- Music
- 17 Aug 18
American singer Jill Janus, who fronted the heavy metal band Huntress, has passed way. She was only 43-years-old.
The news emerged overnight that the singer, writer and DJ, Jill Janus, had taken her own life. Jill had always been very open about her personal struggles. It's understood that she suffered from a complicated set of conditions, including schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder, a form of bipolar disorder and alcoholism.
"Janus was a truly special creative, involved with numerous musical projects including her role as vocalist for female metal/hard rock cover bands THE STARBREAKERS and CHELSEA GIRLS," Jill's family and friends said in a statement, released to the popular website, Blabbermouth.net.
"In addition, Janus was co-composer and creator of an upcoming rock opera with TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA's Angus Clark and had a decade-long career as NYC DJ Penelope Tuesdae. Her musical career began in childhood.
"Beyond her accomplishments in the music world and her advocacy for mental health issues, she was a beautiful person, passionate about her family, animal rescue and the world of natural medicine. She will be missed more than she could have ever known."
Paying tribute, band member Blake Meahl wrote on Facebook: "The devastation of knowing I will never see her again is the most gutting emotion I have ever experienced. I hope you have found the peace that you couldn’t find on this planet."
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Jill's publicist praised the late singer's openness about her struggles with mental health, "Janus spoke publicly about these challenges in hopes of guiding others to address and overcome their mental illness," the publicist stated.
“Beyond her accomplishments in the music world and her advocacy for mental health issues, she was a beautiful person passionate about her family, animal rescue and the world of natural medicine. She will be missed more than she could have ever known.”
— Jill Janus (@JillJanus) 14 de agosto de 2018
Jill Janus has spoken openly about attempting to take her own life when she was just 16 years of age. She spoke about the incident to Psychology Today back in a 2015. "I was getting mandatory counselling at school, but didn't see a psychiatrist until I was 20. I was then diagnosed manic-depressive and participated in a medical study at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan," she explained.
Jill was eventually diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. "I've always seen and heard things others couldn't. Many visions or dreams would manifest into reality, which my family and friends described as my 'psychic ability'. This caused more drama at school, being called a 'freak' and getting beaten up. When I was 17, the visions and encounters with 'other-worldly creatures' was almost a daily occurrence," Jill Janus told Psychology Today.