Grammy-winning Anita Pointer - of the Pointer Singers - dies on New Year's Eve
Anita Pointer has died aged 74.
The singer - who sang with her sisters in 70s and 80s with R&B band The Pointer Sisters, died in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve.
She was surrounded by her family when she died, her publicist Roger Neal has said.
Her sister Bonnie Pointer, who co-founded the group in the late 60s, died in 2020 while her other sister June died in 2006.
In an emotional statement, her family said: "While we are deeply saddened by the loss of Anita, we are comforted in knowing she is now with her daughter, Jada and her sisters June & Bonnie and at peace.
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Anita Pointer, one of the founding members of The Pointer Sisters, has died at the age of 74 (Corbis via Getty Images)
Ruth Pointer, Sadako Johnson and Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters in 2003 (Getty Images North America)"Heaven is a more loving beautiful place with Anita there.
"She was the one that kept all of us close and together for so long. Her love of our family will live on in each of us."
Anita's daughter Jada - who inspired The Pointer Sisters' 1973 song Jada, died in 2003 from pancreatic cancer. Following Jada's death, Anita raised her only grandchild Roxie.
The Pointer Sisters originally began as a duo with Bonnie and June Pointer in the late 60s, but Anita soon joined and made it a trio. Their sister Ruth began singing with the group in 1972, making it a quartet.
The Pointer Sisters as a quartet in the 70s (Michael Ochs Archives)Among the band's many hits included He's So Shy, I'm So Excited and Fairytale, which won the group its first Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group.
They went on to win two more Grammy Awards with 1983 album Break Out, which also saw them reach multi-platinum status.
Over her life, Anita married several times and had only one child with David Harper, who she married aged 17. She gave birth to daughter Jada in 1966 - the same year she and David divorced.
Tragically, Jada died from cancer in 2003 when she was just 37 years old.
Anita had been due to appear on the US version of The Masked Singer in 2021 as part of a duet with sister Ruth, but was forced to pull out due to ill health.
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