Natalie Cole Dead At 65; Cause Determined As Grammy Favorite Mourned By Fans

According to a recent post in CNN, jazz and R&B singer Natalie Cole is dead.

The singer who was also the daughter of the jazz legend Nat King Cole was famous for her hits such as "This Will Be," "Our Love," and "Miss You Like Crazy" to name a few, has died Thursday evening at the age of 65. Her death was confirmed by publicist Maureen O'Connor.

"Natalie Cole, sister beloved & of substance and sound. May her soul rest in peace," said Rev. Jesse Jackson on his tweet on New Year's Day, as cited by the source above.

"I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Natalie Cole, as I have cherished the long friendship I had with her, her father Nat, and the family over the years," wrote another jazz icon Tony Bennett on one of his Instagram posts. Bennett was indeed saddened by the news that Natalie Cole is already dead.

It has been reported in the previous years that Cole was struggling with a number of health issues but the cause of his death was congestive heart failure, according to some reports and noted by The New York Daily News.

Natalie Cole was born in 1950 and was completely surrounded with music royalties. Aside from her father who was Nat King Cole, her mother, Maria Hawkins Cole, was a singer for Duke Ellington. Their home in Hancock Park neighborhood in L.A. was frequented by her parents' colleagues in the industry.

While Natalie Cole was enjoying her success as a singer, she was also battling a devastating cocaine addiction, which led many to think that she's dead because of the said cause. But although she experimented with other drugs and LSD, she went to rehab twice (once back in 1983) and remained sober for the remainder of her life. Cole was married three times and divorced her third husband Kenneth Dupree in 2004.