongoing medical problems.

- Advertisement -

Natalie Cole, the American singer who overcame battles with substance abuse and the long shadow of her famous father to earn worldwide success of her own, has died. She was 65.

Cole died Thursday night at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles “due to complications from ongoing health issues,” according to a statement from her family.

“It is with heavy hearts that we bring to you all the news of our Mother and sister’s passing. Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived … with dignity, strength and honor,” her sisters, Timolin and Casey Cole, and son, Robert Yancy, said in the statement. “Our beloved Mother and sister will be greatly missed and remain unforgettable in our hearts forever.”

The singer’s publicist has said that her death was due to congestive heart failure.

Cole was the daughter of legendary singer Nat King Cole. Her father, who had lung cancer, died at just 45 years of age when Natalie was just 15 years old. Natalie Cole would go on to forge her own singing career first as an R&B and then later in fields of smooth pop and jazz.

In 1991 Cole released ‘Unforgetable…with love’ an album that saw her cover her father’s hit songs. The album also included a duet between the singer and her late father. In a technological advancement producers combined Natalie’s voice with her fathers for the song ‘Unforgettable’.  The album was produced by Tommy LiPuma, David Foster and Andre Fischer. The album would go on to win the Grammy for Record of the Tear.

Cole first released music in 1975, and would go on to release over 20 records. Her debut album ‘Inseparable’ featured one of her biggest hits ‘This Will Be (An Everlasting Love).

In the ’80s Cole scored a huge hit with her cover of a Bruce Springsteen b-side, Pink Cadillac. The powerful ballad ‘Miss You Like Crazy’ was another hit, and the tune ‘Wild Women Do’ was featured on the soundtrack to the Julia Roberts film ‘Pretty Woman’.

In 2000 Natlaie Cole released her autobiography ‘Angel on my Shoulder’ where she revealed her long standing battle with drug addiction. The singer said she been addicted to heroin and crack cocaine.

The singer had entered rehab in 1983. In 2009 the singer had a kidney transplant after developing hepatitis, something she blamed on her past drug use.

Cole was married three times, first to Producer Marvin Yancy, who produced her early albums. The couple divorced in 1980 and Yancy passed away due to a heart attack five years later. Cole’s second marriage in 9189 was to Andre Fischer, the drummer from the band Rufus. The couple wed in 1989 and he produced some of the tracks on her unforgettable album, the would divorce in 1995. Cole’s final marriage was to Kenneth Dupree from 2001  until they divorced in 2004.