Historical records matching Whitney Houston
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About Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston was an American singer, actor, film producer, and philanthropist. Known as "the Voice", she is one of the most awarded entertainers of all time, having been inducted into numerous halls of fame. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts and her performances influenced the breaking down of gender and racial barriers, as well as popular culture. She has been recognized for her vocal delivery, distinctive timbre, and for popularizing the use of gospel singing techniques in pop music. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Houston second on their list of the greatest singers of all time. She has sold over 220 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling music artists in history. Houston also enhanced her popularity by producing and starring in multicultural movies. Her life and career have been the subject of multiple documentaries and television specials.
Houston began singing at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, as a child and became a background vocalist while in high school. She was one of the first black women to appear on the cover of Seventeen after becoming a teen model in 1981. With the guidance of Arista Records chairman Clive Davis, Houston signed to the label at age 19. Her first two studio albums, Whitney Houston (1985) and Whitney (1987), both peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and are among the best-selling albums of all time. She is the only artist to have seven consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1988. Her third studio album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990), yielded two US number-one singles, the title track and "All the Man That I Need". Houston's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in 1991 received widespread media coverage.
Houston made her acting debut with the romantic thriller film The Bodyguard (1992), which despite its mixed reviews became the tenth highest-grossing film to that date. Its soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and remains the bestselling soundtrack album of all time. The lead single "I Will Always Love You" won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and became the best-selling female single in history. Houston went on to star and record soundtracks for the films Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher's Wife (1996). The former soundtrack scored her 11th Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", while the latter, produced by Houston herself, became the bestselling gospel album of all time. In 1998, Houston released her first studio album in eight years, My Love Is Your Love, which critics considered one of her best albums. As a film producer, she produced hit series such as The Princess Diaries and The Cheetah Girls and movies such as Cinderella (1997) and Sparkle (2012).
Following the success, she renewed her contract with Arista Records for $100 million in 2001, one of the biggest recording deals of all time. However, her personal problems began to overshadow her music career. Her 2002 studio album, Just Whitney, received mixed reviews, while her drug use and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown received widespread media coverage. After divorcing Brown, Houston returned to the top of the Billboard 200 chart with her final studio album, I Look to You (2009).
In February 2012, Houston accidentally drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors. News of her death coincided with the 2012 Grammy Awards, which took place the day following her death, and was covered internationally along with her memorial service. Coverage of Houston's death was ranked as the most memorable entertainment event in television history, according to a study by Sony Electronics and the Nielsen Television Research Company. Her assets amounted to $250 million, earned over a 25-year career.
Family life
Houston was born on August 9, 1963, at Presbyterian Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, to Emily "Cissy" (née Drinkard) and John Russell Houston Jr. Cissy is a Grammy-winning gospel and soul singer who was a member of The Drinkard Singers and the founder of The Sweet Inspirations before becoming a solo artist. John was a former Army serviceman who later became an administrator under the Newark mayor. Houston was given the nickname "Nippy" by her father.
Houston's parents were both African-American. On her mother's side, Houston was alleged to have partial Dutch and Native American ancestry. Through Cissy, Houston was a cousin of singers Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick as well as a distant cousin of opera singer Leontyne Price. Aretha Franklin became an "honorary aunt" while Darlene Love was Houston's godmother. Through her father, her great-great-grandfather Jeremiah Burke Sanderson was an American abolitionist and advocate for the civil and educational rights of Black Americans during the mid-19th century. Houston had three older brothers: paternal half-brother John III; maternal half-brother Gary, a former basketball player and singer; and Michael.
Houston met R&B singer Bobby Brown at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. After a three-year courtship, the two were married on July 18, 1992. On March 4, 1993, Houston gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, the couple's only child. In September 2006, Houston filed for legal separation from Brown, later filing for divorce the following month; the divorce was granted on April 24, 2007. (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Links
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Whitney Houston's Timeline
| 1963 |
August 9, 1963
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Presbyterian Hospital, Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States
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| 1993 |
March 4, 1993
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Livingston, Essex County, New Jersey, United States
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| 2012 |
February 11, 2012
Age 48
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The Beverly Hilton, Suite 434, 9876 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, California, United States
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February 19, 2012
Age 48
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Fairview Cemetery, East Meadow section, 1100 East Broad Street, Westfield, Union County, New Jersey, United States
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