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The cause of the death was not immediately known.
Although she was white, Marie grew up in a predominantly black Los Angeles neighborhood and began singing professionally when she was eight.
After graduating from high school she signed with Motown Records, the label which was home to contemporaries such as Diana Ross and "The Jackson 5."
Funk music pioneer Rick James, whom she met at the studio, would become her mentor, collaborator and lover.
He produced her 1979 debut album, "Wild and Peaceful," which featured her first hit single, a duet with James called "I'm a Sucker for Your Love."
Marie largely vanished from the public eye in the early 1990s after the birth of her daughter, Alia.
She produced her first new album of the new century in 2004. Called "La Dona," it featured the song "Still in Love," which earned her a Grammy nomination.
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Although she was white, Marie grew up in a predominantly black Los Angeles neighborhood and began singing professionally when she was eight.
After graduating from high school she signed with Motown Records, the label which was home to contemporaries such as Diana Ross and "The Jackson 5."
Funk music pioneer Rick James, whom she met at the studio, would become her mentor, collaborator and lover.
He produced her 1979 debut album, "Wild and Peaceful," which featured her first hit single, a duet with James called "I'm a Sucker for Your Love."
Marie largely vanished from the public eye in the early 1990s after the birth of her daughter, Alia.
She produced her first new album of the new century in 2004. Called "La Dona," it featured the song "Still in Love," which earned her a Grammy nomination.
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