Winehouse was born in the Southgate area of Enfield, London to a Jewish family with a history of jazz musicians. Her father, Mitchell Winehouse, is a taxi driver, and her mother, Janis, is a pharmacist. She has one brother, Alex Winehouse. She grew up in the suburb of Southgate, and attended Ashmole School. At around the age of 10, Winehouse founded a short-lived amateur rap group called Sweet 'n' Sour, as Sour. She described the group as "the little white Jewish Salt 'n' Pepa". She attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School when she was 12 years old but was expelled at 16 for "not applying herself" and piercing her own nose. She later attended the BRIT School in Selhurst, Croydon.
Winehouse received her first guitar when she was 13. By the age of 16, she was singing professionally after her friend, soul singer Tyler James, gave her demo tape to an A&R person. She signed to her current record label, Island/Universal, under Simon Fuller's management company 19 Management.
The album entered the upper levels of the UK album chart in 2004 when it was nominated for BRIT Awards in the categories of "British Female Solo Artist" and "British Urban Act". It went on to achieve platinum sales. Later in 2004, she won the Ivor Novello songwriting Award for "Best Contemporary Song" with her contribution to the first single, "Stronger Than Me" (alongside Salaam Remi). The album also made the short list for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize. In the same year, she performed at the Glastonbury festival, on the Jazzworld stage, and at the V Festival.
After the release of the album, Winehouse commented that she was "only 80 percent behind the album" because of the inclusion by her record label of certain songs and mixes she disliked. She later clarified this, saying "I listen to it differently now. I am still really proud of it, I still think it's a great album. But, with hindsight, there are some things I would have done differently... Just because I would do things a bit differently now doesn't mean I don't like what's on that album."
In early 2006, demonstration tracks such as "Wake Up Alone" and "Rehab" appeared on Mark Ronson's New York radio show on East Village Radio. These were some of the first new songs played on the radio since the release of "Pumps" and were both to appear on her second album. Back to Black went to number one on the UK Albums Chart, and entered at number seven on the U.S. Billboard 200, becoming the highest debut entry for an album by a British female solo artist, only to be outdone two weeks later by Joss Stone who debuted at number two with Introducing Joss Stone.
The album was released on 30 October 2006, a little more than three years after the release of Frank. In an interview, Winehouse explained "After Frank I didn't write for 18 months but when I met Mark (Ronson) I pretty much wrote the album in six months - he was so inspiring." The eleven-track album was produced entirely by Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, with the production credits being split between them almost equally.
Also in October, Winehouse was reported to have dropped four dress sizes, allegedly because of comments made to her about her size. In an interview in The Daily Telegraph Magazine, when asked if this was the cause she replied "No. No. No. I don't listen to anyone except my ... inner child anyway. If someone had said to me, Amy, lose a stone, which they wouldn't, I don't think I would have listened anyway." In October, Winehouse admitted she had previously been affected by eating disorders. "A little bit of anorexia, a little bit of bulimia. I'm not totally OK now but I don't think any woman is, and most men will agree."
On 18 May 2007 Winehouse married Blake Fielder-Civil in an unannounced ceremony in Miami, Florida. Several press reports suggested that Winehouse's relationship with Fielder-Civil was the inspiration for several of the songs on Back to Black. They had dated two years earlier and had broken up for a time after he went back to his old girlfriend.
On 22 January, 2008, The Sun newspaper revealed footage of Winehouse allegedly smoking a crack pipe and talking about taking ecstasy and valium. She entered a rehab facility days later with her record company issuing a statement saying "She has come to understand that she requires specialist treatment to continue her ongoing recovery from drug addiction".
Two weeks later Winehouse won five categories at the 2008 Grammy Awards but visa complications arising from her drug use prevented her from attending in person. She accepted via satellite from London and performed her hits "You Know That I'm No Good" and "Rehab". With talent to burn and a penchant for danger, what happens next in the Amy Winehouse saga is anyone's guess.
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