Singer and actress Whitney Houston was discovered dead today at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The circumstances around her death have not yet been disclosed. Fox News is reporting that police and emergency vehicles were summoned to the hotel and that both hotel staff and emergency workers attempted to revive her. Fox is also reporting that police saw no signs of criminal intent and are currently investigating the singer’s death.
Houston rocketed onto the international landscape in 1985 with her self-titled debut album and became a music icon for the next decade and a half before her personal struggles overcame her career.
Born in 1963, the beautiful singer was the first female singer to score three #1 hits with her debut album. It was her third #1 song, Greatest Love of All, that captured the hearts of the entire world, making her an international superstar. That album would go on to become the best selling album by at female artist at that time.
Houston would go on to win numerous awards and become the only singer to have seven consecutive #1 singles. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Houston is the most awarded female act of all time.
Houston would also branch out into a successful film career starring opposite Kevin Costner and Denzel Washington in The Bodyguard and The Preacher’s Wife. Despite the box office success of The Bodyguard, Houston received a Razzie nomination for Worst Actress.
Whitney Houston married singer Bobby Brown in 1992. Brown’s problems with drugs and the law seemed to rub off on Houston, and it wasn’t long before she was a tabloid icon more than a music icon as her behavior became more and more erratic.
Houston has been in and out of rehab, with her last stint in May 2011. Despite that, Houston appeared to be on the verge of a comeback. The Mirror reported she was considering a new album and she was scheduled to appear in a remake of the 1976 film Sparkle with Jordan Sparks and Mike Epps. Houston would have also served as executive producer.
Despite her fall from grace, Whitney Houston will be remembered as a powerhouse in the music industry, and her influence will continued to be felt for generations to come.
Published: Feb 11, 2012 11:45 am