
Amy Winehouse's parents Mitch and Janis appear emotional as they visit her grave on the 14th anniversary of her death
The former couple appeared emotional as they were spotted paying their respects at Amy's grave at Edgwarebury Cemetery in north London on Wednesday.
They were joined by friends, family, and fans at the graveside, where they left flowers and messages addressed to their daughter.
Janis, 70, was aided by a mobility walker, while Mitch, 74, used a walking stick as the pair were comforted by loved ones.
Mitch and Janis, who also share son Alex and divorced in 1993 when Amy was nine, remain close following the heartbreaking loss of Amy.
Amy died on July 23 2011. After two inquests, her cause of death was revealed to be accidental by way of alcohol poisoning.
The singer had a history of alcohol and drug abuse. She had been in and out of rehab and struggled with alcohol withdrawal and anxiety.
Amy, who is buried with her grandmother Cynthia Levy, is said to have been subject to nine interventions led by parents about her boozy lifestyle.
Mitch battled to get his beloved daughter to abandon the dangerous drug-fuelled life which was killing her, even as she enjoyed extraordinary success.
When his efforts ended in heartbreaking failure with her death, Mitch and second wife Jane established, with Amy's mother Janis, the Amy Winehouse Foundation in the hope of inspiring young people to spare themselves from a similar path.
It was revealed that the weight of Amy's death was too much for Mitch's relationship to bare, with the couple going their separate ways.
He told the Daily Mail in 2023: 'I haven't made a public announcement, explaining he has been reticent to do so because Jane, 59, remains a trustee of the foundation.
Insisting their separation was amicable, Mitch suggested the first strains on their relationship date back to when Amy was falling apart under the cosh of binges on alcohol and narcotics.
He would do what he could to help. 'I would get a call at 3am and run out at 4am,' Mitch said, adding that this inevitably took a toll on his marriage.
He felt compelled to reassure his wife that his nocturnal assignations really did involve his only daughter. 'I said to her: 'Listen! There are no other women!'
Jane and Mitch had begun their affair while he was married to Janis, a pharmacist, with whom he had Amy and her brother, Alex.
During the dalliance Mitch made no real effort to disguise his feelings for Jane and brazenly brought her home on Friday nights for Jewish family suppers.
Eventually, Janis had enough and took Amy and Alex into her car and drove to Janes' flat to confront the lovers.
Despite their messy split, Janis has since forgiven Mitch and they remained bonded by their desperate quest to save their daughter from her addictions. 'None of us are perfect', Mitch previously said.
'Jane was so even-tempered, as was Janis. They need to be with me – I'm a Sagittarian tiger! Actually, we get on better.
'We are all still friends and all still running the [Amy Winehouse] Foundation together.'
Her 2006 album, Back To Black, made her an international star and won five Grammys, including record of the year and song of the year for Rehab.
Last year, a biopic based on the life of English singer-songwriter Amy, played by Marisa Abela, was released.
The Back to Black biopic sparked outrage from pals, with musician Neon Hitch, branding the film 'ridiculous' and 'tasteless', saying: 'Can you please all let Amy rest?'
Friends of Amy voiced their fury with her father Mitch, after he allowed ghoulish scenes of her drug overdose to be filmed at her old flat for the film.
Actress Marisa was seen on a stretcher with an oxygen mask as she leaves the property in North London.
The flat is now owned by Mitch who also features in the scene alongside other actors playing paramedics.
Friends of the singer were devastated that Mitch had given his permission for the flat in Camden to be used to recreate one of his daughter's darkest moments, which took place in August 2008.
It followed a reported 36-hour marathon drug-taking session, which ended with her checking in to the £10,000-a-week Causeway Retreat rehabilitation centre on Osea Island, Essex.
One told The Mail on Sunday: 'The fact that Amy's father has said OK to a scene where she had an overdose in the flat she lived in is disgusting.
'His behaviour is shocking. He didn't know what went on or what she was like with us all during those years.
'Amy would really hate that they're focusing on all the dark stuff that she went through.'
Ms Winehouse lived in the property following the release of her Back To Black album and friends say that she enjoyed happy times there.
One pal said: 'There was always music and laughter. That's who Amy was. She was so loving and was so fun to be around.'
Amy lived at the flat until 2010, when she bought a four-storey house nearby, it was later confirmed she died of alcohol poisoning.
Amy allowed a friend to live at the flat after she moved out, but after she died, her father took control of it.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
3 minutes ago
- BBC News
Former pop star Kavana on dark side of peak 90s showbiz
In the mid-1990s, Anthony Kavanagh was charting in the Top 10 and winning Smash Hits awards. But within a matter of years, everything had come crashing down. Dropped by his record label, addiction quickly took hold and 'Kavana' - as he was known - found himself "in the basement".Now, marking two years of sobriety, the 47-year-old has released his candid autobiography, Pop Scars, about his descent from fame to homelessness. He told BBC Radio Manchester: "I didn't want the book to be a pity party - I wanted it to be a book of hope and of silver linings ultimately." Growing up in a council house in the inner-city Harpurhey area, he "didn't really show off" his musical talents, but would practise songs on a piano that had been handed down by an discovering the Smash Hits magazine cemented his ambitions to be a pop star."I would buy it every two weeks and I'd just get lost in this magazine, and I just became fascinated and obsessed with wanting to be a pop singer." The dream became reality when at the age of 18, he signed a deal with Virgin Records at the same time as the then unknown Spice acts performed at the firm's summer ball and he went on to chart success with singles I Can Make You Feel Good and Special Kind Of was even flown out to perform for the Brunei royal family and once missed a phone call from Madonna."It was peak 90s. It was me and Spice Girls and all the boy bands and the Smash Hits tours. I mean what a time, it was right in the middle of that pop movement."But he struggled with hiding his sexuality in an image-fixated industry that saw him adorn posters in girls' bedrooms all over the country. "I was a chubby kid," he says. "So it was strange to be adored like this. I didn't really believe it, but yeah, I was in the added he was "very inexperienced so I kind of took on this role and hid that". "After a while that's going to affect you," he added. As a solo artist, he says he missed out on the camaraderie and mutual support of being in a boy band and became caught up in drink and drugs."I think what I now understand, looking back years later, is that there was a lot of loneliness."In the often cut-throat music industry, he was dropped by his record firm at the age of describe the grip of the addictions as "slow and insidious"."I was chasing a feeling and that was to be wanted and liked and, I suppose, loved really."When you get that very fast, very quick and then it goes, I don't think your mind knows how to cope with it. "So I turned to something else that gave me that feeling but obviously took me down as well eventually." 'Write your truth' He returned to the public eye as a contestant on The Voice UK in 2013, but didn't get through to further stages, despite judge Sir Tom Jones telling him he had a "lovely, lovely tone".But at the time his addictions had a grip on him. After a stint on Celebrity Big Brother, he appeared drunk on an appearance on Loose loss of his father and sister, and his mother's diagnosis with Alzheimer's, also took a heavy toll. "I just kept having these rock bottoms after rock bottoms and I think I had to be stripped of every single thing - that means people, family, relationships - to then finally surrender."I'm just going: 'You know what? I'm done'. That's when my life started to change properly, and suddenly then I started to get this creativity back."He enrolled on a three-month writing course, where the instructor swept aside his anxieties."She gave me the self-esteem to keep going. She kept saying 'stop this' because I kept saying I'm not famous enough to write a book. She was like, it doesn't matter, write your truth, write what moves you and so I did."He describes his book as "the first thing I've done in sobriety"."So probably I've not done anything since I was 16 that's not been in some way affected by my addiction. "So yeah, I'm slightly proud of it." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.


Telegraph
3 minutes ago
- Telegraph
How Princess Eugenie is following the Duchess of Sussex style playbook
Among a sea of celebrities, socialites and young royals in attendance at Royal Ascot last month, one in particular stood out as especially stylish. While the Princess of Wales was unable to attend for health reasons, her husband's cousin, Princess Eugenie, seemingly picked up her style baton, looking incredibly chic on two separate occasions. Arriving on the fourth day of the races, the 12th-in-line to the throne wore a coffee and cream coloured two-piece skirt and top, with her wide-brimmed white hat giving her an Audrey Hepburn-esque appeal. Then, on the fifth day, she chose a vivid orange midi dress by Whistles, featuring a fitted bodice and flared skirt, which she accessorised with her go-to Aquazzura Bow Tie heels and corresponding headpiece. And it's not the first time that Eugenie has looked more put together in recent weeks. In early May, she also looked notably chic at the Chelsea Flower Show, wearing a Rebecca Vallance floral dress, nude-coloured mules by trendy brand Staud and Sophie Lis's playful mushroom earrings. Then, at the Tate Modern 25th Anniversary Fundraising Gala, she chose a white Broderie Anglaise Self Portrait dress, while for a visit to a Salvation Army safehouse she wore a Veronica Beard denim midi dress with Peter Pan collar. For some royal style-watchers, Eugenie's new look seems to be borrowing heavily from the Duchess of Sussex's sartorial playbook, and not just because they share a love of the same designers (including Rebecca Vallance, Aquazzura and Sophie Lis in particular). 'It's European summer, a season where royals usually embrace florals, pastels and classic English countryside styling, but Princess Eugenie seems to be taking a different approach, one that feels unmistakably Californian,' says the anonymous poster behind Instagram's popular Royal Fashion Daily account. 'At public engagements, from Royal Ascot to more casual daytime visits, she's shifted towards a wardrobe of earthy, neutral tones – olive, taupe, cream and sand. The palette calls to mind Meghan's now-iconic '50 shades of beige,' a soft, minimalist style that became her signature from her Sussex days through to her life on the west coast.' And it's not just the designers or the colour palette that is reminiscent of Meghan, it's the unfussy silhouettes and seeming adoption of a 'quiet luxury' aesthetic. 'Eugenie's leaning into a quieter kind of elegance, one that prioritises ease and polish over ornament,' continues Royal Fashion Daily. 'It's a style that Meghan has long championed: clean lines, refined cuts and a sense of quiet confidence. In one recent appearance, Eugenie wore a sleeveless olive green dress with a belted waist – structured but relaxed, and entirely free of fuss. For another event, she chose a navy midi dress with subtle tailoring and no embellishment, paired simply with nude heels. It's a look built on clarity, not complexity.' While it's unclear whether or not she's worked with a stylist on her current wardrobe revamp, Eugenie has previously been known to work with stylists. In 2011, it was revealed that she and her elder sister Princess Beatrice had worked with stylist Charlie Anderson for a year on overhauling their look following the cruel trolling they received about their outfits at the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The sisters went on to work with Mary Fellowes, who promised them she'd get them in the Vogue best dressed list. 'And I did,' she told the Telegraph in 2021. 'I'm very proud of them for that because I think they'd had quite a mixed style journey until then.' Then, in the 2020s, it was reported that Eugenie had worked with Irish stylist Sarah Price on her wedding trousseau, which included bespoke Peter Pilotto and Zac Posen dresses. If she's not working with a stylist, it could also just be via osmosis that she's been inspired by Meghan. After all, of all the members of the Royal Family, Eugenie is known for being the only one to still keep in close contact with the Sussexes, often visiting them in California. For Royal Fashion Daily, the inspiration is obvious. 'Whether it's a structured dress, a minimal co-ord or a bold pop of colour offset by soft accessories, Eugenie's fashion evolution is clear,' says the page. 'She's stepping away from traditional royal tropes and towards a new kind of modern, understated and confident style, one that is quietly influenced by the woman who helped rewrite the rules of royal style.' Whether or not anything that Meghan uploads on her ShopMy ends up in Eugenie's wardrobe remains to be seen… Five ways that Eugenie and Meghan are working from the same style playbook The stealth wealth colour palette Meghan is known for her love of greige-y neutrals, and at Royal Ascot, it appeared that Eugenie was embracing them too. Her beige top, last seen in 2015, worn over a white dress, was very Meghan-coded and stood out in the sea of pastels. The poppy red When she does use colour, Meghan chooses her shades wisely, and her rich poppy red Carolina Herrera dress is a case in point. She first wore it back in 2021, but had it altered before she wore it again last year. Eugenie took a leaf from that book, again, at Royal Ascot, in a much more affordable Whistles dress which looked elegant with a matching hat. The Sophie Lis jewellery Meghan first wore the jewellery designer's 'Love' pendant in 2020, and went on to wear it in 2022 at the Invictus Games and on screen in With Love, Meghan. Eugenie is also a loyal fan, having worn Lis's 'Fallen Star' hoops on several occasions, and more recently, the Sophie Lis 'Mushroom' earrings too. The emerald drape It's not just that they've worn the same colour here, it's that both have chosen styles which feature Grecian-inspired draping for an elevated take on eveningwear. The Aquazzura heels Meghan has long worn Aquazzura heels, distinctive for their cut-outs and bow detail at the heel. So it was easy to spot Eugenie wearing the same brand at Royal Ascot. Perhaps they've traded notes on the most comfortable heels to wear for long periods of time?


The Sun
3 minutes ago
- The Sun
My husband wants me to pretend to be his SISTER during sex and it's freaking me out – have our kinky games gone too far?
WHAT'S the weirdest thing you've ever been asked to do in bed? I've had some pretty out-there requests (even by my standards), but one still haunts me. 4 I'm all for roleplay, but an ex once asked me to be his stepmum — and since he actually had one who looked a bit like me, it creeped me out! So when I got this letter from a reader whose husband asked her to roleplay as his stepsister, it took me right back to that moment. She has my full sympathy. It's tricky to balance not kink-shaming with being comfortable in your own sex life - but I'm up for the challenge. I'm The Sun's Sexpert, and this week in my no-holds-barred sex series, I'll show you how to fend off an awkward kinky request without going back to boring sex. Q. A few months back, me and my hubby agreed to try out some role play to spice things up. We've been married for six years and sex had gone a bit stale. At first, it worked a treat and we were at it like rabbits, but now he's suggesting I pretend to be his stepsister and it's freaking me out! He assures me it's just a harmless common fetish and to be fair some of my mates have said the same, but to me it just feels weird - especially since he actually has a sister. I love my husband, we have a great marriage and I don't want to push him away in the bedroom just when things were heating up again. How can I steer him away from this fantasy without going back to the vanilla sex we had before? How can I bring up kinks with my partner? Georgie says: 'HAVING fantasies is completely normal, and I'm sure his stepsister one is innocent enough - but I understand why it's made you uncomfortable. It's a common theme in mainstream porn, so it's likely he's just picked it up from there and became fixated on the idea. That said, since he actually has a sister, it probably feels a bit too close to home for you — and that's valid. The key here is communication. Being open and honest is essential for great sex and a healthy relationship. How you respond will shape what happens next. You don't want to blurt out, 'God, that's creepy as hell, babe,' as that could make him shut down. He might start feeling ashamed or like a weirdo, and stop sharing things with you - which could cause issues both in and out of the bedroom. 4 That said, it's absolutely okay to say no. If something doesn't sit right with you, you shouldn't feel pressured to go along with it - and any decent partner should respect that. But just because you're not into this particular fantasy doesn't mean role play is off the table entirely. Here are my tips for keeping things exciting without going down that route… Secret fantasies Being able to say what you like and don't like is key to great sex - but how you say it matters just as much. It's important to create a safe space where your partner feels comfortable opening up. I love roleplay but an ex once asked me to be his stepmum and he actually had one who looked a bit like me! Georgie CulleySun Sexpert Never mock or laugh if they share an unusual kink or fantasy. Instead, use positive language - try something like: 'I love it when we do X, Y, Z, but I'm not really into that kind of roleplay. I'd be up for trying this instead…' It's all about keeping the conversation open, respectful, and focused on mutual pleasure. Set boundaries With any kind of kinky play, it's essential to set clear boundaries and agree on a safe word - something either of you can use to stop immediately if things become uncomfortable. Roleplay often involves exploring power dynamics, and can sometimes veer into BDSM territory. That's why having a safe word or signal in place is so important - it ensures both partners feel secure, respected, and in control at all times. What sent my ex wild Roleplay is a brilliant way to explore fantasies. For many, slipping into a uniform and taking on a different persona can help them fully embrace the part. An ex of mine went wild when I dressed up as a maid and spent the whole day teasing him — doing the housework in a skimpy outfit, but not letting him rip it off until later. It was the ultimate slow-burn foreplay, and it drove him mad in the best way. Make it fun by involving each other in the process — shop together for outfits (whether you're trying doctor and patient, police officer and defendant, or something else entirely) and see what sparks your interest. Do you enjoy being dominant, submissive, or a bit of both - known as a switch? Don't be afraid to experiment with different roles and, most importantly, enjoy the ride. Filthy fiction Stuck for ideas? Try watching an erotic film or steamy bonkbuster for inspiration. Fancy a Regency-style romp? Pop on Bridgerton for outfit ideas and boudoir makeover inspo. If TV's not your thing, pick up an erotic novel. Fifty Shades is a classic intro to BDSM, but there's a whole world of saucy books out there to spark your imagination. Want to up the ante? Take turns reading the naughtiest chapters aloud to each other - it's a guaranteed way to get in the mood. 'One night stands' with a twist If dressing up isn't your thing, don't worry - roleplay doesn't have to involve costumes. It can simply be about creating a new scenario. Taking sex out of the bedroom is a great way to shake things up, especially in a long-term relationship where you want to reignite that just met spark. One of my favourite roleplays is dressing up in a sexy outfit, heading to a bar, and having my partner meet me there as if we're strangers. He has to chat me up like it's a first date - then we book into a hotel for a cheeky 'one night stand'. It's playful, exciting, and adds a whole new energy to your sex life.