Ronnie Spector in 2018.Photo: Jordi Vidal/Redferns
Ronnie Spector, the lead singer of the legendary girl group the Ronettes, has died following a short battle with cancer. She was 78.
“Our beloved earth angel, Ronnie, peacefully left this world today after a brief battle with cancer,” her family says in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “She was with family and in the arms of her husband, Jonathan.”
“Ronnie lived her life with a twinkle in her eye, a spunky attitude, a wicked sense of humor and a smile on her face. She was filled with love and gratitude,” the statement continues. “Her joyful sound, playful nature and magical presence will live on in all who knew, heard or saw her. "
Her family asked that in lieu of flowers, and per Spector’s request, donations be made to local women’s shelters or to the American Indian College Fund. They also noted that a celebration of her life will and music will be announced in the future.
Spector was born Veronica Bennett in Harlem, New York, and formed the Ronettes with her sister Estelle and cousin Nedra while still a teenager.
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The Ronettes.R. H. Vincent/Redferns/Getty
Spectormarried producer Phil Spectorin 1968 after signing to his label five years earlier, though the marriage was a difficult one. Before their divorce in 1974, the late producer kept her sequestered in their California mansion and subjected her to years of psychological torment.
“I thought, I wasn’t going to sing again and that I was going to die there,” sherecalled to PEOPLEin 2018.
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“As I said many times while he was alive, he was a brilliant producer, but a lousy husband,” Ronnie said following his death in January 2021. “Unfortunately Phil was not able to live and function outside of the recording studio. Darkness set in, many lives were damaged.”
She went on to marry her manager Jonathan Greenfield in 1982, and the couple shared sons Austin and Jason.
“Everything is so vivid in my mind because I didn’t sing for so many years. That’s all I can think about; when’s my next show? Because it makes me happy!” she told PEOPLE in 2018. “What I went through then made me that great today, because I was determined that nobody would ever keep me down again. And that’s what I’d tell any woman.”
source: people.com
