Whitney Houston Full Biography

Biography

Whitney Elisabeth Houston was born on August 9, 1963 and she is the third and youngest child of John and gospel singer Cissy Houston.

Whitney’s middle name is her grandmother’s name.

From early years she had music and singing around her and started singin the the church where her mother worked as choirmaster.  At the age of 7 Whitney told her mother she wanted to be a singer.

As a singer she is one of the master voices in the world and holds many awards.

Her acting carrier started with the film The Bodyguard in 1992.

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown were married on July 18, 1992.

On March 5, 1993 Whitney gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown, who can be heard with her mother on the title track to “My Love Is Your Love” and on “Little Drummer Boy” from “One Wish – The Holiday Album“.

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Early life:

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Whitney’s mother, Emily Drinkard (nickname Cissy), was born in 1933 in Newark.

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John Houston was his wife’s manager when Cissy was out on the road, and when their daughter, Whitney Elizabeth, was born, it was John who stayed at home to watch  her. “He was Mom’s support network while she was out on tour,” said Whitney, in tribute to her father.  “He changed diapers, cooked, did my hair and dressed me, all the while providing Mom with advice and answers.

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After the 1967 Newark riots, the family moved to a middle class area in East Orange, New Jersey when she was four.

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With her mother being a gospel and blues singer, a cousin of the even more renowned singer Dionne Warwick, and godmother Aretha Franklin young Whitney grew up steeped in music, and it was only a matter of time before Whitney realized that music was in her blood.  From the moment Whitney Houston first opened her mouth to sing, it was obvious that she was bound for greatness. And her family also provided the security and support she needed to become an international star.

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It is clear that Whitney and her family have always been close, and are able to rely on each other for support.  That relationship has given Whitney Houston a famously unshakeable self-confidence, which is very much a part of her personality.  And as famous as she is, Whitney always seems down to earth, because her simple family background and Christian faith remind her of her ordinary roots.

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Houston was raised a Baptist, but was also exposed to the Pentecostal church.

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At the age of eleven, Houston began to follow in her mothers footsteps and started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choirat the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano.  But at that age it was readily apparent that hanging in the background wasn’t in the cards for her. Her first solo performance in the church was “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”.  When Whitney took center stage one evening to sing a solo, the power of her performance moved many in the congregation to tears.

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Despite her shrinking-violet tendencies, Houston’s combination of exceptional beauty and her stunning, church-inflected soprano propelled her into the spotlight.  Blessed with a sublimely creamy, agile voice and picture-perfect looks, she delivered the sort of buoyant dance tunes and smooth, hummable ballads that are equally at home on the pop, R&B, and Adult Contemporary charts.

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When Houston was a teenager, her parents divorced and she continued to live with her mother. She attended a Roman Catholic single-sex high school, Mount Saint Dominic Academy, where she met her best friend Robyn Crawford, whom she describes as the “sister she never had.” While Houston was still in school, her mother continued to teach her how to sing. In addition to her mother, Franklin, and Warwick, Houston was also exposed to the music of Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Roberta Flack, most of which would have an impact on her as a singer and performer.

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Early career: 1977–1984

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Houston spent some of her teenage years touring stripclubs with her mother while Cissy was performing, and she would occasionally get on stage and perform with her mother. In 1977, at age fourteen, she was the featured lead vocalist on the Michael Zager Band‘s single “Life’s a Party”.  Zager subsequently offered to help obtain a recording contract for the young singer, but Cissy declined, wanting her daughter to finish school first.

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Then in 1978, at age fifteen, Houston sang background vocals on Chaka Khan’s hit single “I’m Every Woman“, a song she would later turn into a hit for herself on her monstrous-selling soundtrack album The Bodyguard.  She also would sing back-up on albums by Lou Rawls and Jermaine Jackson.

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In the early 1980′s, Houston then started working as a fashion model after a photographer saw her at Carnegie Hall singing with her mother.  A sleek and exotic-looking young woman, Houston dabbled successfully in teen modeling, gracing the covers of such magazines as Seventeen and Glamour. At the same time, she studied acting and dancing, appeared in television commercials and sitcoms, and made occasional singing dates. But these diversions were mere warm-up exercises for the singing career she was destined for.

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She appeared in Seventeen Magazine and became one of the first women of color to grace the cover of Seventeen magazine. She also appeared in a Canada Dry soft drink commercial. While modeling, she continued her burgeoning recording career by working with producers Michael Bienhorn, Bill Laswell and Martin Bisi on an album they were spearheading called One Down, which was credited to the group Material. For that project, Houston contributed the ballad “Memories”. Robert Christgau of the The Village Voice called her contribution “one of the most gorgeous ballads you’ve ever heard”.

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Adequate preparation for her inevitable rise to global pop superstardom was the ultimate concern of Houston and her family, and several weeks after her 18th birthday she signed a management contract with Gene Harvey. Under his guidance, Houston continued her modeling career, took more acting and dancing classes, and worked on her voice.

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Houston had previously been offered several recording agencies (Michael Zager in 1980 and Elektra Records in 1981).

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Houston’s first recording as a featured vocalist was with Bill Laswell’s experimental jazz-funk ensemble Material; their 1982 album One Down placed Houston alongside such unlikely avant-gardists as Archie Shepp and Fred Frith.

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In 1983, Gerry Griffith, an A&R representative from Arista Records, saw her performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed.  He convinced Clive Davis, Arista’s label head, to take time to see Houston perform.  Davis too was impressed after the performance and offered her a worldwide recording contract, which Houston signed.  Later that year, she made her national televised debut alongside Davis on the The Merv Griffin Show.

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Houston signed with Arista in 1983 but did not begin work on her album immediately. After a couple of years spent developing her vocal virtuosity and making industry contacts, Houston was ready for the big time.  Arista put forth the deal to make sure no other label signed the singer from under them.  Davis wanted to find the right material and right producers for Houston’s debut album.  Some producers were not deemed right by the label, others had to pass on the project due to prior commitments.

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Her first single appearance was a duet with Teddy Pendergrass, “Hold Me,”  which appeared on his album, Love Language.  The single, released in 1984, gave Houston her first taste of success, becoming a Top 5 R&B hit.  It would also appear on her debut album when released in 1985.

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Rise to prominence: 1985–1986

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“Whitney Houston“ was her debut album produced by Arista Records.  She received her first Grammy Award for one of the number one songs on the album, “Saving All My Love for You.”  She spent the next two years touring in support of the album.

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After the dance-funk single “Someone For Me” failed to chart in both the US and UK, the album initially sold modestly and failed to make an impact.  The plan was to first appeal to a black audience, hence the release of the next single, the soulful ballad “You Give Good Love“, which peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 while going #1 on the R&B Charts.  As a result, the album began selling and climbing the charts while Houston continued promoting the album touring night clubs in the US.  With success on the R&B Charts, Davis wanted Houston to crossover to a broader audience.

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She began performing on popular night shows that usually weren’t open to many black acts.  She was now an opening act for singer Jeffrey Osborne on his nationwide tour.  At the time, MTV had received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by African American artists while favoring rock acts.

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The next single, “How Will I Know“, peaked at #1 and would introduce Houston to the MTV audience thanks to its video.  This would make the singer one of the first African American female artists to receive heavy rotation on the network.

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By 1986, a year after its initial release, Whitney Houston topped the Billboard 200 album chart and stayed there for 14 consecutive weeks.  The final single, “Greatest Love of All,” became Houston’s biggest hit at the time after peaking #1 and remaining there for three weeks.  Houston had established a cross-over base and was now able to headline her own tour thus embarking on her Greatest Love Tour.  The album had become an international success, selling over fourteen million copies in the United States alone (certified diamond) and becoming the best-selling debut album of all time by a female artist.  To date, the album has sold over 30 million copies worldwide.

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At the 1986 Grammy Awards ceremony, Houston was nominated for three awards including Album of the Year.  She was ineligible for the Best New Artist category due to her previous duet recording with Teddy Pendergrass in 1984.  She won her first Grammy award for“Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female ” for “Saving All My Love for You”.  At the same award show she also performed that Grammy-winning hit; the performance later won her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.

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Whitney’s two older brothers, Michael and Gary, have both helped her in her career with business and music respectively.  Michael became her production manager on tour, arranging everything from the lighting hire to the catering crew, while Gary joined her as a singer, performing duets and backing vocals with his sister on stage.

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Houston won seven American Music Awards in 1986, and an MTV Video Music Award. The album’s popularity would also carry over to the 1987 Grammy Awards when “Greatest Love of All” would receive a Record of the Year nomination.

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Houston’s debut is currently listed as one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and on The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’s Definitive 200 list.

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Whitney Houston’s grand entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to USA Today.  Following Houston’s breakthrough, other African-American female artists such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker were able to find notable success in popular music.   By the end of the 80′s she had a string of number one hits and was one of MTV’s biggest stars.

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Throughout the 80′s, Houston was romantically linked to American football star Randall Cunningham and actor Eddie Murphy, whom she dated.

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Continued success: 1987–1991

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Houston’s second album, “Whitney“, was released in June 1987 and was the first album by a female artist to enter the charts at number one. The album featured production from Masser, Kashif and Walden again, as well as Jellybean Benitez. Many critics complained that the material was too similar to her previous album.  Rolling Stone said, “the narrow channel through which this talent has been directed is frustrating,” while The New York Times called the album “an impressive, musically conservative showcase for an exceptional vocal talent.”   Still, the album was an enormous success.

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Houston became the first female artist in music history to debut at number one on the US and UK album chart while also hitting number-one in several other countries around the world. The album’s first four singles, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)“, “Didn’t We Almost Have It All“, “So Emotional“, and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” all peaked at number one on the US Hot 100, which gave her a total of seven consecutive number-one hits, thus breaking the record of six previously shared by The Beatles and The Bee Gees.

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The album’s fifth, and final single, “Love Will Save the Day” also became a Top 10 hit on the Hot 100. Whitney has been certified diamond in the US for sales of over ten million copies. This makes her the first and only female artist in music history to reach the diamond certification in the US each with her first two albums. To date, the album has sold approximately 25 million copies worldwide.

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At the Grammy Awards in 1988, Houston was nominated for three awards including Album of the Year, winning her second Grammy for ‘Best Female Pop Vocal Performance’ for “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)”.

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Following the release of the album, Houston embarked on the Moment of Truth World Tour which was one of the ten highest grossing concert tours of 1987. The success of the tour and Houston’s albums helped make her one of the top 10 highest earning entertainers according to Forbes Magazine. She was the highest earning African-American woman and the second highest entertainer after Bill Cosby. The list included her concert grosses during 1986 and 1987.

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Houston was a supporter of Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid movement. During her modeling days, the singer refused to work with any agencies who did business with a then apartheid South Africa. In June 1988, during the European leg of her tour, Houston joined other musicians to perform a set at Wembley Stadium in London to celebrate a then imprisoned Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday.  Over 72,000 people filled Wembley Stadium, and over a billion people tuned in worldwide as the rock concert raised over $1 million for charities while bringing awareness to apartheid.

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Houston then flew back to the US for a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was a benefit concert that helped raise over $300 million to the United Negro College Fund.

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In the same year, she recorded a song for NBC’s coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics, “One Moment in Time“,which became a Top 5 hit in the U.S., while reaching number one in the UK and Germany. With her current world tour continuing overseas, Houston was still one of the top 10 highest earning entertainers for 1988-1989 according to Forbes.

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In 1989, Houston formed The Whitney Houston Foundation For Children, a non-profit organization that has raised funds for the needs of children around the world. The organization cares for homelessness, children with cancer and AIDS, and other issues of self-empowerment.

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With the success of her first two albums, Houston was undoubtedly an international crossover superstar, the biggest since Michael Jackson, appealing to all demographics. However, some black critics complained that she was selling out. They noted that her singing on record lacked the soul that was present during her live concerts.

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At the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards, when Houston’s name was called out for a nomination, a few in the audience jeered.  Houston defended herself against the criticism, stating “if you’re gonna have a long career, there’s a certain way to do it, and I did it that way. I’m not ashamed of it.”

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She met R&B singer Bobby Brown (formerly of New Edition) at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards.  After a three year courtship, the two were married on July 18, 1992.  Nearly a year later, Houston gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown, her first child, his fourth, on 5 March 1993.

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Houston returned with her third album, “I’m Your Baby Tonight“, released in November 1990; a more urban-sounding, R&B-oriented record, it immediately spun off two number one hits in the title track and “All the Man That I Need.”  But the quality of the material was generally viewed as, overall, much weaker than her previous efforts, and following those two hits, sales of the album tapered off quickly, halting around four million copies.  She produced and chose producers for this project and as a result, it featured production and collaborations with L.A. Reid and Babyface, Luther Vandross, and Stevie Wonder. The album showed Houston’s versatility on a new batch of tough rhythmic grooves, soulful ballads and up-tempo dance tracks.  Reviews were mixed. Rolling Stone felt it was her “best and most integrated album” while Entertainment Weekly, called Houston’s shift towards an urban direction “superficial”.

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The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and went on to be certified four times platinum in America while selling ten million total worldwide. The first two singles, the new jack swing “I’m Your Baby Tonight” and the gospel-tinged “All The Man That I Need“, each hit number one on both the Hot 100 and R&B singles charts.

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The third and fourth singles, “Miracle“; and “My Name Is Not Susan” peaked at numbers nine and twenty, respectively.

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A fifth single, “I Belong to You“, peaked in the Top 10 on the R&B charts, while yet a sixth single, the duet with Stevie Wonder entitled, “We Didn’t Know“, made the R&B Top 20.

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Houston performed “The Star Spangled Banner” at the twentyfifth Super Bowl  in January 1991. VH1 listed the performance as the 12th greatest moment that rocked tv. Her recording of the song was released as a commercial single, reaching the Top 20 on the US Hot 100 making her the only act to turn the national anthem into a pop hit. Houston donated her share of the proceeds to the Red Cross. As a result, the singer was named to the Red Cross Board of Governors for her efforts.

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That same year, Houston put together her Welcome Home Heroes concert with HBO for the soldiers fighting in the Gulf War and their families. The free concert took place at the Norfolk Air Force Base in Norfolk, Virginia in front of 3,500 people. HBO descrambled the concert so that it was free for everyone the watch. Houston’s concert gave HBO its highest ratings ever.  She then embarked on the I’m Your Baby Tonight World Tour, but it didn’t sell out as much as her previous tours.

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With the huge success of her first two albums, movie offers came from Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones, and Spike Lee, though she felt the time wasn’t right.

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The Bodyguard: 1992-1994
Performing in Johannesburg, 1994

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Houston’s first film role was in “The Bodyguard“, released in 1992 and co-starring Kevin Costner. Houston plays Rachel Marron, a star who is stalked by a crazed fan and hires a bodyguard to protect her. The film was successful at the box office, grossing more than $121 million in the U.S. and $410 million worldwide thanks in large to the success of Houston’s soundtrack to the film. It is currently among the top 100 highest grossing films worldwide and USA Today listed it as one of the 25 most memorable movie moments of the last 25 years. The movie is also notable for not mentioning or explaining its interracial aspect. Houston’s mainstream appeal allowed people to look at the movie color-blind. Still, controversy arose as some felt the film’s ads intentionally hid Houston’s face to hide the film’s interracial aspect.

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In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine in 1993, the singer commented that “people know who Whitney Houston is—I’m black. You can’t hide that fact.” Despite the film’s success, the reviews were mixed, and Houston received a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress. The Washington Post said Houston is “doing nothing more than playing Houston, comes out largely unscathed if that is possible in so cockamamie an undertaking” and The New York Times said she lacked passion with her co-star.

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The film’s soundtrack was also a worldwide success. Houston executive produced and contributed six songs for the motion picture’s adjoining soundtrack album. It featured production from David Foster. Entertainment Weekly said the two cover songs are “artistically satisfying”. Rolling Stone said it is “nothing more than pleasant, tasteful and urbane”.

The soundtrack’s lead single was “I Will Always Love You“, written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1974 .

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Some, including Foster and radio programers, were skeptical that the song would fare well at radio due to Houston’s a capella intro. Still, the record company took the risk and released it as the first single and it became a massive international hit. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks, number one on the R&B chart for a then-record-breaking 11 weeks, and number one on the Adult Contemporary charts for five weeks.  This allowed to become the first single to top those three charts simultaneously for five weeks. The song also hit  number-one in nearly every other country worldwide.

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The single itself has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide,  making it the best selling single by a female artist.

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The soundtrack debuted at #1 and remained there for twenty non-consecutive weeks and became one of the fastest selling albums ever. At one point the soundtrack sold over a million copies in a week, becoming the first album to do so. With the follow-up singles “I’m Every Woman“, a Chaka Khan cover, and “I Have Nothing” both peaking in the top five, Houston became the first female artist to ever have three singles in the Top 20 simultaneously.

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The album was certified 17x platinum and double diamond in the United States with worldwide sales of forty-two million, and is the top selling soundtrack album ever, and the 3rd overall best selling album in history, after Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and AC/DC’s “Back In Black”. Houston won three Grammys for the album, including two of the Academy’s highest honors, Album of the Year and Record of the Year.

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In addition, Houston won 8 American Music Awards, including the Award of Merit, and a BRIT award. Following the success of the project, Houston embarked on another expansive global tour in 1993 and 1994. Her concerts, movie, and recording grosses made her the third highest earning female entertainer of 1993-1994, just behind Oprah Winfrey and Barbra Streisand according to Forbes.

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Houston finished fifth in Entertainment Weekly’s annual “Entertainer of the Year” ranking and according to Premier Magazine, Houston was one of the 100 most powerful people in Hollywood.

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Singer Whitney Houston is the star performer for entertainment following the Nelson Mandela dinner at the White House.

Houston was invited to perform at a state dinner on novemer 11th 1994 at the White House honoring newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela.At the end of her world tour, Houston performed three concerts in South Africa to honor President Mandela, playing to over 200,000 people. This would make the singer the first major musician to visit the newly unified and apartheid free nation following Mandela’s winning election.The event was considered the nation’s “biggest media event since the inauguration of Nelson Mandela”.

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Continued Hollywood success: 1995-1997

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In 1995, Houston starred alongside Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon in her second film “Waiting to Exhale“; a motion picture about four African-American women struggling with relationships. Houston plays the lead character Savannah Jackson, a TV producer in love with a married man.  She chose the role because she saw the film as “a breakthrough for the image of black women because it presents them both as professionals and as caring mothers”.

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Exhale became something of a phenomenon, as did its Whitney-heavy soundtrack.

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The movie and its soundtrack struck a chord with African Americans and is considered a cultural classic. After opening at #1 and grossing $67 million in the US at the box office and $82 million worldwide, it proved that a movie primarily targeting a black audience can cross over to success, while paving the way for other all-black movies such as How Stella Got Her Groove Back and the Tyler Perry movies that have become popular in the 2000′s. The film is also notable for its portrayal of black women as strong middle class citizens as oppose to stereotypes.

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The reviews were mainly positive for the ensemble cast. The New York Times said “Ms. Houston has shed the defensive hauteur that made her portrayal of a pop star in “The Bodyguard” seem so distant.”  Houston was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture, but lost to her co-star Basset.

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Like Houston’s previous project, the film’s accompanying soundtrack was also a huge hit. Houston co-produced, with Babyface, the critically acclaimed cultural phenomenon

“Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album“. Though Babyface originally wanted Houston to record the entire album, she declined. Instead, she “wanted it to be an album of women with vocal distinction”, and thus gathered several African-American female artists for the soundtrack, to go along with the film’s strong women message.

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As a result, the album featured a range of contemporary R&B female recording artists along with Houston, such as Mary J Blige, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, and Brandy. Houston’s “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” peaked at #1, and then spent a record eleven weeks at the #2 spot and eight weeks on top of the R&B Charts. “Count On Me“, a duet with Cece Winans, hit the US Top 10; and Houston’s third contribution, “Why Does It Hurt So Bad“, made the Top 30. The album debuted at #1, has since been certified 7x platinum in America, and has sold thirteen million copies worldwide, according to her official site.

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The soundtrack received strong reviews.  Entertainment Weekly said “the album goes down easy, just as you’d expect from a package framed by Whitney Houston tracks….the soundtrack waits to exhale, hovering in sensuous suspense” and has since ranked it as one of the 100 Best Movie Soundtracks.  Newsday called it “the most significant R&B record of the decade.”

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Later that year, Houston’s children’s charity organization was awarded a VH1 Honor for all the charitable work.

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Houston’s next career move was to attempt to duplicate the success of the movie/soundtrack combination of  The Bodyguard with 1995′s black-female friendship film Waiting to Exhale, in which the singer costarred alongside Angela Bassett. The movie was popular with audiences, and resulted in a few more hit singles for Houston, most notably “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” (Number One pop and R&B) and a duet with CeCe Winans, “Count on Me” (Number Eight pop, Number Seven R&B, 1996).

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In 1996, Houston starred in the holiday comedy “The Preacher’s Wife,” with Denzel Washington.  She plays a gospel-singing wife of a reverend. Houston earned $10 million for the role, making her one of the highest paid actress in Hollywood at the time and the highest earning African American actress in Hollywood.  The movie, with its all African-American cast, was a moderate success, earning approximately $50 million at the U.S. box offices.

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The movie gave Houston her strongest reviews so far. The San Francisco Chronicle said Houston “is rather angelic herself, displaying a divine talent for being virtuous and flirtatious at the same time” and that she “exudes gentle yet spirited warmth, especially when praising the Lord in her gorgeous singing voice.”  Houston was again nominated for an NAACP Image Award and won for Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture.

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Houston recorded and co-produced, with Mervyn Warren, the film’s accompanying gospel soundtrack. “The Preacher’s Wife: Original Soundtrack Album” included six gospel songs with Georgia Mass Choir that were recorded at the Great Star Rising Baptist Church in Atlanta. Houston also duetted with gospel legend Shirley Caesar. The album sold six million copies worldwide and scored hit singles with “I Believe in You and Me” and “Step by Step“, becoming the largest selling gospel album of all time. The album received mainly positive reviews.  Some critics, like USA Today, noted the presence of her emotional depth, while The UK Times said “To hear Houston going at full throttle with the 35 piece Georgia Mass Choir struggling to keep up is to realise what her phenomenal voice was made for.”

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In 1997, Houston’s production company changed it’s name to BrownHouse Productions and was joined by Debra Martin Chase. Their goal was “to show aspects of the lives of African-Americans that have not been brought to the screen before” while improving how African-Americans are portrayed in film and television. Their first project was a made-for-television

remake of “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella.” In addition to co-producing, Houston starred in the movie as the Fairy Godmother along with Brandy, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, and Bernadette Peters.  Houston was initially offered the role of Cinderella in 1993, but other projects intervened.

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The film is notable for its multi-racial cast and nonstereotypical message.  An estimated 60 million viewers tuned into the special giving ABC its highest TV ratings in 16 years. The movie received seven Emmy nominations including Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy, while winning Outstanding Art Direction in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Special.

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Houston and Chase then obtained the rights to the story of Dorothy Dandridge. Houston was to play Dandridge, who was the first African American actress to be nominated for an Oscar. She wanted the story told with dignity and honor. However, Halle Berry also had rights to the project and she got her version going first.  Later that year, Houston paid tribute to her idols such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Billie Holliday by performing their hits during the three night HBO Concert Classic Whitney, live from Washington, D.C.. The special raised over $300,000 for the Children’s Defense Fund.

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Back to the studio: 1998–2000

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After spending much of the early and mid 1990′s working on motion pictures and their adjacent soundtrack albums, Houston’s first studio album in eight years, the critically acclaimed

“My Love Is Your Love,” was released in November 1998. Though originally slated to be a greatest hits album with a handful of new songs, recording sessions were so fruitful, enough material was produced for a new full-length studio album. Recorded and mixed in only six weeks, it featured production from Rodney Jerkins, Wyclef Jean and Missy Elliott. The album had a more funkier and edgier sound than past releases and saw Houston handling urban dance, hip hop, reggae, mid-tempo R&B, torch songs, and ballads all with great dexterity.

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The album’s first single, “When You Believe” (a duet with Mariah Carey for 1998s The Prince of Egypt soundtrack), became an international hit as it peaked in the Top 10 in several countries, the Top 20 in the US and won an Academy Award, while the album debuted at #13. The next three singles would all reach the Top Five. “Heartbreak Hotel“, which featured Faith Evans and Kelly Price reached number 2 on the Hot 100, while topping the R&B chart for seven weeks. “It’s Not Right but It’s Okay“, which won Houston her sixth Grammy Award; and “My Love Is Your Love” both reached number four and also became international hits as did the previous two singles.

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The album’s fifth single, “I Learned from the Best“, became a moderate hit, peaking at number twenty-seven. All singles, except “When You Believe“, also became number one hits on the U.S. Dance/Clubplay Chart. The album went on to be certified four times platinum in the U.S., with worldwide sales of ten million. The album gave Houston some of her strongest reviews ever. Rolling Stone said Houston was singing “with a bite in her voice” and The Village Voice called it “Whitney’s sharpest and most satisfying so far”. In 1999, Houston participated in VH-1′s Divas’ Live ’99, alongside Mary J. Blige, Tina Turner, Cher. The same year, Houston hit the road with her 70 date My Love Is Your Love worldwide tour. The European leg was Europe’s highest grossing arena tour of the year.

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In April 2000, “Whitney: The Greatest Hits“ was released. The double disc set peaked at number five in America and reached number one on the UK chart. While the ballads were left unchanged, the album is notable for featuring house/club remixes of many of Houston’s up-tempo hits, in place of their original version. Also included on the album were four new songs: “Could I Have This Kiss Forever” (a duet with Enrique Iglesias), “Same Script, Different Cast” (a duet with Deborah Cox), “If I Told You That” (a duet with George Michael), and “Fine“, all of which failed to crack the US Top 40, but were hits in the UK and several European countries. Along with the album, an accompanying DVD was also released of the music videos to Houston’s greatest hits. The greatest hits album was certified triple platinum in the U.S., with worldwide sales of ten million.

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Houston and Chase, along with Warner Brothers, were then set to produce a remake of the 1976 film Sparkle about a 1960s singing group of three sisters in Harlem. Aaliyah, who was to star in the remake, was killed in a plane crash in 2001 before production began.

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Personal and professional struggles: 2000–2005

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Though Houston was seen as a good girl with a perfect image in the 80′s and early 90′s, during the late 90′s many noted a change in her behavior.  She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots, rehearsals, while cancelling concerts and talk-show appearances.  With the missed performances and weight loss, people began to wonder if something was wrong, and rumors began of drug use with her husband.

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On January 11, 2000, airport security discovered marijuana in both Houston’s and husband Bobby Brown’s luggage at a Hawaiian airport, but the two boarded the plane and departed before authorities could arrive.  Charges were later dropped against her and Brown but rumors of drug usage among the couple would continue to surface.

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Two months later, Clive Davis was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  Houston had been scheduled to perform at the event, but did not attend.  Shortly after, Houston was scheduled to perform at the Academy Awards but was fired from the event by musical director and long time friend Burt Bacharach.  Though her publicist cited throat problems as the reason for the cancellation, many speculated it was drugs.

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In Steve Pond’s book “The Big Show: High Times And Dirty Dealings Backstage At The Academy Awards”, it was revealed that “Houston’s voice was shaky, she seemed distracted and jittery, and her attitude was casual, almost defiant” and that while Houston was to sing “Over The Rainbow”, she would start singing a different song.  Houston herself would later admit to being fired.

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Later that year, Houston’s long time executive assistant and best friend Robyn Crawford resigned from Houston’s management company.

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In August 2001, Houston signed the biggest record deal in music history with Arista/BMG. She renewed her contract for $100 million to deliver six new albums, on which she would also earn royalties. She later made an appearance at Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special.  Her shockingly thin frame further spurred rumors of drug use.  Her publicist said “Whitney has been under stress due to family matters, and when she is under stress she doesn’t eat.”  The singer was scheduled for a second performance the following night but canceled.  Within weeks, Houston’s rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” would be re-released after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  The song peaked at # 6 this time on the US Hot 100.  Houston would donate her portion of the proceeds.

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In 2002, Houston became involved in a legal dispute with John Houston Enterprise. Although the company was started by her father to manage her career, it was now actually run by company president Kevin Skinner.  He filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit and sued for $100 million (but lost), stating that Houston owed his company previously unpaid compensation for helping to negotiate her $100 million contract with Arista Records and for sorting out legal matters.  Houston claimed that her 81 year old father had nothing to do with the lawsuit, it was Skinner.  Although Skinner tried to claim otherwise, John Houston was never at any court appearances.  The lawsuit was dismissed on April 5, 2004, and Skinner was awarded nothing.

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Houston’s father was ill at the time, and died in February 2003.

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Also in 2002, Houston did an interview with Diane Sawyer to support her upcoming album.  During the prime time special, Houston spoke on various topics including rumored drug use, and marriage.  She was asked about the ongoing drug rumors and replied “First of all, let’s get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack.  Let’s get that straight. Okay? We don’t do crack. We don’t do that. Crack is wack.”  The line would become infamous.  Houston, to her credit, admitted to using various substances at times.

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In December 2002, Houston released her fifth studio album, “Just Whitney“. The album included productions from then-husband Bobby Brown, as well as Missy Elliott, and Babyface, while marking the first time Houston did not produce with Clive Davis.  It received mixed reviews upon release.  Rolling Stone said the album “only shows an artist vainly trying to reach for what her future once could have been” while The San Francisco Chronicle said the album actually does “show signs of life, but not enough to declare a resurrection.”

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The album had an impressive debut at #9 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with the highest opening week sales of any album she had ever released. However, all of the singles, “Whatchulookinat“, “One of Those Days“, and “Try It on My Own” failed to reach the top forty on the Hot 100 (they would see somewhat better performance on the R&B Chart.)  All three singles (along with “Love That Man“) would also become hits on the US Dance/Clubplay Chart with three of the four hitting #1 on that chart.  Just Whitney would be certified platinum in the US and have cumulative worldwide sales of over three million, and would be Houston’s lowest sales of any commercial studio album.

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In late 2003, Houston released “One Wish: The Holiday Album“, a specialty album of traditional Christmas songs.  Houston produced the album with Gorden Chambers and Mervyn Warren. The album received good reviews (The New York Times praised the “lavish swoops, the sultry whispers, the gospelly asides and the meteoric crescendos.”) The single “One Wish (for Christmas)” reached the Top 20 on the Adult Contemporary Chart as the album sold approximately 400,000 copies in the US.  The Christmas album eventually became certified gold in the US, and sold over one million copies worldwide.

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Houston spent most of 2004 touring Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Russia.  In September 2004, she gave a surprise performance at the World Music Awards, in tribute to long time friend Clive Davis.  Houston received a thunderous standing ovation for her performance.  After the show, Davis and Houston announced plans to go into studio to work on her new album.  However, no album was released.

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In early 2004, Whitney’s husband Bobby Brown starred in his own reality TV program Being Bobby Brown (on the Bravo network), which provided a view into the domestic goings-on in the Brown household.  Though it was Brown’s vehicle, Houston was a prominent figure throughout the show.  The series, which aired in 2005, featured Houston at, what some say, her lowest moments and many wondered why she took part in it.  The Hollywood Reporter said it was “undoubtedly the most disgusting and execrable series ever to ooze its way onto television”.   Despite the perceived train wreck nature of the show, it gave Bravo its highest ratings in its time slot.  The show was not renewed for a second season after Houston stated she would no longer appear in the show, and Brown and Bravo could not come to an agreement for another season.

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New beginnings: 2006–present

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Whitney Houston separated from Bobby Brown in September 2006 following trips to rehab.  The following month, on October 16, 2006, Houston filed for divorce from Brown.  On February 1, 2007, Houston asked the court to fast track their divorce.  The divorce became finalized on April 24, 2007, with Houston granted custody of the couple’s daughter.

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In May 2007, Brown sued Houston in Orange County, California court in an attempt to change the terms of their custody agreement.  Brown also sought child and spousal support from Houston.  In the lawsuit, Brown claimed that financial and emotional problems prevented him from properly responding to Houston’s divorce petition.  Brown lost at his court hearing as the judge dismissed his appeal to overrule the custody terms, leaving Houston with full custody and Brown with no spousal support.

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In March 2007, Clive Davis announced that the singer would be heading into the studio to record her first studio album in 4 years.  Though the release date and title are yet to be determined, reported producers include will.i.am, Ne-Yo, and John Legend among others.  In the meantime, Arista Records released The Ultimate Collection in October 2007.  The compilation included all of Houston’s hit singles on one CD, and also included a bonus DVD of music videos.  It peaked at #3 in the UK.  The compilation was not released in the U.S but has gone on to sell over 4 million copies worldwide.

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Whitney Houston performed at Clive Davis’s “Pre-Grammy Gala” in February 2009.  She performed a four-song set and despite Clive Davis stating she would perform tracks from her upcoming album, she belted out her classic hits, “I Will Always Love You“, “I Believe In You And Me“, “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay” and closing the set with a rousing version of  “I’m Every Woman“. Onlookers included Paul McCartney, Jamie Foxx, Antonio Banderas, Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Hudson, Faith Evans, Fantasia and Barry Manilow.

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Clive Davis announced at rehearsals for the event that Houston will be recording a song called “I Didn’t Know My Own  Strength” with David Foster in the near future.

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Quick overview:

1963

She was born in Newark, New Jersey. (August 9)

1974

She began singing in the gospel choir at her church.

1968

Her parents divorced.

1985

She signed a record contract with Arista Records.; WHITNEY HOUSTON – album

1987

WHITNEY – album

1990

I’M YOUR BABY TONIGHT – album; She sang the “Star Spangled Banner” and the Super Bowl.

1992

She married R&B artist, Bobby Brown.; THE BODYGUARD – film

1993

Her daughter, Bobbie Cristina, was born.

1995

WAITING TO EXHALE – film

1996

THE PREACHER’S WIFE – film

1997

SCRATCH THE SURFACE -film; CINDERELLA – television movie

1998

MY LOVE IS YOUR LOVE – album

1999

ANYTHING FOR LOVE – film

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Nominations:

# Was nominated for Emmy Award in 2000 for Favorite Song from a Movie (Internet Only) for THE PRINCE OF EGYPT

# Nominated for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special at Emmy Awards for CINDERELLA (1998)

# Nominated for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television at Grammy Awards for WAITING TO EXHALE (1997) – for Count On Me

# Nominated for Best Movie Song t MTV Movie Awards for WAITING TO EXHALE (1996) – for Exhale (Shoop Shoop)

# Nominated for Best On-Screen Duo at MTV Movie Awards for THE BODYGUARD (1993) – shared with Kevin Costner

# Nominated for Best Breakthrough Performance at MTV Movie Awards for THE BODYGUARD (1993)

# Nominated for Best Female Performance at MTV Movie Awards for THE BODYGUARD (1993)

# MTV MOVIE AWARDS – NOMINATED & WON

1993 Best Song – I Will Always Love You

1993 Best Female Performance – The Bodyguard

1993 Best On Screen Couple – Whitney Houston & Kevin Costner

1993 Breakthrough Performance – The Bodyguard

1996 1996 Best Song From A Movie – Exhale (Shoop, Shoop) edit »

# MTV AWARDS – NOMINATED & WON

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