Quick Facts
| Net Worth | Not Known |
| Salary | Not Known |
| Height | Not Known |
| Date of Birth | Not Known |
| Profession | Musicians |
The music industry lost one of its most legendary stars when the late singer Whitney Houston died. She was the most awarded female act of all time according to the Guinness World Records. A lot had happened in the life of the late singer and even after her tragic death, her family faced a lot of travails including the death of her only child. You must be curious to know about the life of this legendary singer and find out the actual cause of her death, plus other details such as her married life, her husband, and daughter. Read this article to get an insight on the life and family life of the late singer.
Whitney Houston’s Bio
Whitney Houston was a popular American singer, model, actress, and producer. She was born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey to John Russell and Emily Cissy Houston who were both African Americans. She had an older brother named Michael, who is a singer and also a half-brother named Gary Garland, a former basketball player. Her father was an Army serviceman and an entertainment executive while her mother was a Gospel singer and was also the choir minister at the New Hope Baptist Church and that was where young Whitney started singing.
As a child, Whitney Houston was able to wow audiences with her voice. In 1978, at the age of 15, she sang at Carnegie Hall with her mother and was at the same time trying to get a record deal. Houston sang background vocals on Chaka Khan’s hit single titled “I’m Every Woman” which she later re-recorded and it turned into an even bigger hit on The Bodyguard soundtrack album.
Early Beginnings
She went into modeling after she was discovered by a photographer and soon she became an extremely sought-after teenage model making her the first black woman to appear on the cover of 17 magazines. Whitney appeared on pages of Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Young Miss, including having a role in the Canada Dry ginger ale TV Commercial. By the time she was 19, she was performing at nightclubs where her mother usually performs and will occasionally get on the stage to perform alongside her mother.
Her talents were picked up by the famous Clive Davis and she was signed on to his label – Arista Records. He saw to it that the little embers he saw were fanned to flames which burned so bright that the whole world saw and witnessed its light. She became one of the world’s best-selling music artist having sold over 170 million albums, singles, and videos worldwide. Her six studio albums, three movies soundtracks, and holiday album have been certified diamond, multi-platinum, platinum, and gold. Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive #1 Billboard Hot 100 hits.
Whitney founded a foundation called Whitney Houston Foundation for children. It was a non-profit organization that funds projects to help needy children all over the world especially children with cancer or HIV/AIDS. Her 2002 conversation with Diane Sawyer was the highest rated television interview in history. In an interview on show in September 2009, Whitney had admitted to having used drugs with her ex-husband, Bobby, during their marriage.
Who Was Her Husband?
Robert Barisford popularly called “Bobby Brown” was husband to Whitney Houston. He was one of the six children born to Carole Elizabeth, a substitute teacher, and Herbert James Brown, a construction worker. He was born on February 5, 1969, in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a singer, songwriter, actor, and dancer. Bobby Brown started his career in the music industry with an R&B and pop group called New Edition in 1978 but later left the group in 1985 and started a solo career. As a solo artist, Bobby had a number of hit singles and Grammy award-winning songs, including “Every Little Step” and “Two Can Play That Game”.
Bobby met Whitney in 1989 at the Soul Train Music Awards and they became friends thereafter. They began dating in 1991, got engaged in April 1992, and were married by July 18, 1992. Their marriage was not a romantic fairytale as it had its ups and down. There were periods of infidelity, domestic violence, and drug use. In September 2006, Whitney filed for a divorce which was finalized on April 24, 2007, with Whitney winning custody of their daughter who was fourteen years old at the time.
Who is Whitney Houston’s Daughter?
Bobbi Kristina Brown was the only daughter of the two performers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. She was born on March 4, 1993, in Livingston, New Jersey. Her godmother is the famous gospel artist, Cece Winans. Kristina appeared on the reality show Being Bobby Brown and has also featured in her mothers’ 2003 Christmas album titled “One Wish”. Kristina Brown was 14 years old when her parents divorced and she had to go stay with her mum who won custody of her. After the death of her mother, she inherited all of her mother’s estates and in October 2012 which was precisely eight months after the death of her mother, Kristina who was 18 years old then announced her engagement to Nick Gordon.
Nick was a close friend of the family and had lived with them since he was 12 years old which made Bobbi Kristina refer to him as her ‘big brother.’ Their engagement caused some uproar within the family and even her grandmother (Cissy Houston) had said the relationship was “incestuous”. In early 2014, Nick Gordon and Kristina Brown announced their marriage which Bobby Browns’ lawyer said never happened.
On January 31, 2015, Bobbi Kristina Brown was found unconscious in a bathtub in her Atlanta home, her state was a reminiscence of her mother’s death in a bathtub. She was found face down in the bathtub and was rushed to the hospital. She died in July 2015, after being in a coma for six months at the age of 22. And although an autopsy showed she had marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, and morphine in her blood, the examiners said they were not sure if what happened to her was accidental or intentional.
Nick Gordon was accused of being responsible for her death. The lawsuit filed against him claimed that he had lashed out at Kristina in a fit of jealousy on that fateful evening and had given her a toxic cocktail which knocked her out, allowing him to put her face down in her bathtub which was filled with cold water. The effect of that was that she contracted lobar pneumonia, according to the doctor’s report.
Her funeral service was held on August 1, 2015, at St. James United Methodist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia and two days later she was buried next to her mother at Fairview Cemetry in Westfield, New Jersey.
Cause of Death
Whitney Houston died at the age of forty-eight on February 11, 2012, in Los Angeles at Beverly Hilton Hotel in her guest room. She had drowned in her bathtub, completely naked. According to filed report, it was an accidental occurrence occasioned by her use of cocaine. A Grammy party was being held by Clive Davis at the hotel. Whitney was found lying face down in her bathtub. Upon discovery, the paramedics rushed her to the hospital where she was confirmed dead.
Quick Facts – Height, Net Worth
Name: Whitney Houston
Birthdate: August 9, 1963
Profession: Singer, Model, Actress
Horoscope: Leo
Spouse: Bobby Brown
Height: 5 ft 7 in
Net Worth: $20 million
Top 3 Richest Musicians
Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.
