Whitney Houston Biography
Singer Whitney Houston of the ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ and ‘The Greatest Love of All’ fame was originally born Whitney Elizabeth Houston on August 9 1963 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. Music ran in the Houston family so from the time she could talk Whitney started to sing along with her mother who worked as a musician. Here performances never extended beyond family events, entertainment spots and church gatherings but it was during one of these events that a talent scout noticed the young girl’s vocal capability and she approached her parents with an invitation to pursue recording. Whitney was ecstatic and she was taken up by Clive J Records on a producing deal.
At 22 she was on her way into history books as one of entertainment’s legends. ‘Whitney Houston’ went on air in 1985 and was closely followed by ‘Whitney’ in 1987. Both albums were well received and received a lot of praise and awards. As a black female artist she was admired by many as she represented the epitome of success and strength. Many young fans looked up to Whitney as a role model and upcoming artists, male and female, drew strength from the singer.
She however disappointed fans when rumours of an alleged drug problem began to surface. These were confirmed when she was caught in possession rolls of marijuana and was charged and locked up. Whitney’s career was on the turmoil as her health was greatly affected by the narcotics and she was on the brink of death. Her battle with the habit let to the sudden drop in a successful career but her songs were still played on radio.
After years she cleaned up and made a comeback with hits like ‘I Didn’t Know My Own Strength’ and ‘I Look To You’ in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Both songs were from her 2009 I Look To You album and they went multi-platinum after topping billboard charts in the US and UK. She scooped the BET Honours Award for Entertainer and also won the Best Music Video at the 2010 NAACP Image Awards.
The star also acts and she has had roles in Cinderella, The Preacher’s Wife, Waiting to Exhale, The Bodyguard and How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Whitney owns Brownhouse Productions, a production company that has produced several films and soundtracks to Waiting To Exhale.
Whitney is a strong supporter of children’s rights and she has raised millions for the cause as well as supporting child victims of HIV/AIDS.
Throughout her career Whitney has worked with big musical names like Stevie Wonder, Bobby Brown, Aretha Franklin, Cece Winans and Mariah Carey. She is ranked among the big league performers of all time and her music is timeless.
She has received a record number of nominations for her works and her entry into the Guinness World book of Records was attributed to this plus her album sales running close to 200 million. In the course of her music and acting career she has scooped a whopping 411 awards including Emmy, Golden Globe, BET, MTV, Billboard and Grammy Awards.
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