Iconic Australian rock star Chrissy Amphlett, the singer and former frontwoman for The Divinyls, died on Sunday afternoon after suffering from cancer and multiple sclerosis. She was 53.
Amphlett's husband, Charley Drayton, released a statement in which he said her "light burns so very brightly". Drayton wrote that she "passed gently, in her sleep" and was surrounded by her close friends and family at her New York home.
Amphlett was the lead singer with pop band The Divinyls, which she co-founded in 1980, and released six albums with the group until they informally split in 1997.
Famous for Amphlett's sexy schoolgirl outfit, torn fishnets and wild on-stage antics, the Divinyls had their first hits, Boys in Town and Only Lonely, after appearing in the 1982 film Monkey Grip.
The band is best known for their 1991 single, I Touch Myself, which reached number 10 in the UK Top 40 and number four in the American charts, despite the song struggling to get airplay in the US due to its controversial subject. Amphlett later said that she hoped the song would remind women to perform breast examinations.
Amphlett went on to have a stage career, playing Judy Garland in the Australian production of The Boy from Oz in 1998.
The Divinyls re-formed in the late 2000s, during which Amphlett announced she had multiple sclerosis. She discussed her treatment for breast cancer on television in 2010, which, due to multiple sclerosis, had to be without radiation treatment.
The singer posted about her health problems on her Facebook page in March, saying: "the last 18 months have been a real challenge", but that she had not stopped singing.
Drayton added that Amphlett's life was one of "passion and creativity; she always lived it to the fullest. With her force of character and vocal strength she paved the way for strong, sexy, outspoken women."
Her death brought sadness to the local music industry. Her peers voted her the No.9 best Australian singer of all time in a News Limited poll last month. She leaves her husband and her sister Leigh.
RIP Chrissy.
