"When I sang Over The Rainbow on X-Factor, it was for Billie, because I sang it at her funeral and that was a way of remembering her."īecki says: "We always knew that singing was what Leona was destined to do. She had such a wonderful impact on so many people. Leona said recently: "Billie was only 14, but I try and draw on the positives. which she would later perform on the X-Factor. At Billie's funeral, she sang an emotional version of Over The Rainbow. When Billie died on April 27, 2006, Leona was still an unknown singer, with dreams of pop success. She loved netball, but there came a time when she was just too weak and had to stop." "She had wanted to be a model, a lawyer and a dancer - she loved school and found it really difficult to leave. We were told she only had two weeks, but she was with us for six. "Billie wanted to make the most of her time left. One of the doctors told her that it was against the rules for him to have favourites - but she had made a real difference to the ward. "She said thank you to all the doctors and to everyone who had helped look after her.
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She started crying and then said, 'I'm so happy - I'm going home.' It was then that Billie herself made the decision to stop with her chemotherapy and to leave hospital.īecki added: "She wanted her last few weeks to be as normal as possible. When her health deteriorated, Billie was forced to leave the school she loved and give up the sports and pastimes she enjoyed.Īfter 18 months of stressful treatment, the family had hoped she was making progress but then came the devastating news that she had suffered a relapse. The walls of the family home in Walthamstow, East London, are adorned with dozens of picture of Billie and there is a lovingly-tended memorial garden dedicated to her. "She made it easy for us as parents and as a family to deal with the whole process. "But Billie took it really well and she trusted us when we told her what she may have to go through, she never cried or made any fuss. We took her to see the GP and could never have expected the news", recalls Becki. Leona and all of Billie's cousins showered her with a lifetime of love in the last few weeks of her life."īillie had led a healthy, active lifestyle, so when she was first diagnosed in 2004 with leukaemia, her family were in shock.
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We have such a strong family and that always meant the world to Billie."īillie's father Aubrey, 38, added: "Billie and Leona had this plan to go to America together - I used to let her watch Jerry Springer and then ask, 'Do you still want to go?' They would text and call each other a lot. "Leona would come and visit with all of her other cousins and they all got along really well.
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There is this little wave that Leona does and when I see her do it, it reminds me straight away of Billie.
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"They had little things that are so similar. Mum-of-four Becki said: "They were so very alike, both very gentle, caring and composed.
#Aural josiah lewis skin
This week Leona waived her £100,000 fee to front the Teenage Cancer Trust's summer campaign against skin cancer.Īnd now Billie's mum Becki has spoken for the first time about losing her only daughter, of her closeness to Leona and the heartbreak her death two years ago brought the singer. But Leona Lewis will never forget the bright and gifted youngster whose memory has been such an inspiration to her. Billie Josiah never saw her cousin Leona triumph, never saw Leona become the singing star she had always known she'd become.īillie lost her battle with leukaemia before her cousin won X-Factor and became the megastar she is today.