Amy Winehouse was dead by the time emergency services arrived at her home in London on Saturday afternoon (23Jul11).
Police were called to the property just after 4pm local time but issued a statement on Saturday evening to confirm the Back to Black hitmaker was already dead when they arrived.
Superintendent Raj Kohli, of London's Metropolitan Police, has played down reports the star suffered a suspected drug overdose, insisting: "No post mortem has taken place and it would be inappropriate to speculate on a cause of death."
He added, "On arrival, officers found the body of a 27-year-old woman who was pronounced dead at the scene. Next of kin have been informed, and we can confirm it was Amy Winehouse... The death of any person is a sad time for friends and family, especially in the case of a person such as Amy Winehouse, who was known both nationally and internationally."
It is unclear as to who made the phone call to emergency services or whether anyone else was present at the property when cops and paramedics arrived, but Kohli confirmed no one has been arrested in connection with the tragedy.
Winehouse's body was removed from the property shortly before 9pm local time, watched by hundreds of shocked fans who had gathered outside the home to hold a vigil.
A post mortem examination is likely to be carried out on Sunday (24Jul11) but it will take some days for a cause of death to be confirmed if officials have to wait on the results of toxicology tests.