George Michael’s sister Melanie Panayiotou had died at the age of 55 on Christmas Day, the third anniversary of her brother’s death in 2016.
Panayiotou, who worked as hairdresser, was found at her home on Wednesday by her older sister Yioda. Her cause of death has not yet been revealed.
In a statement to the Mirror newspaper in the UK, London Metropolitan Police said: "Police were called by London Ambulance Service at approximately 19:35hrs on Wednesday, 25 December to reports of the sudden death of a woman, aged in her 50s, at an address in Oak Hill Park, NW3.
"The death is not being treated as suspicious by police. A report will be compiled for the Coroner into the circumstances."
Lawyer John Reid, who acts for Michael’s family and estate, said in s statement: "We can confirm that very tragically Melanie has passed away suddenly. We would simply ask that the family’ s privacy be respected at this very sad time. There will be no further comments."
George Michael died on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53 at his home in Goring-on-Thames. His death was attributed to a dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and a fatty liver.
We are saddened to hear of the loss of Melanie Panayiotou, George's sister. Sending all our hugs and thoughts to the Panayiotou family. 💜 pic.twitter.com/WSkRlmbnOr
— Lovelies.help (@LoveliesHelp) December 27, 2019
Melanie, who affectionately called her famous sibling "Yog", was very close to her brother. In an interview with The Big Issue magazine last November, she spoke about the recent George Michael-inspired film Last Christmas.
My sincere condolences to the Panayiotou family ♥️ Such devastating news!!😔 RIP Melanie Panayiotou 🙏🏻 We will never understand why things had to be this way for GeorgeMichael's family🥺😢 May they be reunited with ever lasting Love ♥️ & Peace 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/sdbdjXIFDd
— ♥️GEORGEMICHÆL♥️MyHeart♥️ IsBetterThanThat! (@GMFREEEK) December 27, 2019
"As many of you know, Yog adored Christmas and he loved the idea of this film. I am sure he will be enjoying seeing Emilia [Clarke]’s amazing light bulb smile, something they share, across the celestial miles.
She added, "And, most importantly, we all, together with our dear departed Yog (my 'very proud to be gay’ brother - contrary to what you may have read recently!) wish a very merry, merry Christmas to Big Issue sellers and readers alike."
Prior to Christmas this year, Michael's family told his fans that their kind messages "lift us when things are tough".
With the third anniversary of the singer-songwriter's death approaching, his relatives had also asked that people continue to do "good deeds in his memory".
His sisters, his father Jack and longtime manager David Austin shared a statement on Michael's official website saying that the family have "come to fully appreciate (although we already knew really), quite how much love there is out there in the world, for both Yog and his beautiful music".
Michael - whose real name was Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou - sold more than 100 million albums throughout his career.
