Whitney Houston Biography

If you wish to see and listen to some talented singing and acting, the performances of Whitney Houston come as a complete package. She had released four albums between 1985 and 1992. All her albums garnered worldwide sales of an excess of 86 million copies. Her first debut was released when she was just 22 years old. She had three No. 1 singles in her debut album. She also had four more No. 1 single from her album Whitney, released in 1987. These singles also fetched Houston a grammy award.

Her illustrious career is marked by several superhit songs, albums, and awards. However, her turbulent personal life threw her off her career a bit in between. But she made a comeback with I Look to You in 2009. She also played a role in the music-based movie Sparkle. Whitney Houston died in 2012 due to accidental drowning. Whitney Houston’s age of death is 48.

Early Life of Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston’s date of birth is August 9, 1963. She was born in Newark, New Jersey. Therefore, she was an American by birth. She got her singing genes from her mother. Both her mother and her cousin are known faces in American pop, soul, and gospel music. Whitney accompanies her mother to the New Hope Baptist Church, where her mother was the choir minister.

Even at that early age, Whitney was able to wow her audiences. In an interview with Diane Sawyer, she once said that she received a thunderous response to her performance in New Hope Baptist Church. Such a response had a tremendous effect on her confidence and made her believe that her singing ability is an infectious gift from God.

Whitney continued her singing career with her mother till the age of 15. She was trying hard to get a record deal on her own when she was discovered by an eminent photographer who termed her as natural beauty. She was soon photographed for the cover page of the famous Seventeen magazine and was one of the first African Americans to be selected. She was highly sought for as a teen model at that age. However, music remained her first and true love. 

Clive Davies of Arista Records discovered Whitney during one of her performances in one of the nightclubs. She was 19 years of age then. This recording house took her to the helm of her career. During this period, she moved from the gospel to the pop genre. Her first national television performance was on The Merv Griffin Show, where she sang the song from the musical Wiz, Home. She and Davies worked on her first album and roped in some of the greatest songwriters and producers to showcase and support her wonderful vocal talent.

Musical albums of Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston rose to the pinnacle of her career with her first album. She became a pop sensation soon after its release. It has some of the greatest songs like How will I know and Saving All My Love for You. Both these songs stayed at the top of the charts for 14 non-consecutive weeks. Whitney also won the Grammy award for Saving All My Love for You in 1986. She received the award from her cousin Dionne Warwick.

After achieving huge success with the first album, Whitney released her second album, Whitney, in 1987. Her second album resonated with success from her previous album. She again won the Grammy award for the song, I Wanna Dance With Somebody. She even went on a successful World Tour after receiving her second Grammy. She also sang at a concert to commemorate Nelson Mandela’s birthday. The Whitney Houston Foundation for Children, a non-profit organization, was also started to help all needy children worldwide.

Whitney Houston’s Career on the Silver Screen

Although Whitney was suffering from personal troubles, she did not let such problems affect her career initially. She had a successful acting career in 1992 with the popular movie, The Bodyguard. She starred opposite Kevin Costner in the movie. She continued with her musical career and released hit singles with every movie she acted in. As a result, she got record sales of her musical tracks.

For example, her superhit single, I Will Always Love You, from the movie, The Bodyguard, is considered to be her biggest hit ever. The song broke all records by sitting atop all US Charts for 14 weeks. The song won Whitney three Grammys, along with Record of the Year and the Album of the Year. She also starred in The Preacher’s Wife and Waiting to Exhale, which had evergreen soundtracks sung by her.  

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More Accolades for Whitney Houston

Whitney released her first non-soundtrack studio album, My Love Is Your Love, in 1998. This album has the evergreen hit, It’s Not Right, But It’s Okay, which earned her another Grammy. However, the album was not as big a hit as her previous ones. However, she won an academy award for her hit single, When You Believe, in the animated movie, The Prince of Egypt.

Meanwhile, Whitney steadfastly refused the release of her album, Just Whitney. Although the musical album was a hit, it did not enjoy the success of Whitney’s previous albums. However, she still enjoyed the reputation of a world-class singer, and she entered into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2006 as one of the most-awarded female artists of all time.

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Whitney Houston’s Break from Her Career in 2007 and Return in 2009

Whitney tried hard to bring her failing marriage back on track. She also had to break her drug habits, which is when her mother had to step in. Whitney took a break from her career in 2007 when she divorced her husband and took custody of her daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

Whitney Houston made a comeback to her musical world in 2009 with her new album, I Look To You. Her singles in the album were received warmly by her audiences and made it to the top of the charts. She also performed in several live shows, which, however, was greeted with mixed reviews. There were some complaints about the quality of her voice in those shows.

Whitney Houston’s Death

Whitney Houston was rumoured to experience financial issues in 2012, but she denied such claims. Her career seemed to experience an upswing with the release of her movie Sparkle. She was also approached to join as a judge for The X Factor, a singing competition series. 

Whitney Houston’s death in 2012 was considered a shocker at the end of her eventful life. She died on February 11, 2012. Whitney Houston’s age at death was 48. She died accidentally by drowning in a Grammy party organized in the Beverly Hilton hotel. However, people still speculate how did Whitney Houston die. Some analysts consider excess cocaine intake and heart disease as contributing factors for her death.

Whitney Houston’s biography has been wrought with different Grammy awards, hugely hit soundtracks breaking all chart records and an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records. Her tumultuous personal life was also in the news, which she could not mend. She even had to take a break in her career due to these reasons. Her accidental death by drowning came as a shock for her fans. Nevertheless, she had been an idol figure for several music lovers worldwide.