|
Light a Candle
Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of singers Bobby Brown and the late Whitney Houston, died July 26, 2015 having been in a coma since Jan. 31, 2015. Bobbi Kristina "Krissy" Brown was born on March 4, 1993, in Livingston, New Jersey, to Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. Brown's family includes maternal grandmother Cissy Houston of The Drinkard Singers. Her mother's cousins are Dee Dee Warwick; Dionne Warwick, mother of Damon Elliott; and Leontyne Price. Her uncle is Gary Garland, her mother's half-brother. Through her father, Brown had five half-siblings: Landon, La'Princia, Robert "Bobby" Jr., Cassius, and Bodhi. Her godmother is gospel singer CeCe Winans.Brown's childhood was characterized by the media as difficult due to her parents' drug problems, the presence of paparazzi, and domestic violence issues. She was brought into the spotlight at age two in 1994, when her mother accepted an American Music Award while holding her onstage, and Brown's childhood remained public due to her parents' fame. When Brown's parents divorced, her mother was awarded custody, though her father still had visitation rights. Adult life Brown's mother died in a hotel bathtub in 2012, from what was later ruled an accidental drowning with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors. Brown was described as "inconsolable" and a few days later was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles due to what a family friend described as Brown being "overwhelmed". In accordance with her mother's will, Brown was the beneficiary of Houston's entire estate including clothing, jewelry, cars, personal effects, and furniture. The will also provided for Brown to receive trust fund payments in installments until she reached age 30, after which time she was to receive the remainder of Houston's $115 million estate. In October 2012, Brown announced her engagement to Nick Gordon, a close family friend who had come to live in the Houston household when he was 12 years old.The announcement caused controversy within the family; prior to their romantic involvement, Brown referred to Gordon as her "big brother". Brown's grandmother, Cissy Houston, had called the relationship "incestuous" when they were initially dating; however, Brown said the couple received her blessing prior to their engagement. In early 2014, Brown and Gordon announced they had married on January 9 of that year. Bobby Brown's lawyer said in a statement in early 2015 that Brown "is not and has never been married to Nick Gordon". Brown was critical of director Angela Bassett after learning she had not been cast as her mother in the Lifetime biographical movie Whitney based on Houston's life. In response, Bassett stated that she did not cast Brown "for a number of reasons ... she's not an actress and acting is a craft." Brown later apologized to Bassett on Twitter after generating controversy amongst fans. Throughout her teenage and adult years, Brown has been the focus of tabloid and gossip column speculation, including stories about her purported drug use, her weight loss, and her relationships with family members. 2015 hospitalization and death On January 31, 2015, Gordon and a friend found Brown face down in a bathtub in her Georgia home. Gordon began CPR until emergency medical services personnel arrived. According to a police spokeswoman, Brown was alive and breathing after being transported to North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, Georgia. She further stated they found no evidence to indicate the incident was caused by drugs or alcohol. Doctors placed Brown in a medically induced coma after determining her brain function was "significantly diminished", and her family was told any meaningful recovery would be "a miracle." On February 2, Brown was moved to Emory University Hospital, where she remained in a coma and on a medical ventilator. Her family said Brown had briefly opened her eyes, but a medical expert commented, "blinking her eyes doesn't mean she's out of the woods." Despite media reports stating Brown was brain dead and had been taken off life support, her family denied the claims on February 5, after having asked for privacy earlier in the week. In late February, she was briefly taken out of the coma, but the coma was reinduced after she suffered seizures. During a radio interview on March 25, 2015, Brown's grandmother, Cissy Houston, stated Brown's condition remained the same and that there was "... still not a great deal of hope. We’re praying."Brown was moved to an Atlanta rehabilitation facility in March 2015. After Bobby Brown told concert-goers in April that his daughter was "awake", Cissy Houston released a statement saying her granddaughter was no longer in a medically-induced coma, but remained unresponsive. Doctors said Brown had "global and irreversible brain damage." In June 2015, Bobby Brown arranged to have his daughter flown to Chicago to be seen by specialists, only to be told that nothing could be done.[38] She was flown back to Atlanta, and moved to Peachtree Christian Hospice in Duluth, Georgia, on June 24.[39] Her aunt Pat Houston said, "Despite the great medical care at numerous facilities, Bobbi Kristina Brown's condition has continued to deteriorate." Brown died in hospice care on July 26, 2015, at the age of 22. A statement released by the family thanked "everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months." Several prominent celebrities offered their condolences, including Chris Brown and Oprah Winfrey. The initial autopsy found no "obvious underlying cause of death and no significant injuries were noted." The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office said more tests were forthcoming.
