Multiple Grammy Award-winning singer Nancy Wilson, whose career spanned five decades, has died peacefully aged 81 at her home after a long illness, her manager has confirmed.

Wilson, a legendary entertainer and jazz icon known for her style and class, passed away in Pioneertown, California, her manager Devra Hall Levy told AP.

The jazz diva made her debut on Capitol Records in 1960 when she recorded ‘Guess Who I Saw Today’. Just five years later in 1964, she won a Grammy for best new artist. That same year, she soared to the top of the charts with a song ‘How Glad I Am’. Over the five decades of her career, Wilson recorded over 50 albums. In 1999, she was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.

The three-time Grammy award winner was also known for her role in the American civil rights movement. Her social justice work was honored in 2005 when she was inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta.

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