UPDATE IV: Marie took to Twitter to send a number of messages on Christmas day. Amongst her final tweets: "May Gods Light always shine on you and your family! May you have the most joyous Holliday season ever! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!"

___

UPDATE III: The Associated Press reports on Marie's death, with a list of her songs and background on her career.

___

UPDATE II: CNN, for whom Martin works, is also reporting that her manager confirms that Teena Marie passed away.

___

UPDATE: Martin reports that Marie's manager told him that Marie's daughter found her dead in her home today, and that she suffered a seizure last month. To follow the story, head over to Martin's Twitter feed.

___

According to Roland Martin, R&B singer Teena Marie has passed away at the age of 54. Martin cites Marie's manager, Mike Gardner.

Born Marie Christine Brockert, Teena Marie rose to prominence in the late 70s and 80s, striking a musical and personal partnership with funk legend Rick James. She released 13 studio albums, six of which went platinum on the US R&B chart. Two of her albums went platinum, and six altogether were gold.

Marie's biggest hit came in 1984 with her single 'Lovergirl,' which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Watch a 1985 performance of the song below:

WATCH

: