Disco diva Donna Summer has died at the
age of 63, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Summer died Thursday after losing a
battle with cancer.
In a statement released by her family,
Summer was called “a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her
faith.”
“While we grieve her passing, we are
at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued
legacy,” Universal Music, her record label, said in a statement.
“Words truly can't express how much we appreciate your prayers and
love for our family at this sensitive time.”
Summer is best known for her
contributions to the disco era. Early hits such as the
17-minute-long dance track Love to Love You Baby, I Feel
Love, Bad Girls and On the Radio propelled Summer to the
international stage.
A born-again Christian, Summer faced
controversy in the mid 80s when she was accused of saying that AIDS
was a punishment from God for the immoral lifestyle of gays. She
denied that she ever made such a comment, saying it was “a terrible
misunderstanding.”
“A couple of the people I write with
are gay,” she told gay glossy The Advocate in 1989, “and
they have been ever since I met them. What people want to do with
their bodies is their personal preference.”
Summer is survived by her husband Bruce
Sudano, their daughters Brooklyn and Amanda, and Mimi, a daughter
from her previous marriage to Helmut Sommer.