Past

July 2011

Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals^[1] and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz.^[2] Winehouse’s 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 follow-up album, Back to Black, led to six Grammy Award nominations and five wins, tying the then record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night, and made Winehouse the first British female to win five Grammys,^[3][4] including three of the “Big Four”: Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

On 14 February 2007, she won a BRIT Award for Best British Female Artist; she had also been nominated for Best British Album. She won the Ivor Novello Award three times, one in 2004 for Best Contemporary Song (musically and lyrically) for “Stronger Than Me”, one in 2007 for Best Contemporary Song for “Rehab”, and one in 2008 for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for “Love Is a Losing Game”, among other distinctions. The album is the biggest seller of the 2000s in the United Kingdom.^[5] Winehouse is credited as an influence in the rise in popularity of female musicians and soul music, and also for revitalising British music.

Winehouse was found dead on 23 July 2011 at her home in London.^[6][7] On 26 October 2011 a coroner ruled that alcohol poisoning was the cause of death.^[8] Winehouse’s family and friends attended her funeral on 26 July 2011. In August 2011 her album Back to Black became the UK’s best selling album of the 21st century.^[9] Winehouse’s final recording, a duet entitled “Body and Soul” with Tony Bennett, was released on 14 September 2011 to commemorate what would have been her 28th birthday. Proceeds from the song will go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation “to support charitable activities in both the UK and abroad that provide help, support or care for young people, especially those who are in need by reason of ill health, disability, financial disadvantage or addiction”. -wikipedia

May you rest in peace fair lady, your journey has taken you to its next resting place, may your light shine divine!

14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011

She is a Phenomenal Girl!

August 2010

Born Audrey Kathleen Ruston: Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn (4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was an iconic Academy Award-winning actress, fashion model and humanitarian.Born Audrey Kathleen Ruston in Brussels, Belgium, she was the only child of John Victor Hepburn-Ruston, an Anglo Irish banker, and Baroness Ella van Heemstra, a Dutch aristocrat descended from French and English kings. Her father later appended the name Hepburn to his surname, and Audrey’s surname became Hepburn-Ruston. She had two half-brothers, Alexander and Ian Quarles van Ufford, by her mother’s first marriage to a Dutch nobleman.

Audrey had the reputation of being a humble, kind and charming person, who lived the philosophy of putting others before herself. She showed this side particularly towards the end of her life in her work for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). New Woman magazine called Audrey the most beautiful woman of all time, in a 2006 poll. She was ranked as the third greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute.

By the late 1980′s Audrey’s film career was coming to a close, her two sons were grown, and she was living in Switzerland with her companion Robert Wolders. Instead of settling down to a comfortable retirement, she began the job that would occupy the last five years of her life: Special Ambassador for the United Nations Children’s Fund. As a starving child in Holland after Word War II, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, forerunner of UNICEF, brought her much-needed food, medicine, and clothing. “There is a moral obligation,” she would say, “that those who have should give to those who don’t.”

Audrey Hepburn, known for her starring roles
in films such as Roman Holiday, Breakfast at
Tiffany’s, and My Fair Lady, dedicated the
last years of her life to helping children in
need around the world.

Appointed as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
in 1988, she traveled to Africa, Asia, and
Latin America on behalf of the children until
her death in 1993.

“She was an inspiration,” said UNICEF
Executive Director Carol Bellamy, “she
brought enormous world attention to children.
She raised the profile of the challenges
they face.”

Jan 2010

Name at birth: Freda Josephine Baker

Born in St. Louis, Josephine Baker was a star in Paris for most of her adult life. She left her home in Missouri and began performing in her early teens. She appeared in the chorus lines of all-black revues on New York vaudeville stages, then travelled to Paris in 1925 as part of La Revue Negre. Her lithe body and frank sensuality, combined with her jovial clowning on stage, caused a sensation. She was so successful in Paris that she stayed and opened her own nightclub there, Chez Josephine. Baker was famous for her exotic outfits, her trademarks being a leopard on a leash, a skirt made of feathers, and a dance in which she wore a string of bananas and not much else. She became a citizen of France in 1937, and during World War II she worked with the Resistance against the Nazis. After the war she fought for civil rights in the United States, returned to France and retired in 1956 to look after her 12 adopted children. Baker fell on hard times in the 1960s but was rescued from destitution by Princess Grace of Monaco, who helped Baker put on another stage show, Josephine, in 1975. Baker died the same year and was given a state funeral in Paris.

Baker, Josephine (1906–1975), dancer, theater performer, writer, and civil rights activist. Although she spent most of her adult life living in France and touring the world, Josephine Baker was born in St. Louis, Missouri. After a difficult childhood, she left home at thirteen, starting her dance career with a vaudeville troupe called the Dixie Steppers. In the early 1920s, she worked in African American theater productions in New York such as Shuffle Along and Chocolate Dandies. In 1925 Baker left for Paris to begin her long international career with companies like Revue Nègre, Folies Bergères, and, later, the Ziegfeld Follies.

As her career evolved, Baker increasingly focused on political concerns. During World War II Baker toured North Africa while providing information to French and British intelligence. Later she used her considerable fame to advance civil rights issues during her frequent visits to the United States. In 1951 the NAACP honored her political work by declaring an official Baker Day in Harlem. Baker is also remembered for her advocacy of racial reconciliation: she adopted children of varied races and nationalities and worked throughout her life to promote racial and national cooperation.

One lighter giver at a time we Unite!