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Singer Helen Reddy, best known for her 1972 hit “I’m a Woman”, died Tuesday, her children announced in a statement on her official Facebook fan page. She was 78 years old.
Red Daddy’s children, Tracy and Jordan, read in the statement, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother Helen Reddy on the afternoon of September 29, 2020 in Los Angeles.” “She was a wonderful mother, grandmother and a truly powerful woman. Our hearts are broken. But we are comforted to know that her voice will live on forever.”
CBS News has reached out to a representative for comment and is awaiting a response.
Reddy’s ex-husband Jeff Wald has also posted a statement about her on Instagram. “It is with great sadness that I must announce that my 18-year-old wife and mother of my two eldest children, Helen Reddy, passed away suddenly and peacefully today at Motion Picture and Television Home,” World wrote in a caption A series of photos.
“It took a while, but after the divorce we managed to be friends again,” World’s post continued. “We had a lot of ups and downs, but more ups and downs than that. Life is precious and short, tell people you love how you feel and keep no evil.”
Reddy was diagnosed with dementia in 2015, according to Entertainment Tonight. She lived in a nursing home in Los Angeles for professional entertainment.
Reddy was the first Australian To win a Grammy Award. According to Associated Press reports, she won the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “I’m a Woman” and later wrote an autobiography of the same name.
As part of a well-known Melbourne show-business family, the lyricist began singing as a young girl, According to the AP. The cover of “I Don’t Don’t Know How to Love Him” became a hit, the AP report said. Over the next decade he made 15 of the top 40 hits, reaching number three, A.P. Reports.
He has also performed on Broadway and the West End of London.
Reddy was inspired to retire in 1974 when “I Am Woman” became his biggest hit. “One of the reasons I stopped singing was when I was shown a textbook of modern American history high-school, and a whole chapter about feminism – and my name and my songs (were) in the book,” she recalled. “And I thought, ‘Well, I’m part of history now. And how can I keep it on top? I can’t make it to the top.’ So, it was an easy withdrawal. “
Reddy left the show business in 2002 and began a new life in her native Australia with a degree in clinical hypnotherapy. However, she returned to the musical stage in 2012, singing both at a club in San Diego and at a high school benefit in Los Angeles, AP reports.
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