Whitney Houston

About Whitney Houston

Born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey, Whitney Elizabeth Houston emerged from a lineage steeped in music. Her mother was the renowned gospel singer Cissy Houston, and her father was John Russell Houston, Jr. Her cousin was the celebrated vocalist Dionne Warwick. From a tender age, Whitney found her voice in the choir at The New Hope Baptist Church. By fifteen, she was lending her voice to professional sessions, singing backup for Chaka Khan's 1978 hit, 'I'm Every Woman,' alongside her mother.

Her early career saw her providing vocal support for artists like Lou Rawls and Jermaine Jackson, as well as her mother. A brief stint as a model included an appearance on the cover of Seventeen magazine in 1981. She later joined the New York funk band Material as a featured vocalist, and the undeniable quality of her singing caught the attention of major record labels. In 1983, she inked a deal with Arista, a partnership that would define her career.

Her debut album, 'Whitney Houston,' released in 1985, achieved remarkable success, becoming the best-selling album by a new artist. This album launched a string of hit singles, including 'Saving All My Love For You,' 'How Will I Know,' 'You Give Good Love,' and 'The Greatest Love of All,' propelling her to a record-breaking seven consecutive number-one hits in the US, surpassing even The Beatles' streak. The album sold three million copies in its first year in the United States and eventually reached 25 million worldwide, earning her the first of six Grammy Awards.

Her 1987 follow-up, 'Whitney,' featuring hits like 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go' and 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody,' continued her ascent. However, it was the 1992 film The Bodyguard that cemented her status as one of the all-time best-selling artists. Despite mixed reviews for the film and her acting, the accompanying soundtrack and her rendition of Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' dominated the charts for months, selling an astounding 44 million copies globally.

In the same year, she married Bobby Brown, formerly of New Edition, and their daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, was born in March 1993. Around this period, her well-documented struggles with drug use began, leading to daily use by 1996. Her 1998 album, 'My Love Is Your Love,' received critical acclaim, but her increasing drug abuse began to tarnish her reputation. Reports surfaced of her becoming unreliable, and she was famously dropped from a performance at The 72nd Annual Academy Awards in 2000 due to her condition during rehearsals.

Her physical appearance became a subject of intense public scrutiny, with drastic weight fluctuations. A particularly thin