WITH her petticoats, angelic voice and perfect beehive hairdo, Dusty Springfield was an iconic star.

Sadly she passed away aged just 59 in 1999, leaving the world of music in mourning.

Who was Dusty Springfield?

Born Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien on April 16, 1939, Dusty Springfield was an English singer.

The iconic star is considered one of Britain’s greatest ever pop vocalists, with her blue-eyed soul classics such as Son Of A Preacher Man, The Look Of Love, and I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself.

Her image – marked by a peroxide blonde beehive hair and heavy makeup – made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties.

Born in West Hampstead in London into a family that enjoyed music, Dusty learned to sing at home.

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In 1958, she joined her first professional group, The Lana Sisters.

Two years later, with her brother Tom Springfield and Tim Feild, Dusty formed the folk-pop vocal trio The Springfields.

But in 1963 she went solo, and never looked back.

Was Dusty Springfield married?

Dusty was never officially married, although she was in several long term relationships which she kept private.

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Even though she found fame in the Swinging Sixties, this era of free love was not so liberal that stars could come out as gay with no consequences.

Her first known relationship was with American folk singer Norma Tanega,

The pair fell for each other when they met on the ITV pop show Ready Steady Go! in 1967 and they soon set up home together in Kensington.

Norma, who died aged 80, told The Sun: “I lived with Dusty for five years in London on a road called Aubrey Walk.

"I was new to the city and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was amusing. If somebody sends you a hamburger in a limousine, it’s amusing.”

Rumours about Dusty’s sexuality had swirled for years.

Then, in 1970, she made a bold move by telling a journalist: “I know I’m perfectly as capable of being swayed by a girl as by a boy.”

After moving to Hollywood, Dusty found a kinship in 1975 with fellow animal rights activist Marsha Barbi, whose twin daughters Shane and Sia became Playboy stars.

Out in liberal California, Dusty was able to be more open about being gay, living with Marsha for a couple of years.

Shane told The Sun: “Dusty and our mum did not want to be defined by what they did in the bedroom, but there was no shame or guilt.”

After meeting American actress Teda Bracci at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in 1982 they exchanged wedding vows in an unofficial ceremony a year later.

However the pair endured a volatile relationship and split two years later.

Did Dusty Springfield have any children and who inherited Dusty Springfield's estate?

Dusty didn't have any children during her life

Despite having been out of the limelight for many years, upon her death the singer was a very rich woman, having sold her back catalogue for £6.5million in 1998.

In her will, the singer stipulated that cat Nicholas should have special imported food and sleep in a 7ft indoor tree house.

What was Dusty Springfield's cause of death?

In January 1994, while recording her final album, A Very Fine Love, in Nashville, Tennessee, Dusty began feeling ill.

When she returned to England a few months later she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Dusty was given chemotherapy and she went into remission.

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But two years later the cancer returned, and she died on in Henley-on-Thames, Oxon, where she had spent the last few years of her life.

Dusty passed away on March 2, 1999 -a month before her 60th birthday.

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