Whitney Houston

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, and record producer. Commonly referred to as "the Voice," she is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with record sales exceeding 220 million worldwide. Known for her vocal delivery, gospel style, and crossover appeal, she broke down gender and racial barriers through her artistic achievements and music videos. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked her second on its list of the greatest singers of all time.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Houston was the daughter of gospel singer Emily "Cissy" Houston and John Russell Houston Jr. Raised in the Baptist faith, she joined the church choir at New Hope Baptist Church at age five, where she also learned to play piano. She attended Franklin Elementary School and graduated from Mount Saint Dominic Academy in 1981. Trained in singing by her mother, she began backing her mother's band at fourteen and worked as a session vocalist.

In 1980, Houston became a fashion model, signing with Click Models and Wilhelmina Models. In 1981, she became one of the first black women on the cover of Seventeen, and appeared in Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Young Miss. In April 1983, after being discovered at the Sweetwaters nightclub by Clive Davis and Gerry Griffith, she signed with Arista Records at age 19. Her early recordings included duets with Teddy Pendergrass and Jermaine Jackson.

Houston released her debut album, Whitney Houston, on February 14, 1985. It topped the Billboard 200 for 14 weeks and produced three consecutive number-one singles: "Saving All My Love for You," "How Will I Know," and "Greatest Love of All." The record became the best-selling solo debut album in history and was certified Diamond in the United States. To support the release, she launched The Greatest Love World Tour in July 1986.

Her second album, Whitney (1987), made her the first woman to debut atop the US and UK charts. She followed with I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990) and performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in 1991. Later studio releases included My Love Is Your Love (1998), Just Whitney (2002), One Wish: The Holiday Album (2003), and I Look to You (2009), which reached number one on the Billboard 200 following her divorce from singer Bobby Brown.

Houston also starred in feature films including The Bodyguard (1992), Waiting to Exhale (1995), The Preacher's Wife (1996), Cinderella (1997), and Sparkle (2012). She produced the film franchises The Princess Diaries and The Cheetah Girls. The Bodyguard soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and became the best-selling soundtrack album of all time, featuring the diamond-certified single "I Will Always Love You."

Across her career, Houston scored eleven Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and achieved seven consecutive chart-toppers. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, and the Grammy Hall of Fame. On February 11, 2012, Houston died from accidental drowning in a bathtub in Beverly Hills, California, with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors. Guinness World Records later named her the highest-earning posthumous female celebrity.