Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston was an American singer and actress whose church-rooted voice helped define late-20th-century pop and R&B. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she began performing professionally as a teenager before signing with Arista Records in 1983. Her 1985 self-titled debut established a run of landmark recordings, followed by seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 singles and the blockbuster soundtrack to *The Bodyguard*. Houston also appeared in *Waiting to Exhale* and *The Preacher’s Wife*, bringing gospel, soul and pop into a broad mainstream vocabulary. Her career included six Grammy wins, major humanitarian work and a 2020 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She died in Beverly Hills on February 11, 2012.

Origin

Newark, New Jersey, United States

Active

1977–2012