Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, dies

The brief, chaotic life of Bobbi Kristina Brown was never really her own.

Born and raised in the shadow of fame and litigation, Bobbi Kristina was shattered by the loss of her mother, Whitney Houston, in 2012.

On Sunday, Bobbi Kristina died at Peachtree Christian Hospice in Duluth, Ga., about six months after she was found face-down and unresponsive in a bathtub in the suburban Atlanta town home she shared with Nick Gordon, the man she called her husband. She was 22.

“Bobbi Kristina Brown passed away July 26, 2015, surrounded by her family. She is finally at peace in the arms of God. We want to again thank everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months,” Kristen Foster, a representative for the Houston family, said Sunday.

Bobbi Kristina was the only child of Houston and Brown.

Police said Bobbi Kristina was found Jan. 31. A police report described it as a “drowning.” She was hospitalized for months in Atlanta – eventually being placed in hospice care – after being found in a manner grimly similar to the way her megastar mother had died three years earlier. Gordon said at the time it seemed Bobbi Kristina wasn’t breathing and lacked a pulse before help arrived.

Bobbi Kristina – the sole heir of her mother’s estate, the size of which is a privately held secret – did have dreams.

She told Oprah shortly after her mother’s death in 2012 that she wanted to carry on Houston’s legacy by singing, acting and dancing. But her career never took off. Actor and producer Tyler Perry said she had a future as an actress after her debut on his TV show “For Better or Worse” in 2012, but she appeared in only one episode. Aside from two ill-fated reality TV shows and the occasional paparazzi video, her image mostly showed up in the “selfies” she posted online.

She attended award shows and appeared on red carpets with her mother and father. She performed a duet on TV with her mother in 2009, singing “My Love Is Your Love” in New York’s Central Park.

As the news of her death spread across social media, several celebrities tweeted their condolences.

Grammy-winning performer Missy Elliot tweeted: “My heart is truly heavy. May u rest in peace with your mommy #BobbiKristina sending prayers 2 the Brown/Houston family.”

“Empire” star Taraji P. Henson tweeted, “Rest in heaven.”

And Oprah Winfrey tweeted, “Peace at Last!”

Whitney Houston was a hard act to follow. The late singer sold more than 50 million records in the United States alone during her career. Her voice made classics out of songs like “Saving All My Love for You,” “I Will Always Love You” and “The Greatest Love of All.” She earned six Grammys and starred in the films “The Bodyguard” and “The Preacher’s Wife.”

Bobby Brown had a bad-boy image but also became a huge star, selling platinum records with New Edition and going solo before drugs and legal woes derailed his career.

Bobbi Kristina appeared alongside both parents in 2005 on the Bravo reality show “Being Bobby Brown,” which captured her parents fighting, swearing and appearing in court.

After their divorce in 2007, Houston kept custody of Bobbi Kristina and raised her alongside Gordon, an orphan three years older than her daughter. Houston brought Gordon into her family, and while she never formally adopted him or included him in the will, both teenagers called her “mom.”

That tight bond was shattered when Houston’s assistant found the singer’s lifeless body face-down in a foot of water in her bathtub at the Beverly Hills Hotel just before the Grammy Awards in 2012. Authorities found prescription drugs in the suite, and evidence of heart disease and cocaine in her body, but determined it was an accidental drowning.

Bobbi Kristina, then 18, was at the hotel and became so hysterical she had to be hospitalized. “She wasn’t only a mother, she was a best friend,” she told Winfrey.

She and Gordon then went public with their romance, posting defiant messages online after the tabloids accused them of incest.

Relations between Gordon and some other relatives continued to sour over the past year after Bobbi Kristina was hospitalized. A feud erupted over whether Gordon could visit Bobbi Kristina while she stayed in the hospital.

On June 24, Bobbi Kristina’s court-appointed representative sued Gordon, accusing him of misrepresenting his relationship with Bobbi Kristina. The complaint accused him of being violent toward her and taking more than $11,000 from her account while she was in a medically induced coma after the Jan. 31 tragedy.

The lawsuit accused Gordon of assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unjust enrichment and conversion.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said he and his office are interested in reviewing the investigative file to determine whether any charges will be filed.

Also on June 24, Bobbi Kristina was placed in hospice care.

In May, a judge appointed Bobby Brown and Pat Houston, her aunt, as co-guardians of Bobbi Kristina, giving them joint responsibility in decisions related to her care and medical needs. Lawyer Bedelia Hargrove was appointed conservator to oversee Bobbi Kristina’s assets, including her rights and legal claims.

This story was originally published July 26, 2015 at 8:29 PM with the headline "Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, dies."