In the 1990s, she sang traditional pop by her father, resulting in her biggest success, Unforgettable... with Love, which was certified 7× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

[7] Natalie Cole was born at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, California, to American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole and former Duke Ellington Orchestra singer Maria Hawkins Ellington and raised in the affluent Hancock Park district of Los Angeles.

[8] Regarding her childhood, Cole referred to her family as "the black Kennedys" and was exposed to many great singers of jazz, soul and blues.

She transferred briefly to University of Southern California, where she pledged the Upsilon chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

Clubs initially welcomed her because she was Nat King Cole's daughter, only to be disappointed when she began singing cover versions of R&B and rock songs.

With the assistance of Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy, a songwriting and producing duo, she recorded some songs in a studio in Chicago that was owned by Curtis Mayfield.

Her demo tapes led to a contract with Capitol,[13] resulting in the release of Cole's debut album, Inseparable, which included songs that reminded listeners of Aretha Franklin.

Released in 1975, the album became an instant success thanks to "This Will Be", which became a top ten hit and won her a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

[citation needed] The media's billing of Cole as the "new Aretha Franklin" started a rivalry between the two singers.

The album, like Inseparable, became a gold success thanks to the funk-influenced cut "Sophisticated Lady" and the jazz-influenced "Mr. Melody".

In 1981, Cole's personal problems, including battles with drug addiction, began to attract public notice, and her career suffered as a result.

In 1987, she changed to EMI-Manhattan Records and released the album Everlasting, which returned her to the top of the charts thanks to singles such as "Jump Start (My Heart)", the top ten ballad, "I Live for Your Love", and her dance-pop cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac".

That success helped Everlasting reach one million in sales and become Cole's first platinum album in ten years.

Another standards release, Stardust, went platinum and featured another duet with her father on a modern version of "When I Fall in Love", which helped Cole earn another Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

She appeared several times in concerts or other music related programs, including the 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute with sidemen Richard Campbell, Jeffrey Worrell, Eddie Cole, and Dave Joyce.

[14] In 1990, Cole hosted the TV show Big Break, a talent competition where singers and musicians competed for a $100,000 prize.

Cole made a number of dramatic appearances on television, including I'll Fly Away, Touched by an Angel, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Grey's Anatomy.

In 2001, she starred as herself in Livin' for Love: the Natalie Cole Story, for which she received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special.

The program included Deana Martin, Monica Mancini, and Daisy Torme reminiscing about their famous fathers.

[20] In 2000, Cole released an autobiography, Angel on My Shoulder, which described her battle with drugs during much of her life, including heroin and crack cocaine.

There was an incident in which she refused to leave a burning building, and another in which her young son Robert nearly drowned in the family swimming pool while she was on a drug binge.

Her autobiography was released in conjunction with a made-for-TV movie, Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story, which aired December 10, 2000, on NBC and re-aired October 26, 2011, on Centric TV.

Cole explained in 2009 that hepatitis C had "stayed in [her] body for 25 years, and it could still happen to addicts who are fooling around with drugs, especially needles.

[27] Cole's publicist said the singer's death was the result of congestive heart failure,[28] which her family said was a complication of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, which she had been diagnosed with after her kidney transplant in 2009.

[29] Her family said in a statement, "Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived... with dignity, strength and honor.

David Foster, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Lionel Richie, Chaka Khan, Eddie Levert, Mary Wilson, Gladys Knight, Ledisi, Jesse Jackson, Angela Bassett, Denise Nicholas, Marla Gibbs, Jackée Harry and Freda Payne were among the mourners at the funeral.