Tributes paid to Bobbi Kristina Brown

STARS have paid tribute to the daughter of the late Whitney Houston and R&B singer Bobby Brown who has died aged 22.

Whitney Houston, left, and daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown. Picture: AP

Bobbi Kristina Brown died seven months after she was found face down in a bathtub.

A representative for the Houston family said she died surrounded by her family and “is finally at peace in the arms of God”.

A post on Whitney’s official Facebook page said: “It is hard to say goodbye. On Sunday 26 July, Bobbi Kristina Brown made her transition peacefully. The family thanks everyone for their loving thoughts and prayers.

“As Bobbi Kristina would say, ‘The wind is behind me and the sun is in my face’.”

Oprah Winfrey tweeted: “Peace at Last!”

Singer Sam Smith posted a picture on Instagram of Whitney and what looks like a young Bobbi Kristina, and wrote: “The most heartbreaking tale. May you both rest in peace, and find the happiness and contentment you couldn’t find in this world, in the next.

“My love and thoughts with all their family and friends on this sad night.”

The only child of Houston and Brown, police said she was found on 31 January in the suburban Atlanta home she shared with Nick Gordon, the man she called her husband. Mr Gordon said at the time it seemed she was not breathing and lacked a pulse before help arrived.

A police report described it as a drowning.

She was in hospital for months in Atlanta – eventually being placed in hospice care – after being found in a manner similar to the way her megastar mother died three years earlier.

Then, Houston’s assistant found the singer’s lifeless body face-down in a foot of water in her bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel just before the Grammy Awards in 2012. Authorities found prescription drugs in the suite, and evidence of heart disease and cocaine in her body, but determined that her death was an accidental drowning.

Bobbi Kristina, then 18, was at the hotel and became so hysterical she had to be hospitalised.

In May, a judge appointed Bobby Brown and Pat Houston co-guardians of Bobbi Kristina, giving them joint responsibility in decisions related to her care and medical needs.

A post-mortem will be needed to evaluate what ultimately led to her death.

The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a statement the time that elapsed from when she was found unresponsive in January until her death will “complicate” its effort to reconstruct events.

“Interpretation of autopsy findings and other information will also be challenging,” the statement said. “However, an autopsy could be helpful to address questions which may arise about the cause of her unresponsiveness and eventual death.”

Bobbi Kristina, who died on Sunday at Peachtree Christian Hospice in Duluth, Georgia, identified herself on Twitter as “Daughter of Queen WH”, “Entertainer/Actress”, and “Last of a dying breed”.

She told Oprah Winfrey shortly after her mother’s death in 2012 that she wanted to carry on her mother’s legacy by singing, acting and dancing.

She became a social media sensation, sending more than 11,000 tweets and attracting 164,000 followers.

As the news of her death spread across social media, several celebrities tweeted their condolences.

Grammy-winning performer Missy Elliot tweeted: “My heart is truly heavy. May u rest in peace with your mommy #BobbiKristina sending prayers 2 the Brown/Houston family.”

Leona Lewis tweeted: “Deeply saddened that Bobbi Kristina has passed. I’m so fortunate to have met your mum, one of my inspirations. Rest in bliss together angels.”

While La Toya Jackson said: “My heart goes out to Bobbi Kristina, the Brown and Houston family and friends. May you rest in peace Bobbi Kristina.”

She added: “We Will Always Love You!”

Houston sold more than 50 million records in the United States alone during her career, earning six Grammys and starring in the films including The Bodyguard.

Bobby Brown, who had a bad-boy image, also became a huge star, selling platinum records with New Edition and going solo before drugs and legal woes derailed his career.