What Happened To Aretha Franklin? Singer 'Gravely Ill,' Family Preparing For Worst

Singer Aretha Franklin is “gravely ill” and is hospitalized in Detroit, a report said Sunday. The 76-year-old's health condition is said to be serious and her “family is asking for prayers and privacy,” according to Showbiz411.

While details about what really happened to her remains unknown, her hospitalization comes nine months after her last performance at the Elton John AIDS Foundation party in New York in November 2017. Branded the "Queen of Soul," the singer suffered from a string of health problems in the last few years. Her final public performance was at Philadelphia's Mann Center in August 2017.

In 2011, Franklin was reportedly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but she denied reports that she carried the disease. However, she later admitted to having had a tumor removed. Franklin also struggled with alcoholism, obesity and a heavy smoking habit.

Aretha has won 18 Grammy awards, sold more than 75 million records and sung at three presidential inaugurations — including Barack Obama's in January 2009.

"I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from, and where it is now," she once said about her career. "I'll be pretty much satisfied, but I'm not going to go anywhere and just sit down and do nothing. That wouldn't be good either."

After reports of Franklin's serious health condition surfaced, her fans took to social media to pray for the iconic star's recovery.

All three of Franklin's siblings succumbed to cancer — brother Cecil died from lung cancer in 1989; sister Carolyn lost her battle with breast cancer in 1988; and Erma, the eldest, died in 2002 from throat cancer.

Last year, Franklin became a victim of a death hoax after her name started trending on Twitter. But she released a statement to Us Weekly at the time confirming she’s “doing generally well.”

“All tests have come back good. I’ve lost a lot of weight due to side effects of medicine, it affects your weight… Thanks for your concern,” she said via e-mail.