GEORGE Michael’s sister Yioda Panayiotou suffered two tragedies when she lost both her brother and her sister Melanie on Christmas Day, three years apart.
George passed away in 2016, while Melanie died in 2019, leaving their older sister devastated.
1
Who are Yioda and Melanie Panayiotou?
Yioda and Melanie are George Michael’s older sisters.
Their mum, Lesley Angold – who passed away in 1997 – raised them in Kingsbury, London, and later Radlett, Hertfordshire, while dad Kyriacos “Jack” Panayiotou worked.
George was particularly close to Melanie, a hairdresser, who travelled the world with him at the height of his fame.
Sadly Melanie died aged 55 on the third anniversary of of George’s death.
Read more on George Michael
At the time, it was understood she had suffered a short illness before she passed away in hospital on December 25, 2019.
However, in 2020 it was revealed the Melanie died from diabetic ketoacidosis, which is caused by a lack of insulin and high blood sugar, with diabetes given as an underlying cause of death.
Did they get anything in his will?
George left £97.6million to his sisters, his dad and a string of friends.
His will confirmed the bulk of his estate went to Yioda and Melanie.
Read Related Also: ‘Titanic’: The Real Reason James Cameron Didn’t Want to Cast Kate Winslet
George’s dad Kyriacos was left a horseracing stud farm where he has lived for many years.
A source said: “George was devoted to his dad and sisters, they were always going to be looked after.”
Seven pals and relatives including Shirlie Kemp, a backing singer with his band Wham!, and record producer David Austin, were also beneficiaries.
How were George Michael’s sisters involved in the funeral?
Melanie and Yioda hosted a wake after the funeral at the star’s house in Hampstead – less than a mile from Highgate Cemetery.
They were joined by their dad Kyriacos and cousins in paying tribute to George.
A private service for the 53-year-old was held in a tiny 30-seat chapel in Highgate West Cemetery, North London.
It lies just 250 yards from where George is buried alongside his beloved mother Lesley Angold, who died of cancer aged 59 in 1997.
He is said to have been dressed in his favourite suit and shirt from his final tour and his gold Cartier watch.
How did George Michael die?
The superstar was found dead in his bed on Christmas Day of suspected heart failure.
His funeral was delayed when a postmortem came back “inconclusive”, prompting further toxicology tests.
Then, ten weeks after his death, coroner Darren Salter revealed George died of dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and fatty liver.
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’
fbq(‘init’, ‘752905198150451’);
fbq(‘track’, “PageView”);
