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[Commentary] Remembering Bobbi Kristina: Rest in Peace to an Ordinary Girl

We lost her exactly one year ago today.

It was always going to be a challenging lifestyle for Bobbi Kristina Brown. She was introduced to the world before she was even born — tucked into her famous mom’s belly in the music video for "I’m Every Woman." Just a few months later, she made her real-life debut, cuddled by both mom Whitney Houston and dad Bobby Brown at the end of the video for their duet "Something In Common."

She passed away one year ago today. She was only 22 years old.

Bobbi Kristina Brown was born to two of the most successful pop acts in the history of the genre. At the time of her birth, in 1993, her mother was on the cover of Rolling Stone. That year, Whitney Houston was at the height of her fame with the success of the movie The Bodyguard and its equally successful soundtrack. (The movie grossed $390 million dollars and introduced what would be her signature song, "I Will Always Love You") And her biggest years, including the film and soundtrack for Waiting to Exhale, were still yet to come.

Bobby Brown, who cooled his career to support his wife, had a decade-long run of chart- topping hits beginning in the early ‘80s as a member of New Edition. You’d be hard pressed to put together a more high-profile husband, wife and baby girl.

Well, except you-know-who. It’s true. Krissi was the original Blue Ivy. On top of living in the public eye, her every move chronicled by the press, Bobbi Kristina, called Krissi by her family, had a volatile upbringing for other reasons. In Bobby Brown’s recently released memoir Every Little Step, he reveals that his and Whitney’s struggles with drug addiction hampered their parenting — though they both wanted nothing but the very best for their daughter.

Ultimately, Krissi lived her life very similar to child stars — even though she didn’t perform. She had parents who desperately tried to keep her out of the public eye. And just like child stars often falter as they try to adjust to being their own people, Krissi did the same. She was just 14 when her parents divorced and her relationship with Bobby began to suffer. Tabloids screamed with juicy but unsubstantiated headlines and reporters tried in any way possible to catch Krissi acting out — doing the same things other teenagers are able to do, and grow from, in private.

Krissi’s death was heartbreaking, particularly coming so soon after the death of Whitney Houston in 2012. She’d struggled after her mother’s death — what 19-year-old wouldn’t? — and her inner demons, the ones we all have, ultimately proved too much for her to handle.

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