February 11, 2012

Whitney Houston, Acclaimed Singer, Actress and Grammy and Primetime Emmy Winner

In addition to numerous hit singles and six Grammy Awards, Houston won a Primetime Emmy for the 28th Annual Grammy Awards.

Whitney Houston, the internationally famous pop singer and actress, died Saturday, February 11, 2012. She was 48.

According to news reports, Houston was found dead at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she was planning to attend a pre-Grammy Awards party hosted by music executive Clive Davis. Davis is credited with spotting Houston in a New York nightclub in the early 1980s, and signing her to a contract immediately.

The Grammys ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 12, at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Houston, who struggled with addiction problems over the years, reportedly sold more than 170 million albums, singles and videos over her acclaimed career. Milestones included seven straight Number 1 hits ranked by the music industry trade publication Billboard in the 1980s — including “Saving All My Love for You,” “Greatest Love of All” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go.”

Billboard also ranks Houston’s soundtrack to the movie The Bodyguard among the top 10 biggest-selling albums of all time. Houston also starred in the film opposite Kevin Costner. She also appeared in the film Waiting to Exhale.

Other notable songs included “How Will I Know” and “I’m So Emotional.”

At the time of her passing, Houston was scheduled to return to movies for the first time since the 1996 release The Preacher’s Wife with a role in Sparkle, a remake of the 1976 hit, based on the story of the Motown singing group the Supremes.

Houston, the daughter of singer Cissy Houston and cousin of singer Dionne Warwicke, was born August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey.

Houston made numerous television appearances on awards shows and variety shows, including the Grammys, American Music Awards, BET Honors, The X Factor and Dancing with the Stars. She was also a frequent guest on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show.

In 1986, she won a Primetime Emmy in the category of Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for the 28 Annual Grammy Awards.

In addition she received a Primetime Emmy nomination for the Fairy Godmother in the 1997 made-for-television movie Cinderella.

Other television credits included roles on the series Gimme a Break and Boston Legal, and credits as an executive producer of the television movies The Cheetah Girls and The Cheetah Girls 2.

In 2000, Houston earned her sixth Grammy for best female R&B performance and; in her career she earned 26 Grammy nominations. Also in 2000, she was named female artist of the decade at the Soul Train Music Awards.

Her career stalled, however, as she sought rehabilitation for drug and alcohol addiction.

Houston married singer Bobby Brown in 1992; they divorced in 2007. They had one child, daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, who was born March 4,1993.

Comprehensive obituaries are available at:

The New York Times

Associated Press

CNN

Browser Requirements
The TelevisionAcademy.com sites look and perform best when using a modern browser.

We suggest you use the latest version of any of these browsers:

Chrome
Firefox
Safari


Visiting the site with Internet Explorer or other browsers may not provide the best viewing experience.

Close Window