WHITNEY HOUSTON BIOGRAPHY - AGE, CAREER, SONGS & FACTS

Whitney Houston — known to millions simply as “The Voice” — remains one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with more than 200 million records sold around the world. Her once-in-a-generation vocals, a string of historic chart records, and The Bodyguard — the best-selling soundtrack album ever released — made her a defining voice of modern pop.

Image: Asterio Tecson via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Whitney Houston Age & Early Life

Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey, and died on February 11, 2012, in Beverly Hills, aged 48. Music ran deep in her family: her mother was gospel singer Cissy Houston, her cousins were Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, and her godmother was Aretha Franklin. Houston sang in church as a child and worked as a teenage session singer before Arista Records chairman Clive Davis discovered her performing in a New York nightclub and signed her at just 19.

Career & Records

Her 1985 self-titled debut album, Whitney Houston, became one of the best-selling debuts by a female artist, powered by three consecutive No. 1 singles. Its follow-up, Whitney (1987), was the first album by a female artist to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Houston remains the only artist in history to score seven consecutive Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles — from “Saving All My Love for You” (1985) through “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” (1988) — and earned 11 Hot 100 chart-toppers in total. Her trophy case includes 6 Grammy Awards, 2 Emmy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards and 22 American Music Awards. She entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, and in 2023 Rolling Stone ranked her the second-greatest singer of all time.

The Bodyguard Era

Starring opposite Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard (1992), Houston turned the film’s soundtrack into the best-selling soundtrack album of all time. Its lead single, “I Will Always Love You,” spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the best-selling single by a female artist ever. Fans can read the full I Will Always Love You lyrics on LatestLyrics. The soundtrack went on to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1994.

Personal Life & Legacy

Off stage, Houston married singer Bobby Brown in 1992; the marriage ended in divorce in 2007. Their daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown (1993–2015), followed her mother into music. Houston also starred in the films Waiting to Exhale (1995), The Preacher’s Wife (1996), Cinderella (1997) and Sparkle (2012). Her voice, her records and her influence continue to shape new generations of singers, securing her place as one of the greatest artists in popular music history. Explore more artist profiles like our Madonna biography.

Official Video: How Will I Know

Watch the official 4K remaster of Whitney Houston’s classic “How Will I Know” below.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Whitney Houston born and when did she die?
Whitney Houston was born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey, and died on February 11, 2012, in Beverly Hills at the age of 48.

What are her biggest chart records?
She is the only artist ever with seven consecutive Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles, and her album Whitney (1987) was the first by a female artist to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

How many Grammy Awards did she win?
Whitney Houston won 6 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year in 1994 for The Bodyguard soundtrack.

What are her most famous songs?
Her signature songs include “I Will Always Love You,” “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” “How Will I Know,” “Greatest Love of All” and “Saving All My Love for You.”