Whitney Houston was born on August 9, 1963 in Newark, N.J. Her mother is the acclaimed gospel
singer Cissy Houston. Not surprisingly, Whitney began singing in a gospel choir at age 11 and
later went on to work as a backup singer for Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls. Whitney also began
working as model in her late teens. "Discovered" in a nightclub by Arista Records A&R man Clive
Davis, Whitney's eponymous debut was released in 1985 and became an instant success. With
singles like "The Greatest Love of All" and "Saving All My Love For You," the R&B-influenced pop
album sat at No. 1 for 14 weeks, selling 12 million copies in the U.S. alone, the most commercially
successful debut album by a female artist (recently topped by Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little
Pill). Houston's second album, simply titled Whitney, was the first ever album by a female artist
to enter the charts at No. 1. The 1987 LP went on to sell more than 9 million copies and spawn
four No. 1 singles: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," "Didn't We Almost Have It All," "Where Do
Broken Hearts Go" and "So Emotional." After taking three years off from recording, Houston
returned in 1990 with I'm Your Baby Tonight. Produced by Babyface, the album strayed from her
pop formula with R&B and hip-hop infused tracks. Shifting gears, Whitney made her acting debut
in the 1992 film The Bodyguard, co-staring with actor Kevin Costner. The movie itself grossed
$400 million, better than expected, but the soundtrack, recorded by Whitney, was an even more
amazing commercial success, selling over 16 million copies -- at one point, it sold one million
copies a week! The ballad-heavy album spent 20 weeks at No. 1 in the U.S., and also reached
No. 1 in the U.K. and other countries. The first single from the soundtrack, the Dolly Parton cover
"I Will Always Love You," spent 14 weeks at No. 1 and sold nearly five million copies, making it
the best selling single of all time. After taking some time off to marry pop star Bobby Brown in
1992 and give birth to her first child, Bobbi Kristina, in 1993, Houston returned to acting with
1995's Waiting to Exhale, for which she also recorded three soundtrack songs. Though neither the
movie nor the album was as successful as The Bodyguard, the soundtrack reached No. 1 and
sold five million copies in the U.S. alone. 1996's The Preacher's Wife once again tried to duplicate
the Bodyguard formula. While the movie was a commercial disappointment, the gospel-oriented
soundtrack reached No. 3 on the charts. In November 1998, Houston released her first studio
album in eight years. The long-awaited My Love is Your Love features contributions by Lauryn
Hill, Rodney Jerkins, Missy Elliott and Wyclef Jean.
Whitney Houston was born on August 9, 1963 in Newark, N.J. Her mother is the acclaimed gospel
singer Cissy Houston. Not surprisingly, Whitney began singing in a gospel choir at age 11 and
later went on to work as a backup singer for Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls. Whitney also began
working as model in her late teens. "Discovered" in a nightclub by Arista Records A&R man Clive
Davis, Whitney's eponymous debut was released in 1985 and became an instant success. With
singles like "The Greatest Love of All" and "Saving All My Love For You," the R&B-influenced pop
album sat at No. 1 for 14 weeks, selling 12 million copies in the U.S. alone, the most commercially
successful debut album by a female artist (recently topped by Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little
Pill). Houston's second album, simply titled Whitney, was the first ever album by a female artist
to enter the charts at No. 1. The 1987 LP went on to sell more than 9 million copies and spawn
four No. 1 singles: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," "Didn't We Almost Have It All," "Where Do
Broken Hearts Go" and "So Emotional." After taking three years off from recording, Houston
returned in 1990 with I'm Your Baby Tonight. Produced by Babyface, the album strayed from her
pop formula with R&B and hip-hop infused tracks. Shifting gears, Whitney made her acting debut
in the 1992 film The Bodyguard, co-staring with actor Kevin Costner. The movie itself grossed
$400 million, better than expected, but the soundtrack, recorded by Whitney, was an even more
amazing commercial success, selling over 16 million copies -- at one point, it sold one million
copies a week! The ballad-heavy album spent 20 weeks at No. 1 in the U.S., and also reached
No. 1 in the U.K. and other countries. The first single from the soundtrack, the Dolly Parton cover
"I Will Always Love You," spent 14 weeks at No. 1 and sold nearly five million copies, making it
the best selling single of all time. After taking some time off to marry pop star Bobby Brown in
1992 and give birth to her first child, Bobbi Kristina, in 1993, Houston returned to acting with
1995's Waiting to Exhale, for which she also recorded three soundtrack songs. Though neither the
movie nor the album was as successful as The Bodyguard, the soundtrack reached No. 1 and
sold five million copies in the U.S. alone. 1996's The Preacher's Wife once again tried to duplicate
the Bodyguard formula. While the movie was a commercial disappointment, the gospel-oriented
soundtrack reached No. 3 on the charts. In November 1998, Houston released her first studio
album in eight years. The long-awaited My Love is Your Love features contributions by Lauryn
Hill, Rodney Jerkins, Missy Elliott and Wyclef Jean.
