Amy Winehouse was born in Chase Farm Hospital, in north London, to Jewish parents. Her father, Mitchell "Mitch" Winehouse, was a window panel installer and then a taxi driver; and her mother, Janis Winehouse (nee Seaton), was a pharmacist. Winehouse's ancestors were Russian Jewish and Polish Jewish immigrants to London. Amy had an older brother, Alex (born 1979), and the family lived in London's Southgate area, where she attended Osidge Primary School.

Throughout her life Winehouse donated her money, music and time to many charities, particularly those concerned with children. She was once named "the most charitable act" by Pop World. While this side of her personality was never well known to the general public, throughout both the arts community and the charity community she was known for her generosity. Among the charities she supported are Adopt-A-Minefield, Anti-Slavery International, Breast Cancer Campaign, CARE, Children of the Andes, Children's Medical Research Institute, Christian Children's Fund, City at Peace, UK charity telethon Comic Relief, London's Great Ormond Street Hospital for sick children, Greenpeace, Healthlink Worldwide, Hear the World, Heifer International, Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, the Red Cross, LIFEbeat, Lifeline and Rape Crisis PMB, Opportunity International, Oxfam, Rights and Humanity, Save the Children, Save the Music Foundation, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Teenage Cancer Trust, Christina Noble Children's Foundation, Little Dreams Foundation, Lotus Outreach, Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, UNHCR, UNICEF, V-Day, WaterAid, and World Neighbors.  In 2008, Winehouse appeared naked in an issue of Easy Living Magazine to raise awareness of breast cancer. In 2009, she appeared on a CD called Classics alongside musicians such as The Rolling Stones, The Killers and many Cuban musicians to raise awareness of climate change. In March 2011, Winehouse donated over PS20,000 worth of clothes to a local charity shop in London.  In 2012, it was revealed that she had paid for the medical tests for a man called Julian Jean DeBaptiste in Saint Lucia in 2009. "I had surgery on 1 July 2009... it cost a fortune and Amy paid for the whole thing. I tried to thank her but she just hugged me and told me not to say anything. Her generosity gave me my life back."

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