UNFORGETTABLE
Who is Amy Winehouse’s father Mitch and who plays him in Back to Black?
Mitch has followed in his daughter's footsteps
MITCHELL Winehouse gained public knowledge as the late singer-songwriter's father.
He is being portrayed on the big screen in the movie Back to Black, a film about Amy Winehouse’s life.
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Who is Mitch Winehouse?
Mitch Winehouse was born on December 4, 1950, in Stoke Newington, London.
He welcomed daughter Amy on September 14, 1983, along with pharmacist ex-wife Janis.
He worked as a taxi driver to provide for his family, which also included his eldest son, Alex, born in 1979.
Mitch and Janis separated when Amy was nine years old, and she lived with her mother and stayed with her father and his girlfriend in Essex on weekends.
Since Amy's death, on July 23, 2011, he has gained respect for his own vocals, after releasing his own record in 2010.
What nationality is Mitch Winehouse?
A native of London, Mitch was born in a Jewish family and spent the early years of his adulthood working as a window panel installer.
Amy’s great-great-grandfather Harris Winehouse, however, emigrated from Minsk, Belarus, to London in 1891.
At a 2019 Amy Winehouse Exhibition in the Belarusian capital, her brother wrote: “[Harris Winehouse] travelled to London by mistake, as his original destination was New York, but even thinking that we could originate from somewhere else would be a bit ridiculous.
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“One hundred twenty years later we are still here, and still proud of our roots.”
Is Mitch Winehouse married?
Mitch married Jane Winehouse in 1996.
Mitch Winehouse reveals daughter Amy has visited him since her death but is too ‘frightened’ to speak to her
Jane is a co-founder and managing trustee of the Amy Winehouse Foundation.
In 2023, Mitch revealed that the couple had split after more than three decades together saying that the stress of watching his daughter struggle with addiction contributed to their break up.
According to the Daily Mail, the 73-year-old met Jane in 1992 and insisted the separation was amicable
But he added that his marriage started to be pressured during Amy’s battles with drug and alcohol addiction.
He went on to say he hadn’t “made a public announcement” on his separation with Jane because he still runs the Amy Winehouse Foundation with her and Janis.
Mitch reportedly had a relationship with Jane while still married to Janis.
What is Amy Winehouse's dad doing now?
Alongside his role as the chair of the Amy Winehouse Foundation, Mitch also has a career as a classical jazz singer and pays tribute to jazz icons Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald during his performances.
As part of his singing career, he has toured the US and performed a concert in Brazil.
Mitch is still being booked for performances and is represented by the British entertainment agencies JLA and NMP.
Who plays Mitch Winehouse in Back to Black?
Eddie Marsan is playing Mitch in Sam Taylor-Johnson’s new film Back to Black.
Speaking about the role, Marsan told the Guardian: “He was just a cab driver trying to do his best, trying to deal with it.
“I’d never have done this film if it sanitised – or demonised – Mitch. It’s not even the way I approach life. Life is more complex than that.”
Mitch was often seen as a controversial figure for his regular public appearances.
Some of the singer's fans believe he used her stardom to gain fame of his own and has continued to use her name for personal gain.
Marsan said the family had intervened nine times amid her battle with drugs.
He continued: “They were just a normal north London family, so how did they deal with Amy’s fame?”
What has he said about Amy Winehouse's death?
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Mitch has spoken out about his daughter in Reclaiming Amy, which aired on July 23, 2021, commemorating the tenth anniversary of the singer's death.
In the documentary, Amy’s father said that the pain of losing his youngest child "will never go away."
Mitch remembered: "We were always there, the whole time, the whole family."
This isn't the first time he has opened up, however.
In September, 2011, he appeared in an American chat show hosted by Anderson Cooper and gave his first emotional interview mere months after Amy's untimely death at the age of 27.
He spoke of his struggle to come to terms with the death and has implied that his daughter's spirit lives on.
Mitch said: "When I did the eulogy at her funeral, as I got up to speak, a black butterfly came in.
"It landed on Kelly Osbourne's shoulder, then flew around me. Have you ever heard anything like that in your life? It's incredible."
He remains convinced that Amy's spirit remains present at his side as he has said that her ghost visited him and "sat on his bed".
He told Jewish News: "Three years ago, I was staying in Amy's flat and I felt something come through the window and enter into my back.
"It was like somebody put an electric toothbrush on my back."
"The feeling was very dramatic, but it was a really lovely feeling. I looked at the clock and it was 5.02am. I panicked that I was having a seizure or heart attack, but then it simmered down."
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It was only upon seeing a psychic that he was told this was Amy's spirit visiting him.
He revealed: “I go and see this woman [a psychic] and she told me: ‘Amy came to see you. It was 5.02am.’ I explained to her the feeling and she said, ‘That was Amy’s energy.’"
Mitch went on to claim: "I feel her all the time and I know Janis does too.
"My son Alex says he has seen her in a pale blue light. We all feel her presence.”
Back in 2011, Mitch also spoke of Amy's fight with alcohol abuse and claimed that a seizure brought on by detoxing could have been the cause of her death.
He told Anderson Cooper: "She'd been clean for around about three years, her problem was alcohol."
A second inquest into the star's death in 2013 confirmed that she had succumbed to alcohol poisoning from binge drinking after a period of abstinence.
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Speaking to the BBC in 2012, Mitch admitted to having a breakdown after his daughter's death, sharing that he was "in shock" for the first four or five months after.
Read more on the Irish Sun
He said: "I had to see a psychiatrist and the psychiatrist said I was suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder. I was having flashbacks. This is the stuff our soldiers are facing every day.
"I've managed to dispel those images and now I remember Amy as she always was, even during the dark times."