Natalie Cole died young — but an autopsy has revealed that the troubled diva beat her addictions and died of natural causes.
Nat “King” Cole’s kid came back from a downward spiral of drug abuse and prostitution to make a major ’90s comeback, but passed away from Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (IPAH).
Her family said in the statement that Natalie was diagnosed with the condition — where extra tissue forms in pulmonary arteries — after her kidney transplant in May 2009.
She passed away on December 31, 2015, at the age of 65.
That was only additional heartbreak for Natalie, with The ENQUIRER revealing how she received news of the kidney donor while watching her sister Carol on her deathbed.
The ENQUIRER also had the scoop on how Natalie reached out to meet with her kidney donor’s own grieving sister! Patty Argeuta — whose sister Jessica had died suddenly from pregnancy-induced hypertension — asked if she could place her hand over Natalie’s scar.
“Her hand stayed steady against my skin,” said Natalie.
“The connection was real. Sisters connecting with sisters.”
Natalie had earlier revealed that the kidney transplant was necessary after she contracted Hepatitis C from sharing a needle when she was a drug addict — as part of a tragic downfall that included her working the streets of Harlem for a pimp!
