Donna Summers dead of LC at 63

[Christine]

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/80s/conte ... ies-age-63

Donna Summer, the Queen of Disco in the '70s and '80s, died Thursday morning after a battle with cancer, TMZ is reporting. She was 63.

Summer was reportedly in Florida at the time of her death. She had been trying to keep word of her illness secret as she finished up a new album.

TMZ reports Summer suffered from lung cancer, believed to be contracted by "inhaling toxic particles after the 9/11 attack in New York City."

Her family has released a statement saying they "are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continue legacy."

The 5-time Grammy winner (12-time nominee) scored iconic hits including Last Dance, Hot Stuff and Bad Girls. In the '80s, she scored mega-hits with On The Radio, She Works Hard for the Money, This Time I Know It's For Real and The Wanderer. She was also a formally trained painter who had made at least $1 million selling her original artwork.

"As a young girl, I didn’t know what fame was," she once told an interviewer. "I just thought fame was people knowing you. It's an end unto itself, which it should not be."

She is survived by her husband, three daughters, and four grandchildren, according to USA Today.