Whitney Houston

Daughter of Cissy Houston (gospel-blues singer).

Cousin of Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick.

Multi-Grammy Award winning singer; has had an unequaled run of seven consecutive #1 records (1980s) in the United States, and held the #1 spot on Billboards Hot 100 for 14 weeks with "I Will Always Love You" from November 28, 1992 to February 27, 1993.

She had two brothers, Michael Houston and Gary Houston.

Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.

(11 January 2000) Hawaiian security guards discovered a half an ounce of marijuana in baggage being carried by Whitney and her husband Bobby Brown. The couple were permitted to board their plane.

She appeared on the covers on Seventeen and Glamour magazines before becoming a major recording artist.

She was a fashion model before she started singing professionally.

(14 September 2001) Erroneously was reported deceased by various radio stations and publications. Houstons spokesperson quickly denied rumors.

Both of her first two albums spent over 100 weeks on the UK chart. Although it had been a huge success, her debut "Whitney Houston" had actually peaked at number two. However, her album "Whitney" knocked Simple Minds "Live in the City of Light" off number one on the chart and kept Marillion s "Clutching at Straws" at number two. It spent an impressive six consecutive weeks at the top.

Her album "Whitney" became the first female album to debut at #1 on the Billboard Charts.

Her performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the 1991 Superbowl shot to #20 on the Billboard Charts, supported mainly due to the Gulf War. The single eventually re-entered the Hot 100 in 2001 in the wake of the September 11 attacks, and this time peaked at #6.

Holds the record for winning the most American Music Awards, twenty-six in total.

Ranked #61 on VH1s Greatest Women of Rock N Roll

Her #1 hit "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" was ranked #86 on VH1s 100 Greatest Dance Songs.

Her powerful rendition of "I Will Always Love You", from The Bodyguard , was ranked #65 on the American Film Institutes list of "The 100 Years of The Greatest Songs".

Named after actress Whitney Blake.

Once "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" hit #1 in April 1988, she was honored as the first artist in history to ever have seven consecutive Billboard number one singles. An accomplishment that she still holds to this day.

She almost received the role of Sondra Huxtable on "The Cosby Show" . The role went to Sabrina Le Beauf , whose theater experience won her the role.

The Whitney E. Houston Academy is located in her home town of East Orange, New Jersey.

She has a school named after her formerly Franklin School, now the Whitney E. Houston School of Creative and Performing Arts in her hometown of East Orange, New Jersey.

Her remake of Dolly Parton s "I Will Always Love You" for The Bodyguard became the topic of the NBC news show "Now" because it was so overplayed and people were sick of it. It was the first song ever to be the topic on a news show for being too overplayed.

"I Will Always Love You" is the best-selling single by a female artist, and the biggest selling non-charity single of all time, with world sales of nearly nine million copies.

The Preachers Wife soundtrack is the best-selling gospel album of all time. The soundtrack also remained at number one for for a record twenty-six weeks on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums Chart.

After spending one week at number one, "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" spent the next eleven weeks at number two, the longest number-two stay in Hot 100 history.

She earned 14 gold singles in the United States, behind only Madonna among female artists.

She is the only female artist to have three albums sell over nine million copies each: "Whitney Houston" , "Whitney" and "The Bodyguard".

The worlds best selling debut album by a female is "Whitney Houston" , with over twenty-four million copies sold.

The worlds biggest selling soundtrack is The Bodyguard with over thirty-seven million units sold. It also ranks as the best-selling female album of all time.

Second cousin of David Elliott and Damon Elliott.

Ranked #24 on VH1s 100 Sexiest Artists.

Her mother was at one time a background singer for Elvis Presley.

Her godmother is Aretha Franklin.

Her family moved from Newark to East Orange, New Jersey in the wake of rioting in Newark when she was 4 years old.

She was offered the role of Grace Hitchens on "Glee" , which she turned down. Eve was then cast instead.

Returned to work four months after giving birth to her daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown in order to participate in "The Bodyguard World Tour", performing songs from her debut motion picture The Bodyguard .

Her last romantic relationship was with Ray J from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2009 to her death in 2012.

Gave birth to her only child at age 29, a daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston-Brown (aka Bobbi Kristina Brown ) on March 4, 1993. Childs father is her ex-husband, Bobby Brown.

Suffered three miscarriages during her relationship with Bobby Brown : in 1991, 1994 and 1996.

Because she passed away the night before the 54th Grammy Awards , the host for the evening, LL Cool J , opened the show with a tribute and a prayer in her honor.

One of the last times Whitney Houston was seen on camera was at a rehearsal for Monica and Brandys performance at Clive Davis pre-Grammy party. At the time, Brandy did not know that Houston had planned a surprise birthday party for her on the night she passed away.

On the afternoon of February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in her hotel room at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. She was pronounced dead at 3:55pm PST.

Her funeral was held at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday, February 18, 2012. Following services, she was laid to rest beside her father at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey.

While Whitney scored a massive international hit with "The Greatest Love of All" (by Michael Masser and Linda Creed ), she was not the first to record it. That distinction belongs to George Benson who introduced the song on the soundtrack of the biopic The Greatest .

Delivered her daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown via emergency Caesarean section after a 14-hour labor.

Sister of Gary Houston. Aunt of Rayah Houston.

Former daughter-in-law of Herbert Brown. Former sister-in-law of Tommy Brown.

During one of her live performances, she fell down a step and snapped a strap on her bra.

She and her cousin Dionne Warwick were inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame for their services to arts and entertainment .

Was snubbed for a Best New Artist Grammy nomination due to the fact that she sang back up on a Jermaine Jackson single before her debut album was released. This caused much controversy since several other nominees in this category (including Led Zeppelin , Asia and The Knack ) were industry veterans, as were some winners (Crosby Stills & Nash and Jody Watley ).

Favourite movie was Sparkle . She would later release a remake of the film in 2012 starring Houston herself and Jordin Sparks. It was also unfortunately her last film before passing away.

Her daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown passed away at age 22 on July 26, 2015 having been in a medically induced coma for the past 6 months after being found unconscious face down in her bathtub.

Her manager and confidant was Arista Records founder and president Clive Davis.

When Whitney won her first Grammy Award at age 21 for the Michael Masser / Gerry Goffin song "Saving All My Love for You", the trophy was presented to her by Dionne Warwick and Julian Lennon (Shrine Auditorium / February 25, 1986).

Friends with Deborah Cox , Loretta Devine and Vivica A. Fox.

I almost wish I could be more exciting, that I could match what is,happening out there to me.

God gave me a voice to sing with, and when you have that, what other,gimmick is there?,I was aware of people staring at me. No one moved. They seemed almost in,trance. I just stared at the clock in the center of the church. When I,finished, everyone clapped and started crying.

I finally faced the fact that it isn`t a crime not having friends. Being alone means you have fewer problems.

From the beginning, the camera and I were great friends. It loves me, and I love it.

I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside.