Bobbi Kristina Brown

Bobbi Kristina Brown was born on March 4, 1993, at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey,[4] to singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown.[5] 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;[6] and Leontyne Price.[7] Her uncle is Gary Garland, her mother's half-brother.[6] Through her father, Brown had six half-siblings: Landon, La'Princia, Robert "Bobby" Jr., Cassius,[8] Bodhi,[9] and Estelle. Her godmother was gospel singer CeCe Winans.[10]

Brown's childhood was characterized by the media as difficult because of her parents' drug problems, the presence of paparazzi, and domestic violence issues.[11] She was brought into the spotlight at age one in 1994, when her mother accepted an American Music Award while holding her onstage. Her vocals were featured in her mother's 1998 song "My Love Is Your Love," for her album of the same title. When her mother brought her to the recording studio and held her up to the microphone, she said "Sing, mommy," which can be heard during the first verse of the song. She can be heard saying "Clap your hands!" at the end of the track. Brown was featured in her mother's 2003 Christmas album titled One Wish: The Holiday Album in her mother's version of "The Little Drummer Boy". When Brown's parents divorced in 2007, her mother was awarded custody, and her father received visitation rights.[12][13]

Brown's mother died at age 48 in a hotel bathtub in 2012 from what was later ruled an accidental drowning with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors.[14] Brown was described as "inconsolable" and a few days later was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles; according to a family friend, Brown was "overwhelmed".[15][16] The month after Whitney Houston's death, in March 2012, Brown said that she felt her mother's spirit, and Brown expressed her intent to carry on her mother's legacy by doing the "singing thing," along with starting a career as an actor and dancer.[17]

In accordance with her mother's will, Brown was the beneficiary of Houston's entire estate including clothing, jewelry, cars, personal effects, and furniture.[18] 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.[19] After her mother's death, Brown was taken care of by her aunt Marion Garland-Houston and her husband Gary Garland.

In October 2012, Brown announced her engagement to a close family friend, Nick Gordon, who had come to live in the Houston household when he was 12 years old and who was later found liable for her death.[20] The announcement caused controversy within the family;[21][lower-alpha 1] before making their romantic involvement known, Brown had referred to him as her "big brother".[23] Brown's grandmother, Cissy Houston, had called the relationship "incestuous" when they were initially dating;[24] however, Brown said the couple received her grandmother's blessing prior to their engagement.[25] In early 2014, Brown and Gordon announced they had married on January 9 of that year.[26] Bobby Brown's lawyer said in a statement in early 2015, "Bobbi Kristina is not and has never been married."[12]

Brown called Angela Bassett a "bitch" after director Bassett cast another woman, not Brown, as Whitney Houston in the biographical movie Whitney based on Houston's life. Bassett stated that she did not cast Brown "for a number of reasons...she's not an actress, and acting is a craft."[27] Brown later apologized to Bassett on Twitter after generating controversy among fans.[28]

Throughout her teenage and adult years, Brown was the focus of tabloids and gossip columns, including stories about her purported drug use, her weight loss, and her relationships with family members.[29][30][31]

On January 31, 2015, Gordon and a friend found Brown face down in a bathtub in her home in Alpharetta, Georgia.[32] They began CPR until emergency medical services personnel arrived. According to a police spokesperson, Brown was alive and breathing after being transported to North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, Georgia.[16] At first, they found no evidence to indicate the incident was caused by drugs or alcohol, but this later was disputed.[33] Doctors placed Brown in an induced coma after determining her brain function was "significantly diminished", and her family was told meaningful recovery would be "a miracle".[34]

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."[35]

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.[36] In late February, she was briefly taken out of the coma, but it was reinduced after she suffered seizures.[37]

During a radio interview on March 25, 2015, Brown's grandmother, Cissy Houston said Brown's condition remained the same and that there was "still not a great deal of hope. We're praying."[38] Brown was moved to an Atlanta rehabilitation facility in March 2015.[39] After Bobby Brown told concertgoers in April that his daughter was "awake", Cissy released a statement saying her granddaughter was no longer in a coma, but remained unresponsive. Doctors said Brown had "global and irreversible brain damage".[40]

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.[41] She was flown back to Atlanta, and moved to Peachtree Christian Hospice in Duluth, Georgia on June 24.[42] Her aunt, Marion Garland (Houston), stated that Bobbi Kristina's condition had continued to deteriorate.[43]

Brown died in hospice care on July 26, 2015, at the age of 22. The initial autopsy found no "obvious underlying cause of death and no significant injuries", and the Fulton County Medical Examiner's office said more tests were forthcoming.[44] A statement released by the family thanked "everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months".[32] Several prominent celebrities offered their condolences, including Chris Brown,[45] Oprah Winfrey,[46] and Whitney Houston protegées Brandy and Monica. Funeral services were held August 1, 2015, at St. James United Methodist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.[47] Brown was buried two days later between her mother and maternal grandfather at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey.[48]

Brown speaks and sings on some of her mother's recordings and televised performances, as well as on a television show after her mother's death.

• Bobbi Kristina Brown discography at Discogs
• Bobbi Kristina Brown at Find a Grave
• Bobbi Kristina Brown on Instagram
• Bobbi Kristina Brown at IMDb
• Bobbi Kristina Brown on Twitter