02-05-2025
Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule dead in Woodbury house fire, publicist confirms
Award-winning singer-songwriter Jill Sobule died in a house fire early Thursday morning in Woodbury, Minnesota, her publicist has confirmed.
Woodbury Patrol Commander Tom Ehrenberg says crews were called at about 5:30 a.m. to a residence off Pinehurst Road and Duckwood Trail, where they found the home fully engulfed in flames.
One of the residents made it out but said another person was still inside. Firefighters eventually found the body of a woman in her 60s, Ehrenberg said.
Several agencies, including fire departments from nearby Lake Elmo, Cottage Grove and Maplewood, assisted Woodbury crews at the scene.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Sobble's publicist, David Elkin, confirmed she had died in the fire in an email Thursday afternoon. She was 66.
During her more than three decades of recording, Sobule released 12 albums that addressed such complex topics as the death penalty, anorexia nervosa, reproduction and LGBTQ+ issues. She received widespread attention in the 1990s for her hit singles, "Supermodel," from the movie "Clueless," and "I Kissed A Girl," which, despite being banned on several southern radio stations, made it into the Billboard Top 20.
Jill Sobule performing at Bowery Ballroom on Thursday night, March 16, 2000.
Hiroyuki Ito / Getty Images
She also starred in an autobiographical off-Broadway musical that initially premiered at the Wild Project in New York in 2022 and includes songs and stories about her life.
Sobule was scheduled to perform in Denver on Friday night. Instead, there will be an informal gathering hosted by her friend Ron Bostwick from 105.5 The Colorado Sound at the performance space where attendees can "share a story or song," according to her publicist.
A formal memorial to celebrate her life and legacy will be held later this summer.
