Fire officials in Woodbury on Friday were still trying to determine how and why Jill Sobule, the award-winning singer-songwriter and human rights activist, died in a house fire in Woodbury early Thursday.

Firefighters were called to the 9200 block of Pinehurst Road, near Interlachen Parkway, around 5:30 a.m. after receiving a report of a fire.

When crews arrived, they found the house in flames and were told by the homeowners that one person — identified as a woman in her 60s — was still possibly inside. Firefighters found Sobule’s body inside the home. Woodbury Public Safety said Thursday there were no immediate signs of foul play.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office said the investigation into the cause of death is pending toxicology results. It could take six to eight weeks for those results, a spokesman said Friday.Sobule, 66, was in the Twin Cities to visit friends, record an episode of “The Brian Oake Show” podcast with the former Cities 97 and 89.3 The Current DJ and help prepare for a show, “Jill Sobule presents F*ck 7th Grade & More: A Pride Month Event!,” which was scheduled to be performed at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis on June 11.

Oake said Friday he didn’t personally know Sobule and that it was “just a weird coincidence” that she was booked for his podcast.

An autobiographical musical, “F*ck 7th Grade” premiered at New York City’s Wild Project Theater in 2022. At the time, a critic for the New York Times called the show “winsome and defiant. … It will give you flashbacks to middle school, no matter how popular you were; that’s pretty much guaranteed.”

Sobule rebooted the musical in the winter of 2023 and again in 2024. The original cast recording of the show is set to be released on June 6.

Sobule, who was bisexual, made history with her 1995 single “I Kissed a Girl” as the first openly gay-themed song ever to crack the Billboard Top 20. She also was known for the song “Supermodel,” which was featured in the 1995 movie “Clueless.”

“People call me a one-hit wonder,” Sobule said in a 2022 interview with the Times. “And I say, ‘Wait a second, I’m a two-hit wonder!’”

“Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture,” John Porter, her manager, said in a statement. “I was having so much fun working with her. I lost a client and a friend today. I hope her music, memory, and legacy continue to live on and inspire others.”

Her booking agent, Craig Grossman, wrote that he was fortunate to know Sobule “beyond a professional relationship. No one made me laugh more. Her spirit and energy shall be greatly missed within the music community and beyond.”

Drawing on her own story

Jill Susan Sobule was born on Jan. 16, 1959, in Denver to Marvin Lee Sobule, a veterinarian, and Elaine (Kramish) Sobule, a musician (who later remarried and was known as Elaine Dillon). She joked that when she was growing up, her only queer role models had been Miss Jane Hathaway, the very proper secretary played by Nancy Kulp on the sitcom “The Beverly Hillbillies,” and her gym teacher, “who looked like Pete Rose.”

Decades later, she wrote a musical, which she called “kind of this universal story of a weirdo growing up,” in which she sang about the frustrations she experienced in middle school. She recalled being called a homophobic slur, feeling out of place among the other girls and having an unrequited crush on a girl.

She began to display talent on the guitar in the eighth grade, and she eventually dropped out of school to focus on music. Her recording career began in 1990, when she released the album “Things Here Are Different.” A single from the album, “Too Cool to Fall in Love,” received some radio play.

Five years later, “Jill Sobule,” her second album, catapulted her career to greater heights.

“I Kissed a Girl” made its way back into headlines again in 2008, when Katy Perry released a song with the same name that achieved much greater success. In one interview, Sobule later recalled being “jealous” when Perry used the title. In another interview, with Entertainment Weekly in 2008, she said, “I don’t feel precious about the title, but I’ve gotten tons of emails from annoyed fans.” She added: “Katy Perry’s song is a kind of catchy party song, although I will admit that I do smile when a critique mentions my version in a more favorable light. Is that wrong?”

Sobule’s survivors include her brother, James.

In addition to performing, Sobule was outspoken about a variety of political and cultural topics, including the death penalty, anorexia, reproduction and, perhaps most notably, LGBTQ+ issues.

“She literally created a path for queer people and women in music,” Sarah Kate Ellis, the president of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD, said in a statement.

Sobule was scheduled to perform her show “Jill Sobule presents: Songs From F*ck 7th Grade & More” at Swallow Hill Music’s Tuft Theater in Denver on Friday night, according to a statement posted by her publicists. Instead, there will be “an informal gathering” hosted by Rob Bostwick, a host at 105.5 The Colorado Sound and a friend of Sobule’s.

“Folks are encouraged to join their fellow Jill friends and fans to share a story or song,” according to the statement, which also noted that there will be a formal memorial celebrating Sobule’s “life and legacy” later this summer.

Ross Raihala contributed to this report, which includes information from the New York Times.