Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey. Already as a child, she sang in church and received vocal lessons from her mother, the gospel singer Cissy Houston. At 11, she began to perform as a soloist in her junior gospel choir, and by the age of 14, she performed with her mother in various clubs and venues.
At the age of 15, a photographer discovered her, and she went on to become a successful teen model, appearing in magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and Young Miss and was one of the first Black women to appear on the cover of Seventeen magazine. While modeling, she continued to develop her music career, singing backup for artists such as Chaka Khan and Herbie Mann.
Her vocal work for the funk band Material caught the attention of various record producers, including Clive Davis of Arista Records. In 1983, at the age of 19, Houston signed with the label, where she stayed for the rest of her career. In that same year, she made her TV debut, singing Home from the musical The Wiz on The Merv Griffin Show.
In 1985, after two years of tireless work, she released her first album, Whitney Houston, which included three number-one singles – Greatest Love of All, How Will I Know, and Saving All My Love for You. The album stayed at the top of the charts for 14 non-consecutive weeks, became the biggest-selling album by a debut artist, and earned Houston her first Grammy. Following her success, she embarked on her first world tour.
In 1987, at 24, she released her second album, Whitney, with four more number one hits. It became the first album by a female artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard Charts and awarded Houston her second Grammy for the single I Wanna Dance with Somebody.
In 1992, at the age of 29, she married the singer Bobby Brown. That same year, she made her film debut, starring with Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard. The movie theme song, her cover of Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You, became her biggest hit ever, remaining number-one for 14 weeks and earning her three Grammys – the record of the year, the album of the year, and best female pop vocal performance. In the next decade, her acting career flourished, and she appeared in numerous films, including Waiting to Exhale and The Preacher’s Wife, recording the soundtracks of both. In 1998, she released her fourth studio album, My Love Is Your Love, for which she received another Grammy award.
Since 1993, both Houston and Brown struggled with substance abuse, and she suffered emotional and domestic violence from Brown. By the early 2000s, this destructive way of life and abusive relationship affected her career, and she canceled many concerts. Despite her troubles, she continued to record, releasing two more albums, Just Whitney in 2002 and the holiday album One Wish in 2003.
Over the next few years, Houston took some time off to reconstruct her life. She tried to overcome her drug addiction, and in 2007 she divorced Brown and won a custody battle of their daughter Bobbi Kristina. In 2009, at 46, she had a comeback with her last studio album, I Look To You, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 300,000 copies. Afterward, she revived her acting career, working on the remake of the musical film Sparkle.
In early 2012, at the age of 48, Houston was found dead at the Beverly Hills hotel due to accidental drowning. Over her career, she released seven studio albums, three soundtrack albums and won more than 400 awards.
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