Rita Lee dubbed the “Queen of Rock” in Brazil, died at the age of 75, according to her relatives.
Her musical career extended more than 50 years, and she was a member of the original line-up of Os Mutantes, one of Brazil’s most famous rock bands.
Her record Fruto Proibido (Forbidden Fruit) with the band Tutti Frutti is regarded as a Brazilian music masterpiece.
Lee was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021 and died at her home in So Paulo “surrounded by the love of her entire family,” according to a statement.
Her followers will be able to pay their respects to the singer-songwriter at a public wake on Wednesday at the planetarium in her birthplace of So Paulo, according to her family.
She chose to be called “Patron Saint of Freedom” rather than “Rainha do Rock,” a title she said she found “tacky.”
In her career, she has received seven Latin Grammy awards, most notably a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022.
Her 2016 autobiography, in which she frankly spoke about her drug use, upbringing growing up in So Paulo, and her long musical career, both as a solo artist and as a member of a variety of bands, became a non-fiction bestseller.
