Teena Marie, the R&B singer and Grammy nominee, was found dead in her Los Angeles home Sunday, media reports said.
Radio station WDAS, a Philadelphia rhythm and blues radio station, reported that the 54-year-old singer died peacefully in her sleep on Christmas Day, Saturday.
Roland Martin, a reporter for CNN, also tweeted that he had spoken to Marie's manager, who said that her daughter had found her dead in her home, dpa reported.
Marie, unusual as a white singer in a medium dominated by black singers, was best known for her 1984 song LoverGirl.
Cathy Hughes, founder of R&B Radio One, was quoted by Martin as calling Teena a "black voice trapped in a white body."