Amy Winehouse Death Due to Bulimia, Not Booze, Says Her Brother

It was bulimia that led to Amy Winehouse's death, her brother said in an exclusive new interview, not alcohol intoxication as previously reported.

Winehouse, the Grammy Award-winning British singer known for her signature beehive hairdo, died suddenly in her London home in July 2011 at age 27 after a lengthy battle with alcohol and drugs.

Though a coroner ruled that a "lethal amount" of alcohol — there was more than five times the British drunk-driving limit of .08 in her bloodstream — caused her death, her brother Alex Winehouse, 33, says it was actually an eating disorder that killed her.

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"She suffered from bulimia very badly," he told The Observer. "That's not, like, a revelation — you knew just by looking at her… She would have died eventually, the way she was going, but what really killed her was the bulimia… Absolutely terrible ... I think that it left her weaker and more susceptible. Had she not had an eating disorder, she would have been physically stronger."

Alex Winehouse is speaking out to promote a new exhibition at the Jewish Museum called "Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait." The presentation features family photos of the Winehouses and some of the singer's personal items in an effort to portray her as "a normal person and us as a normal family," Winehouse told The Observer.

"She was annoying, frustrating, a pain in the bum. But she was also incredibly generous, very caring. She'd do anything for anyone, she really would," he said. "She was loyal — as a sister, daughter and friend. She was probably the most loyal friend to people I've ever known… She was a really good person. And horrible in other respects."

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