Autopsy Scheduled For Singer-Songwriter Teena Marie
Source: Roland S. Martin and Denise Quan / CNN
An autopsy will be conducted Tuesday on the body of R&B singer-songwriter Teena Marie, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
It was not immediately clear when the results would be available, but the coroner’s office said it hopes to have the autopsy completed on Tuesday.
The artist was found dead Sunday at her California home.
Born Mary Christine Brockert in Santa Monica, California, the 54-year-old artist was nominated four times for a Grammy Award, according to her official website.
Marie was found dead by her daughter after apparently dying in her sleep, manager Mike Gardner said.
The publicist said she talked on Saturday with Marie, who told her that she was excited about heading to Atlanta to perform this week — in what would have been her first performance since the seizure.
While no cause of death has been released, the singer’s publicist Lynn Jeter said that Marie suffered a grand mal seizure a month ago.
“Luckily, someone was there,” Jeter said of that seizure. “The ambulance took her to the hospital, and on the way she had another seizure.”
Among her songs were “Lovergirl,” “Portuguese Love,” “Ooo La La La,” and “I’m a Sucker for Your Love.”
Marie recorded for various record labels, including Motown, Epic, Stax Records and Cash Money Classics, after bursting onto the national music scene as a 19-year-old, according to her website. Her last studio album was “Congo Square.”
“I am horrified by the sudden death of my darling Teena Marie,” Motown founder Berry Gordy said in a statement sent by his publicist. “She was my ‘baby,’ always true to herself, always true to her heart.”
Berry called her a “powerhouse performer, writer, producer and arranger.”
“When I first auditioned her she was so awesome she blew me away,” Gordy said. “She had so much soul — the only thing white about her was her skin.”
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