Whitney Houston

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August 9, 1963

Whitney Elizabeth Houston

Bobby Brown (18 July 1992 - 24 April 2007) (divorced) 1 child

1985: Whitney Houston

1987: Whitney

1990: I'm Your Baby Tonight

1992: The Bodyguard Soundtrack

1995: Waiting to Exhale Soundtrack

1996: The Preacher's Wife Soundtrack

1998: My Love Is Your Love

2002: Just Whitney

2003: One Wish: The Holiday Album

2009: I Look To You

Producer

2012 Sparkle (executive producer)

2006 The Cheetah Girls 2 (TV movie) (executive producer)

2004 The Cheetah Girls (TV movie) (executive producer)

2004 The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (producer)

2003 The Cheetah Girls (TV movie) (executive producer)

2001 The Princess Diaries (producer)

2000 Whitney Houston: Fine (video short) (executive producer)

1997 Cinderella (TV movie) (executive producer)

1997 Whitney Houston: Classic Whitney (TV movie) (executive producer)

Actress

2012 Sparkle

1997 Cinderella (TV movie)

1996 The Preacher's Wife

1995 Waiting to Exhale

1992 The Bodyguard

1984 Gimme a Break! (TV series)

Appearances

2012 Family Divas (documentary)

2010 The BET Honors (TV special)

2010 The Best of the World Music Awards (TV special)

2009 Dancing with the Stars (TV series)

2009 2009 American Music Awards (TV special)

2009 The X Factor (TV series)

2009 Le grand journal de Canal+ (TV series)

2009 Wetten, dass..? (TV series)

2006-2009 Entertainment Tonight (TV series)

1998-2009 The Oprah Winfrey Show (TV series)

2009 The 51st Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

2009 The BET Honors (TV movie)

2008 Extra (TV series)

2005 25 Strong: The BET Silver Anniversary Special (TV special)

2005 Being Bobby Brown (TV series documentary)

2004 World Music Awards 2004 (TV special)

2004 2004 Women's World Awards (TV movie)

2004 Nora's Hair Salon (uncredited)

2003 VH1 Divas Duets (TV special documentary)

2003 Boston Public (TV series)

2002 Primetime Live (TV series documentary)

2002 Whitney Houston: The True Story (TV documentary)

2002 VH1 Divas Las Vegas (TV special)

2002 American Bandstand's 50th Anniversary Celebration (TV movie)

2002 It's Black Entertainment (TV special documentary)

2002 Journeys in Black (TV series documentary)

2002 MTV Europe Music Awards 2002 (TV special)

2002 Primetime Special Edition: Whitney Houston (TV movie)

2001 A New Princess (video documentary short)

2001 Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration (TV special documentary)

2001 1st Annual BET Awards (TV special)

2001 MTV20: Everybody Talk About Pop Music! (TV documentary)

2000 Whitney T.V. (TV movie)

1987-2000 Top of the Pops (TV series)

2000 106 & Park Top 10 Live (TV series)

2000 Música sí (TV series)

2000 Whitney Houston: The Greatest Hits (video documentary)

2000 The 27th Annual American Music Awards (TV movie)

2000 MTV Video Music Awards 2000 (TV special)

2000 Whitney Houston: Fine (video short)

1999 ABC 2000: The Millennium (TV documentary)

1999 MTV Europe Music Awards 1999 (TV special)

1999 Making the Video (TV series documentary)

1999 All Access: Whitney Houston (TV documentary)

1999 The 71st Annual Academy Awards (TV special)

1999 Brit Awards 1999 (TV special)

1999 The 41st Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1999 Sen kväll med Luuk (TV series)

1999 Arista Records' 25th Anniversary Celebration (TV special documentary)

1999 1999 MTV Movie Awards (TV special)

1999 VH1 Divas Live 2 (TV documentary)

1998 Tony Bennett Live by Request: An All-Star Tribute (TV special)

1998 When You Believe: Music from 'The Prince of Egypt' (TV documentary)

1998 MTV Video Music Awards 1998 (TV special)

1998 Mundo VIP (TV series)

1998 Essence Awards (TV movie)

1996-1998 The Rosie O'Donnell Show (TV series)

1998 The 25th Annual American Music Awards (TV special)

1998 The 1998 Soul Train Christmas Starfest (TV movie)

1998 The 50th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (TV special)

1998 The Great Christmas Movies (TV documentary)

1998 The 1998 Billboard Music Awards (TV special)

1997 Classic Whitney (TV movie)

1997 Macy's 21st Annual Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular (TV special)

1997 10th Anniversary Essence Awards (TV special)

1997 The 39th Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1997 Scratch the Surface (documentary)

1997 Whitney Houston: Classic Whitney (TV movie)

1991-1996 Saturday Night Live (TV series)

1996 Celebrate the Dream: 50 Years of Ebony Magazine (TV special)

1996 The 38th Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1996 1996 MTV Movie Awards (TV special)

1996 27th NAACP Image Awards (TV special)

1995 Soul Train's 25th Anniversary (TV documentary)

1995 MTV Video Music Awards 1995 (TV special)

1995 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards '95 (TV special)

1995 The History of Rock 'N' Roll, Vol. 5 (TV documentary)

1994 Whitney Houston: The Concert for a New South Africa (TV documentary)

1994 The 66th Annual Academy Awards (TV special)

1994 The 36th Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1994 The 21st Annual American Music Awards (TV special)

1994 26th NAACP Image Awards (TV special)

1994 The 8th Annual Soul Train Music Awards (TV special)

1993 The 1993 Billboard Music Awards (TV special)

1993 The 1993 World Music Awards (TV special)

1993 1993 MTV Movie Awards (TV special)

1993 The 19th Annual People's Choice Awards (TV special)

1992 Muhammad Ali's 50th Birthday Celebration (TV special)

1992 The 13th Annual American Black Achievement Awards (TV special)

1992 The 19th Annual American Music Awards (TV special)

1991 1991 Billboard Music Awards (TV special)

1991 Coca Cola Pop Music Backstage Pass to Summer (TV special)

1991 The Simple Truth: A Concert for Kurdish Refugees (TV movie)

1991 Tonight Live with Steve Vizard (TV series)

1991 The 33rd Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1991 Super Bowl XXV (TV special)

1991 The 8th Annual American Cinema Awards (TV special)

1991 Whitney Houston: Live in Concert (video documentary)

1990 Sinatra 75: The Best Is Yet to Come (TV special documentary)

1985-1990 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (TV series)

1990 The Word (TV series)

1990 Good Morning America (TV series)

1990 Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration (TV special)

1990 7th Annual American Cinema Awards (TV special)

1990 Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston (TV movie)

1989 The Songwriter's Hall of Fame 20th Anniversary... The Magic of Music (TV movie)

1989 The 31st Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1989 That's What Friends Are for: Arista's 15th Anniversary Concert (TV documentary)

1989 21st NAACP Image Awards (TV special)

1988 Lou Rawls Parade of Stars (TV series)

1988 American Masters (TV series documentary)

1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute (TV special documentary)

1988 Wired (TV series)

1988 The 30th Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1988 Cissy Houston: Sweet Inspiration (documentary)

1988 The 15th Annual American Music Awards (TV special)

1988 20th NAACP Image Awards (TV special)

1987 1987 Power Hits: New Year's Eve Countdown (TV special)

1985-1987 Ebony/Jet Showcase (TV series)

1987 The 1st Annual Soul Train Music Awards (TV special)

1987 The 14th Annual American Music Awards (TV special)

1987 The 29th Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1987 Brit Awards 1987 (TV special)

1986 One Voice (TV special documentary)

1986 MTV Video Music Awards 1986 (TV special)

1986 Liberty Weekend (TV special documentary)

1986 Champs-Elysées (TV series)

1986 The 3rd Annual Black Gold Awards (TV movie)

1986 The 28th Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1986 The 13th Annual American Music Awards (TV special)

1986 Women in Rock (video documentary)

1985 Silver Spoons (TV series)

1985 Late Night with David Letterman (TV series)

1985 The Merv Griffin Show (TV series)

1985 Soul Train (TV series documentary)

1985 Show van de maand (TV movie)

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As the daughter of renowned gospel and soul singer Cissy Houston and the cousin of Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston was better connected than most young vocalists when she embarked on a recording career in the mid-‘80s. But neither genes nor industry contacts can account for the level of superstardom to which Houston quickly ascended. Blessed with a sublimely creamy, agile voice – and picture-perfect looks to boot – the singer delivered the sort of buoyant dance tunes and smooth, hummable ballads that are equally at home on the pop, R&B and Adult Contemporary charts. For years critics carped that her supple singing would be better served by more soulful, less commercially ingratiating material; when she finally did emerge with a more urban sound, the media homed in on her increasingly irresponsible personal behavior. But where America’s record-buying public was concerned, Houston became a star of the highest order, one whose appeal crossed races, cultures and generations.

As a child, Houston sang in her family’s church choir. At 15 she began performing in her mother’s nightclub act. While attending a Catholic high school, the lithe beauty signed with a modeling agency and posed for magazines including Glamour and Vogue. After graduating, she continued to model and sing, backing up Lou Rawls and Chaka Khan, then at 19 was spotted by Arista president Clive Davis – who had previously steered the careers of Warwick and Houston family friend Aretha Franklin – while giving a showcase in Manhattan. Davis signed Houston and started choosing songs for her debut album, which featured duets with established stars Teddy Pendergrass (her first hit, “Hold Me”) and Jermaine Jackson, and cost Arista an extraordinarily hefty sum of $250,000.

Released in 1985, “Whitney Houston” proved a worthwhile investment, shooting to #1 and generating the smash singles “You Give Good Love” (#3 pop, #1 R&B, 1985), “Saving All My Love for You” (#1 R&B, 1985), “How Will I Know” (#1 pop and R&B, 1985) and “Greatest Love of All” (#1pop, #3 R&B, 1986). “Whitney” solidified Houston’s success, reaching #1 and spawning “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me”) (#1 pop, #2 R&B, 1987), “Didn’t We Almost Have It All” (#1 pop, #2 R&B, 1987), “So Emotional” (#1 pop, #5 R&B, 1987), “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” (#1 pop, #2 R&B, 1988), and “Love Will Save the Day” (#9 pop, #5 R&B, 1988). Also in 1988, Houston recorded “One Moment in Time”, NBC-TV’s theme song for the Summer Olympics (#5 pop). In 1989 she teamed up with Aretha Franklin on the #5 R&B hit, “It Isn’t, It Wasn’t, It Ain’t Never Gonna Be”.

In 1990 “I’m Your Baby Tonight’s” title track topped the pop and R&B charts, as did “All the Man That I Need”. There were more hits in 1991 – “Miracle” (#9 pop, #2 R&B), “My Name Is Not Susan” (#20 pop, #8 R&B) and “I Belong to you” (#10 R&B) - but, peaking at #3. “Baby” proved disappointing after its predecessors.

With the huge success of her first two albums, movie offers came from Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones, and Spike Lee, though she felt the time wasn't right. Houston’s first film role was in The Bodyguard, released in 1992 and co-starring Kevin Costner. Houston plays Rachel Marron, a star who is stalked by a crazed fan and hires a bodyguard to protect her. The film was successful at the box office, grossing more than $121 million in the U.S. and $410 million worldwide thanks in large to the success of Houston's soundtrack to the film. It is currently among the top 100 highest grossing films worldwide and USA Today listed it as one of the 25 most memorable movie moments of the last 25 years. The movie’s soundtrack – with six tracks sung by Houston – proved even more successful, hitting #1 and producing a monster single, Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” (1992), which remained at the top of the chart for an unprecedented 14 weeks, as well as a cover of Chaka Khan’s 1978 hit “I’m Every Woman” (#4 pop, #5 R&B, 1993) and “I Have Nothing” (#4 pop and R&B, 1993). In 1992 Houston married singer Bobby Brown; their first child, Bobbi Kristina, was born the next year.

Houston’s next career move was to attempt to duplicate the success of the movie / soundtrack combination of “The Bodyguard” with 1995’s black-female friendship film “Waiting to Exhale”, in which the singer co-starred alongside Angela Bassett. The movie was popular with audiences and resulted in a few more hit singles for Houston, most notably “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” (#1 pop and R&B) and a duet with CeCe Winans, “Count on Me” (#8 pop, #7 R&B, 1996). In 1996 Houston starred with Denzel Washington and Courtney B. Vance in “The Preacher’s Wife”, a box-office disappointment whose soundtrack nevertheless gave her another charting ballad, “I Believe in You and Me” (#4 pop and R&B). She tried the small screen in 1997, producing and playing the Fairy Godmother to Brandy’s Cinderella in a Wonderful World of Disney remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s, Cinderella. In 1998 Houston released her first studio album since 1990, the uncharacteristic “My Love Is Your Love” (#13 pop, #7 R&B). Aside from a handful of ballads, including her Oscar-winning duet with fellow diva Mariah Carey, “When You Believe” (#15 pop, #33 R&B, 1998-99), from “The Prince of Egypt” and the Diane Warren-penned torch song “I Learned From the Best” (#13 R&B, 1999), the album showcased a new, savvy street credibility that had previously come through only in Houston’s later interviews and her private life with Brown. Hip-hop personalities and producers such as Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Nill, Rodney Jerkins, Missy Elliott and Faith Evans collaborated with the vocalist on various tracks. The public still loved the new Whitney, giving her hits with the sultry “Heartbreak Hotel” (#2 pop, #1 R&B), the kick-him-out anthem “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay” (#4 pop, #7 R&B, 1999), and the reggae-inflected title track (#4 pop, #2 R&B, 1999).

While Houston was back in the spotlight, reports of her already notorious prima donna behavior became more prevalent in 1999 and 2000: she was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals; canceled concerts and talk-show appearances; and in what would be the start of a string of tabloid stories questioning her state of mind, dodged arrest for marijuana possession at a Hawaii airport in January 2000 (charges were later dismissed). In the months that followed the incident, Houston was a surprising no-show at her mentor Clive Davis’ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was allegedly booted out of Academy Awards rehearsals for an all-star tribute to Burt Bacharach.

Rumors about her tumultuous marriage to Brown resurfaced, particularly when he was briefly imprisoned in mid-2000 for a parole violation. Yet Houston attempted to have the last laugh with a powerful performance at an Arista Records anniversary party that also served as a tribute to Davis, plus the release of a two-disc greatest-hits collection that equally highlighted her ballads and dance-club remixes and featured four new songs, three of which were duets with Deborah Cox, Enrigue Iglesias and George Michael.

Houston is the fourth best-selling female recording artist in the U.S according to the RIAA, and is the "The Most Awarded Female Artist of All Time" according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Throughout the '80s, Houston was romantically linked to American football star Randall Cunningham and actor Eddie Murphy, whom she dated. She then met R&B singer Bobby Brown (formerly of New Edition) at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. After a three year courtship, the two were married on July 18, 1992. Nearly a year later, Houston gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown, her first child, and his fourth. Houston filed for separation from him in September 2006 following trips to rehab. The following month, on October 16, 2006, Houston filed for divorce from Brown. On February 1, 2007, Houston asked the court to fast track their divorce. The divorce became finalized on April 24, 2007, with Houston granted custody of the couple's daughter.

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