Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9, 1963) is an American pop, R&B, Soprano soul/gospel singer, songwriter, record producer, film producer and actress. She is one of the most successful and popular singers of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.Her style of singing has influenced artists such as Kelly Price, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, and Deborah Cox among others. She is a touring singer, having conducted numerous worldwide tours in her career and sings live in concert as well as in televised events. She is one of the few musical acts in history to have sold over 100 million albums, not counting singles as most acts do to boost their sales figure. This 100 million milestone is especially notable in that she achieved it on relatively few releases. She is also one of a handful of Black artists to receive heavy rotation on early MTV in the 1980's and her success, along with that of other 80's artists such as Michael Jackson, Prince (artist), and Janet Jackson, undoubtly opened the door for the network to air more videos by Black artists starting in the 1990's. Whitney has won twenty-one American Music Awards, a record for a solo artist, and six Grammys.

Houston was born in East Orange, New Jersey. Whitney's mother (Cissy Houston), first cousin (Dionne Warwick) and godmother (Aretha Franklin) were all established Gospel/R&B/Soul singers, which resulted in Whitney always being in the presence of music while she was growing up. At the age of 11, she started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist church in Newark, New Jersey, and would later go on to accompanying her mother in concert. Although a Baptist, she attended a Catholic high school. After singing background on her mother's 1978 album Think It Over, she started as a back up singer for many other established acts, such as Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson, and Lou Rawls. In 1980 at the age of 17, she was featured as the lead vocalist on the Michael Zager Band's single "Life's A Party", who previously scored a hit with the single "Let's All Chant". Zager was so impressed that he offered to obtain her a record deal but she declined. In the early-1980s, she started appearing as a model in various magazines and appeared on the cover of Seventeen magazine. She also worked with producers Michael Bienhorn, Bill Lasswell and Martin Bisi on an album they were spearheading called "One Down". It was projected to contain eight songs, each one featuring a different lead vocalist. Whitney contributed the ballad "Memories" and she received favorable reviews from the Village Voice after the album debuted.

Whitney had been offered record deals previously (Michael Zager 1980, Elektra Records 1981) and in 1983 Arista Records offered her a contract. An A&R representative from Arista saw Whitney performing with her mother in a nightclub (Sweet Waters) in New York City and begged the head of the label, Clive Davis, to take time to see her. Once Clive saw her, he too was convinced of her talents and offered her a worldwide-contract with Arista.

A record deal ensued and this time Whitney signed. It took over two years to finish the debut album, partly due to marketing problems, finding the right songs to showcase her powerful voice, and getting the appropriate producers to work on the album.

In 1984, the tall and statuesque singer had her first taste of commercial success with "Hold Me", a duet with Teddy Pendergrass (which appeared on his album, Love Language, and later on her debut album.) The single peaked into the top fifty on the U.S. pop chart and the top five of the R&B chart. It was during this time that Whitney decided to audition for acting roles, including the part of Sondra Huxtable on The Cosby Show (which she lost to Sabrina Le Beauf), however she did earn roles on episodes of Gimme a Break, Silver Spoons, and landed a Canada Dry soft drink commercial. She also appeared on the daytime drama As The World Turns as herself to promote her album.

On Valentine's Day, February 14 1985, her self-titled debut album was released. It initally had a slow rise up the album charts but that was turned around by the success of its singles; "You Give Good Love" peaking at number three on the U.S. pop chart and "Saving All My Love For You", "How Will I Know" and "Greatest Love Of All" all going on to hit number one. In March of 1986, Whitney Houston hit number one on the album charts. The album went on to sell a staggering 24 million copies worldwide (with over 13 million copies being sold in the U.S alone), making it the best-selling debut ever by a female artist. Another song, "All At Once", received significant radio airplay but Arista chose not to release it as a fifth single. With this success came a series of prestigious awards, notably a 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance' Grammy for "Saving All My Love for You" and an Emmy for 'Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety Program on TV'. For the remainder of 1986, she undertook her first tour, "The Greatest Love Tour".

Released in June of 1987, Whitney was an immediate hit, becoming the first album ever by a female artist to debut at the #1 position in the U.S. and the U.K. The first single, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" (originally titled "I'm Gonna Dance With Somebody" when performed during her 1986 world tour) shot straight to number one, along with the singles "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go". This gave her a total of seven consecutive number one hits in the U.S., breaking the previous record that was shared by The Beatles and The Bee Gees (who each had six.) To this day, no other artist has had seven consecutive solo number one hits. A fifth single, "Love Will Save The Day", became a Top 10 hit peaking at number nine. The album eventually went on to sell over 19 million copies worldwide (with over 9 million copies being sold in the U.S. alone). She embarked on another tour, "The Moment Of Truth Tour" and another series of awards followed, including the 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance' Grammy for "I Wanna Dance with Somebody", and various female vocal categories at the American Music Awards. During the 1988 Olympics event, her single "One Moment in Time" peaked in the U.S. Top 5 and on the number one spot in the UK.

I'm Your Baby Tonight was released in November of 1990, where it hit number three on The Billboard 200. The first two singles; "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "All The Man That I Need" went to number one in the U.S., giving her a total of nine U.S. number one singles at that point. Two more songs added to her hit singles collection, "Miracle" (a song that is believed to be about a young woman who realizes the mistake of her abortion) and "My Name Is Not Susan", peaking at number nine and number twenty, respectively. Another song from the album, "I Belong To You" also received some airplay on urban stations around the country and rose to number ten on the Billboard R&B chart. The album has sold 10 million copies worldwide with 4 million of those in the U.S. Being a touring artist, she set out on the "I'm Your Baby Tonight" world tour, and four Billboard Music Awards at the 1991 ceremony followed. In January 1991, she performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in Tampa. Her powerful and popular rendition was later released, where it reached number twenty in the U.S. and became the only version of the national anthem to literally become a pop hit, certified platinum. She donated all proceeds from the single to the American Red Cross. That song, along with her other hits, was performed at her very highly rated HBO concert at Norfolk, Virginia as she welcomed back US troops returning from the Gulf War.

Whitney's debut film, The Bodyguard, was released four months after she married R&B singer Bobby Brown on July 18th, 1992. Starring alongside Kevin Costner, the film was hugely successful, grossing over $120 million in the U.S. and $410 million worldwide. The soundtrack to the film was also a mega success, as it sold over 37 million copies worldwide (with over 17 million copies being sold in the U.S. alone) and became the biggest selling soundtrack and female album of all-time. Its success was fueled by her rearranging and remake of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You". Whitney's single spent a record-breaking fourteen weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and broke numerous chart records all over the world. In addition to that, "I Will Always Love You" also sold over nine million copies worldwide, making it still the best-selling single by a female artist ever and one of the most played songs of all time. Her next singles; "I'm Every Woman" (her remake of Chaka Kahn's 1978 hit), "I Have Nothing", "Run to You" and the co-written pop-rock anthem "Queen of the Night" were heard all over radio stations and dance clubs internationally in 1993 and rank as some of her best work to date. "I'm Every Woman" and "I Have Nothing" both became Top 5 hits. On March 4th, 1993, she gave birth to her first and only child, Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown. During this time she co-wrote the song "Something In Common" with husband Bobby Brown which became a hit in the U.K. peaking at number sixteen. Whitney won numerous awards in 1993 and 1994, including Grammy Awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year. She also won a record eleven Billboard Music Awards in 1993 and a record eight American Music Awards in 1994. Also in 1994, she became the first American singer to perform in post-apartheid South Africa. Her concerts raised money to aid South Africa's children.

In 1995, Whitney starred alongside Angela Bassett in the film, Waiting to Exhale. Grossing over $70 million in the U.S. and $80 million worldwide, the film proved to be another success. The first single, "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", was one out of three new songs that Whitney recorded for the soundtrack (which sold over ten million copies worldwide.) Being the third song in music history to enter the chart at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (where it stayed for one week), the song spent the next eleven weeks at number two and became the longest number-two stay in music history. "Count On Me" (a duet with CeCe Winans) was another hit, reaching number eight and "Why Does It Hurt So Bad" was a moderate hit, peaking at number twenty-six. Whitney was also an executive producer on the soundtrack. Another series of awards followed, such as three NAACP Image Awards for "Oustanding Female Artist", "Album Of The Year" and "Best Soundtrack Album", two American Music Awards for "Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist" and "Favorite Soundtrack" and a Soul Train Music Award for "Best Female R&B/Soul Single".

With the mega success surrounding her from "The Bodyguard" and "Waiting to Exhale" movies and soundtracks, Whitney was not afraid to put her stardom on the line by releasing gospel themed projects. The year 1996 saw the release of the movie The Preacher's Wife, where Whitney starred alongside Denzel Washington. Grossing over $48 million in the U.S., the film was another success. The movie soundtrack enabled Whitney to get back in touch with her gospel roots, as she recorded fourteen new songs. Songs like "I Believe In You And Me" and the Annie Lennox-penned "Step By Step" were Top 5 and Top 20 hits, respectively. The soundtrack eventually became the biggest selling gospel album of all-time with over five million copies sold around the globe, an amazing number for a gospel album. The film and soundtrack won three NAACP Image Awards in 1997 for "Best Actress", "Album Of The Year" and also won Whitney the "Gospel Artist Of The Year" trophy. During that year, Whitney also teamed up with Brandy Norwood, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, and Bernadette Peters for a made-for-television remake of "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella". Released on November 2nd, 1997 to the American Broadcasting Company, the movie attracted a record-breaking television audience of over 60 million U.S. viewers. The film also won an Emmy Award and has become the best selling video ever of a made-for-TV film. Whitney had thus far been successful at all film and tv endeavors.

Whitney made a surprise return to the studio in 1998 to record her fourth studio album, My Love Is Your Love. What was originally going to be a greatest hits album, with some new material, became a new studio album as more songs were recorded. This album was more hip-hop and R&B driven and became her first non soundtrack album since 1990's I'm Your Baby Tonight. This release saw her branching out musically as she worked with producers like Wyclef Jean, Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, and once again Babyface, whom she had previously worked with. Whitney also served as one of the album's producers. The first single, "When You Believe" (with Mariah Carey), which also was on "The Prince Of Egypt" soundtrack, became a hit peaking at number fifteen, while the next singles "Heartbreak Hotel" (with Faith Evans and Kelly Price), "It's Not Right, But It's Okay", and "My Love Is Your Love" all went Top 5. The fifth single "I Learned From The Best" also became a moderate hit peaking at number twenty-seven. With the exception of "When You Believe", all singles went on to become number-one dance hits, making her one of the club scene's hottest acts as well. Whitney toured once again trekking out on the "My Love Is Your Love Tour". The album was a hit, selling over ten million copies worldwide. Nearly fourteen years after her first album hit the scene, she was still capable of selling in the millions with each release. Another series of awards followed in 1999 and 2000, including an MTV Europe Award ("Best R&B Artist"), two NAACP Image Award's ("Best Work Of A Group/Duo" - "When You Believe" and "Outstanding Female Artist" - "Heartbreak Hotel"), an Academy Award ("Best Original Song - "When You Believe"), a Grammy Award ("Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" - "It's Not Right, But It's Okay") and a Soul Train Music Award ("Artist Of The Decade"). In 1999, Whitney performed on the "VH1 Diva's Live '99" special where she and Mary J. Blige did a rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Ain't No Way". The song (along with many other artists performances) can be found on the "Diva's Live '99" release.

Shortly before the release of Whitney: The Greatest Hits CD and DVD in April of 2000, airport security discovered marijuana in Whitney and Bobby's luggage at a Hawaiian airport but they boarded the plane and departed before police could arrive. Charges were eventually dropped against her and Bobby but other rumors would later began about drug use among the couple. Whitney also got a reputation around the industry for cancelling appearances. Despite the controversy, Whitney: The Greatest Hits still became a hit, selling over ten million copies worldwide and spending two weeks at number one on the U.K. chart and reaching number five on the U.S. charts. The CD featured her hits as well as some remixes of her classic cuts, and a few new tracks that included duets with Enrique Iglesias ("Could I Have This Kiss Forever"), George Michael ("If I Told You That") and Deborah Cox ("Same Script, Different Cast"). The DVD included a collection of Whitney's music videos from 1985-1999, plus rare performances and interviews that took place in her then 15+ year career. In August of 2001, Whitney renewed her contract with Arista/BMG, and the label handed her a $100 million dollar contract for just a reportedly six new albums. This figure did not include addition royalties she would earn for the sales of each individual album. Two months later, she re-released her classic version of "The Star Spangled Banner" (which was originally performed at the 1991 Superbowl) in light of the September 11th attacks and all sales were donated to a relief fund. The single went platinum, topped the sales charts for six weeks and this time went Top 10, peaking at number six. 2001 also brought Whitney the "First Annual Lifetime Achievement" at the BET Awards and her first major producing assignment: the hit teen Disney comedy The Princess Diaries starring Anne Hathaway and Dame Julie Andrews, which grossed over $100 million at box office's all over the U.S., giving her production company Brownhouse a percentage of the profits.

Right before the release of her fifth studio album, Just Whitney, Whitney did an interview with Diane Sawyer (where she discussed drug allegations and marriage issues) that was the highest rated TV interview in history. This continued her trend of successful TV and film endeavors. Many critics said the interview did more damage although it actually may have sparked interest in her soon to be released album. When the album was released in December of 2002 it received decent reviews, although some of the material was quite defensive, and landed in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. With Clive no longer the head of Arista, little promotion was given to many of the label's established acts such as Whitney, Toni Braxton, and TLC. Newer and breaking acts like OutKast, Pink, and Usher were given more promotion and marketing which resulted in lackluster sales by the established acts and major sales by the newer acts. Therefore the singles "Whatchulookinat", co-written by Whitney, "One Of Those Days" and "Try It On My Own" became minor pop hits on The Billboard Hot 100. However, a remix of "Try It On My Own" and "Love That Man" gave her two number one singles on the Dance/Club Play Chart. "Just Whitney" went platinum in the U.S. and has sold 3 million copies worldwide.

Whitney went on to produce two other major assignments for Disney: the 2003 TV film The Cheetah Girls (starring Raven-Symone) and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (this sequel grossing $100 million in the U.S. alone giving her, once again, a tidy percentage of the profits.) In November of 2003, she delivered her sixth studio album, a Christmas release entitled "One Wish: The Holiday Album". The album consisted of classic Christmas songs such as "The First Noel", "Deck The Halls/Silent Night", "Little Drummer Boy" (featuring daughter Bobbi Kristina), and a remake of the Freddie Jackson Christmas song "One Wish". While not a spectacular seller the album did achieve gold status in the U.S. and has sold over one million copies worldwide, an acceptable number for a Christmas album. The title song was a top twenty hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. The album continues to be a steady seller each holiday season. After a five-day stay at a drug rehabilitation facility in March of 2004 (which was repeated in March of 2005 for about two months), she embarked on an international "Soul Divas" tour with Natalie Cole and cousin Dionne Warwick which lasted throughout the summer. On September 14th, 2004, she made a surprise performance of "I Believe In You And Me" and "I Will Always Love You" at the "World Music Awards", in tribute to her producer (and long time friend), Clive Davis. Most recently American television viewers have been able to watch Whitney on her husband's successful TV program "Being Bobby Brown" on the Bravo network. The show provided a view into the domestic goings on in the Brown household.