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Singer Anita Pointer of the iconic The Pointer Sisters has tied at the age of 74, according to a rep for the legendary singer. TMZ reported early Sunday, January 1, that Anita, who is the third original member of the band to pass away, died on Saturday, December 31 after a “somewhat lengthy and heroic battle with cancer.” She reportedly died surrounded by her family at her Beverly Hills home.
The Daily Beast reported that the family was “deeply saddened” after her death. “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,” they wrote in a statement given to Reuters. “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.”
It was Anita who shared the news with HollywoodLife in 2020 that her sister Bonnie Pointer had died at the age of 69 on June 8, 2020. “It is with great sadness that I have to announce to the fans of The Pointer Sisters that my sister, Bonnie died this morning,” she said in a statement at the time. “Our family is devastated, on behalf of my siblings and I and the entire Pointer family, we ask for your prayers at this time.”
She also shared how close they were. “Bonnie was my best friend and we talked every day, we never had a fight in our life, I already miss her and I will see her again one day,” she added. June Pointer, the third original member of the group, died on February 27, 2006, after a battle with cancer at the age of 52.
Anita was one of the four original members of the band made famous for electrifyingly energetic hits like “I’m So Excited,” “Jump (For My Love)” and “Neutron Dance” in the 80s. Ruth Pointer was the fourth original member to make the group a sensation. Other group members include Issa Pointer and Sadako Pointer.
Anita was born January 23, 1948, in Oakland, California, the fourth of six musically talented children born to the reverend Elton Pointer and Sarah Elizabeth of Arkansas. In 1969, she abandoned a job as a secretary to form The Pointer Sisters with Bonnie and June, and the rest was history. Anita famously led their first hit “Yes We Can Can” to number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973.
She was the mother of one daughter, Jada Rashawn Pointer, who also died of cancer in 2003.
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