Bobbi Kristina Brown

Bobbi Kristina Brown
Brown (left) performing with mother Whitney Houston at the Good Morning America Concert in Central Park in 2009
Born	(1993-03-04)March 4, 1993 Livingston, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	Duluth, Georgia, U.S.
Cause of death	Immersion associated with drug intoxication
Resting place	Fairview Cemetery, Westfield, New Jersey, United States
Occupation	Reality television personality, actress, singer
Years active	1998–2015
Known for	Only child of Whitney Houston
Partner(s)	Nick Gordon (2012–15; her death)
Parent(s)	Whitney Houston Bobby Brown
Relatives	Cissy Houston (maternal grandmother) Dee Dee Warwick (maternal cousin) Dionne Warwick (maternal cousin) Leontyne Price (maternal cousin)

Bobbi Kristina Brown (March 4, 1993 – July 26, 2015) was an American reality television and media personality, singer, and actress. She was the daughter of singers Bobby Brown and the late Whitney Houston. Her parents' fame kept Bobbi Kristina in the public eye, including her appearances on the reality show Being Bobby Brown. Brown was 14 when her parents divorced and Houston gained custody. When Houston died in February 2012, Brown was named as the sole beneficiary of her mother's estate.

That October, Brown caused controversy within both of her parents' families when she announced her engagement to Nick Gordon, a man she previously considered her "big brother". When the couple announced they were married, her father's lawyer released a statement disputing the report.

Brown was found unresponsive in a bathtub in late January 2015. Brown was kept in a medically induced coma for several months; she died in hospice care on July 26, 2015 at the age of 22.

Early life

Bobbi Kristina "Krissy" Brown was born on March 4, 1993, in Livingston, New Jersey, to singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. 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; and Leontyne Price. Her uncle is Gary Garland, her mother's half-brother. Through her father, Brown had five half-siblings: Landon, La'Princia, Robert "Bobby" Jr., Cassius, and Bodhi. Her godmother is gospel singer CeCe Winans.

Brown's childhood was characterized by the media as difficult because of her parents' drug problems, the presence of paparazzi, and domestic violence issues. She was brought into the spotlight at age one in 1994, when her mother accepted an American Music Award while holding her onstage, and Brown's childhood remained public because of her parents' fame. When Brown's parents divorced, her mother was awarded custody, though her father still had visitation rights.

Adult life

Brown's mother died in a hotel bathtub in 2012, from what was later ruled an accidental drowning with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors. Brown was described as "inconsolable" and a few days later was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles because of what a family friend described as Brown being "overwhelmed". 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.

In accordance with her mother's will, Brown was the beneficiary of Houston's entire estate including clothing, jewelry, cars, personal effects, and furniture. 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.

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

Brown was critical of director Angela Bassett after learning she had not been cast as her mother in the Lifetime biographical movie Whitney based on Houston's life. In response, Bassett stated that she did not cast Brown "for a number of reasons...she's not an actress, and acting is a craft." Brown later apologized to Bassett on Twitter after generating controversy amongst fans.

Throughout her teenage and adult years, Brown was the focus of tabloid and gossip column speculation, including stories about her purported drug use, her weight loss, and her relationships with family members.

Coma and death

On January 31, 2015, Gordon and a friend found Brown face down in a bathtub in her Georgia home. Gordon began CPR until emergency medical services personnel arrived. According to a police spokeswoman, Brown was alive and breathing after being transported to North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, Georgia. She further stated they found no evidence to indicate the incident was caused by drugs or alcohol. Doctors placed Brown in a medically induced coma after determining her brain function was "significantly diminished", and her family was told any meaningful recovery would be "a miracle".

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."

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. In late February, she was briefly taken out of the coma, but the coma was reinduced after she suffered seizures.

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." Brown was moved to an Atlanta rehabilitation facility in March 2015. After Bobby Brown told concert-goers in April that his daughter was "awake", Cissy Houston released a statement saying her granddaughter was no longer in a medically induced coma, but remained unresponsive. Doctors said Brown had "global and irreversible brain damage".

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. She was flown back to Atlanta, and moved to Peachtree Christian Hospice in Duluth, Georgia, on June 24. Her aunt Pat Houston subsequently stated that her condition had continued to deteriorate.

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 were noted", and the Fulton County Medical Examiner's office said more tests were forthcoming. A statement released by the family thanked "everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months." Several prominent celebrities offered their condolences, including Chris Brown and Oprah Winfrey. Funeral services were held August 1, 2015, at St. James United Methodist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. Brown was buried two days later next to her mother at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey.

The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office announced on September 25, 2015, that it had "classified the cause and manner of Bobbi Kristina Brown’s death" while citing a superior court order that prevented the office from releasing any details to the public. The findings were provided to the Fulton County District Attorney and to Roswell Police. On March 3, 2016, Fulton Circuit Court Judge Henry Newkirk granted a motion, requested by local media, to unseal the autopsy report on Brown's death. Judge Newkirk stated of the motion "13 months have gone by and I don't think there is any thing particularly earth shattering in the report. ... Privacy interest does not exist to the deceased". The Medical Examiner's office stated they will release the report upon official receipt of the granted motion. This took place on March 3, 2016: the summary statement concluded "Death was clearly not due to natural causes, but the medical examiner has not been able to determine whether death was due to intentional or accidental causes, and has therefore classified the manner of death as undetermined.''

Music

Performances and releases

Year	Song	Album	Notes
1998	"My Love Is Your Love"	N/A	Live duet with Whitney Houston at concert in Poland
1999	"My Love Is Your Love"	N/A	Live duet with Whitney Houston featuring Treach at the Divas Live '99 concert
2003	"Little Drummer Boy"	One Wish: The Holiday Album	Featured singer with Whitney Houston
2009	"My Love Is Your Love"	N/A	Live duet with Whitney Houston at the Good Morning America Concert in Central Park on September 1, 2009
2012	"I'm Your Baby Tonight"	N/A	Performed on The Houstons: On Our Own

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Being Bobby Brown	Herself
2009	The Oprah Winfrey Show	Herself	Episode: "Whitney Houston"
2012	Oprah's Next Chapter	Herself
2012	The 2012 Billboard Music Awards	Herself
2012	The Houstons: On Our Own	Herself
2012	Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse	Tina the receptionist

External links

• Bobbi Kristina Brown at the Internet Movie Database
• Verified Twitter
• Bobbi Kristina Brown; Find A Grave memorial