(RNN) - Donna Summer, the five-time Grammy award winning singer who dazzled the world with hits like Last Dance and Hot Stuff, has died. She was 63 years old.
Summer lost her battle with lung cancer in Florida, according to TMZ. She had been working to hide the extent of her illness while finishing up a new album.
"Rest in Peace Donna Summer," hip hop music label Def Jam Recordings tweeted. "Disco Legend."
Her family described her as "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," her family said in a statement.
A Boston native, Summer was born Dec. 31, 1948.
She was the first female to have four No. 1 singles in a 12-month period during her unbroken string of hits in the 70s and 80s. Her last album, CRAYONS, came out in 2008 while her latest single, To Paris with Love, came out in 2010.
"Whitney. Tina Marie. Vesta. Now Donna Summer. The choir in heaven has a new member. They will be singing up a beautiful storm:)," tweeted comedic actress Niecy Nash.
Summer started singing when she was 8 years old as part of church and city-wide choruses. By her early 20s she had already started making her mark abroad, winning parts in highly acclaimed shows and performing with the Viennese Folk Opera.
She broke into the popular music business in 1971 with a cover of Sally Go Round The Roses. She returned to the U.S. in 1975 with her single Love to Love You Baby, which quickly climbed the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The resident Bad Girl moved into the 1980s with one of today's most recognizable feminist anthems, She Works Hard for the Money.
In 2005, she became one of the first inductees into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in New York City.
Over her career, Summer got six American Music Awards, three consecutive No. 1 platinum double albums, 11 gold albums, four No. 1 singles, two platinum singles, and 12 gold singles.
In 2012, Summer was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She has sold more than 130 million records worldwide.
She is survived by her three children and her husband, singer Bruce Sudano.
Copyright 2012 Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.
Donna Summer performs at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert at Oslo Spektrum on December 11, 2009 in Oslo, Norway. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
