No typical yiddishe maydl during her life, Amy Winehouse has been immortalized as a Jew.
On Sunday, a life-sized statue of the acclaimed singer, who died at age 27 of alcohol poisoning after years of drug abuse, was unveiled in Camden, London. The statue features her signature beehive hairdo, complete with a giant red rose, and a large Star of David necklace.
Winehouse’s parents, along with thousands of fans, attended the event. Father Mitch Winehouse described the day as one full of “mixed emotions” according to an interview with Rolling Stone.
Last summer, The Jewish Museum in London also presented an exhibit titled “Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait.” The exhibition highlighted her great-great-grandfather’s arrival to the UK from Minsk in 1890, photos from her brother Alex’s bar mitzvah, and even a “Book of Jewish Food” that belonged to Winehouse as a young girl.
Winehouse sometimes spoke unfavorably about her Jewish heritage. She swore off Jewish men, and aired the dread she experienced attending Sunday school as a child, but she also told Haaretz that “being Jewish to me is about being together as a real family.”
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