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Whitney Houston Biography (1963-)

Full name, Whitney Elizabeth Houston; born August 9, 1963, in Newark (some sources say East Orange), NJ; daughter of John R. (a manager) and Emily (a gospel singer under the name Cissy Houston) Houston; niece of Dionne Warwick (a singer); married Bobby Brown (a singer), July 18, 1992; children: Bobbi Kristina. Addresses: Agent: William Morris Agency, 151 South El Camino Dr.,Beverly Hills, CA 90212-2775.; Publicist: Nancy Seltzer & Associates, 6220 Del Valle Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90048.

Nationality

American

Gender

Female

Occupation

Singer, actress, producer

Birth Details

August 9, 1963

Newark, New Jersey, United States

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Television Appearances
• Specials
• Liberty Weekend, ABC, 1986
• Disney's D-TV Valentine, NBC, 1986
• 1987 Power Hits New Year's Eve Countdown, syndicated, 1987
• The Mother-Daughter Pageant, 1987, syndicated, 1987
• The Special Olympics Opening Ceremonies, ABC, 1987
• Superstars and Their Moms, ABC, 1987
• Cissy Houston: Sweet Inspiration, PBS, 1988
• Herself, Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul, 1988
• Freedomfest: Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Celebration, Fox, 1988
• Late Night with David Letterman 8th Anniversary Special, NBC, 1990
• Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th Anniversary Celebration, ABC, 1990
• Sinatra 75: The Best Is Yet to Come (also known as Frank Sinatra: 75th Anniversary Celebration), CBS, 1990
• That's What Friends Are For, CBS, 1990
• Host, Over the Influence (also known as Over the Influence: Preventing and Recovering Our Kids from Drugs and Alcohol), syndicated, 1991
• Coca-Cola Pop Music "Backstage Pass to Summer," Fox, 1991
• Home Box Office Presents: Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston(also known as Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston), HBO, 1991
• Free to Laugh: A Comedy and Music Special for Amnesty International, Lifetime, 1992
• Muhammad Ali's 50th Birthday Celebration, ABC, 1992
• Whitney Houston: This Is My Life, ABC, 1992
• Music in Movies '93, 1993
• The Barbara Walters Special, ABC, 1993
• Whitney--The Concert for a New South Africa (also known as Whitney Houston: The Concert for a New South Africa), 1994
• The Barbara Walters Special, ABC, 1994
• Music in Movies '95, ABC, 1995
• Herself, Soul Train's 25th Anniversary (also known as The SoulTrain 25th Anniversary Hall of Fame Special), 1995
• (Archive footage) Herself, Television's Greatest Performances, 1995
• Herself, The History of Rock 'n' Roll, Vol. 5 (also known as The Sounds of Soul), 1995
• Celebrate the Dream: 50 Years of Ebony, ABC, 1996
• Music in Movies '96, ABC, 1996
• Classic Whitney Live from Washington, D.C., HBO, 1997
• The 1997 U.S. Open Tennis Championships, USA Network, 1997
• When You Believe: Music from "The Prince of Egypt," NBC, 1998
• Tony Bennett: An All-Star Tribute--Live by Request, A&E, 1998
• The Great Christmas Movies, AMC, 1998
• Herself, VH1 Divas Live '99, VH1, 1999
• Arista Records' 25yh Anniversary Celebration, 1999
• Grammy's Greatest Performances, CBS, 1999
• Herself, It's Black Entertainment, Showtime, 2000
• Grammy Countdown, syndicated, 2000
• An Evening of Stars: A Celebration of Educational Excellence, NBCand syndicated, 2000
• 25 Years of No. 1 Hits: Arista Records' Anniversary Celebration, NBC, 2000
• Herself, Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration, CBS, 2001
• Everybody Talk About ... Pop Music!, MTV, 2001
• Performer, VH1 Divas Las Vegas, VH1, 2002
• Movies
• Fairy Godmother, "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" (also known as "Cinderella"), The Wonderful World of Disney, ABC, 1997
• Episodic
• Singer, As the World Turns, 1984
• Rita, "Katie's College," Gimme a Break!, 1984
• Herself, "Head Over Heels," Silver Spoons, NBC, 1985
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, 1985, 1990
• "Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul," American Masters, PBS, 1988
• The Mickey Mouse Club, The Disney Channel, 1989
• ABC in Concert, ABC, 1991
• Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC's Saturday Night, Saturday Night, and SNL), NBC, 1991, and 1996
• Late Show with David Letterman, 1998
• Herself, Sen kvall med Luuk, 1999
• Also appeared in Making the Video, MTV; The Magic Hour, syndicated.
• Awards Presentations
• The 28th Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1985
• The 13th Annual American Music Awards, ABC, 1986
• The 29th Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1987
• The 14th Annual American Music Awards, ABC, 1987
• Host, The 15th Annual American Music Awards, ABC, 1988
• The 20th Annual NAACP Image Awards, NBC, 1988
• The 30th Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1988
• The 21st Annual NAACP Image Awards, NBC, 1989
• The 31st Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1989
• The Songwriters Hall of Fame 20th Anniversary: The Magic of Music,CBS, 1989
• Herself, The 5th Annual American Cinema Awards, 1990
• The 1991 Billboard Music Awards, Fox, 1991
• The 33rd Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1991
• The 19th Annual American Music Awards, ABC, 1992
• The Essence Awards, CBS, 1992
• Presenter, The 1993 MTV Movie Awards, syndicated, 1993
• The 1993 Billboard Music Awards, 1993
• The 1994 World Music Awards, ABC, 1994
• The 26th Annual NAACP Image Awards, 1994
• The 36th Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1994
• Presenter, The 66th Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1994
• The 8th Annual Soul Train Music Awards, 1994
• The American Music Awards, 1994
• Host, The 8th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, 1995
• Presenter, The 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV, 1995
• The Soul Train 25th Anniversary Hall of Fame Special, CBS, 1995
• Host, The 27th Annual NAACP Image Awards, 1996
• The 38th Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1996
• Host, The 9th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, 1996
• Host, The 10th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, Nickelodeon, 1997
• The 39th Grammy Awards, CBS, 1997
• Honoree, The 10th Essence Awards, Fox, 1997
• The 12th Annual Soul Train Music Awards, syndicated, 1998
• Presenter, The 1998 Essence Awards, Fox, 1998
• Special honoree, The 6th Annual Trumpet Awards, TBS, 1998
• Presenter, The 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV, 1998
• Herself, The 26th Annual American Music Awards, 1998
• Herself, The 1998 Billboard Music Awards, Fox, 1998
• GQ Men of the Year Awards, VH1, 1998
• The 50th Emmy Awards, NBC, 1998
• Sports Illustrated's 20th Century Sports Awards, CBS, 1999
• The Brit Awards '99, ABC, 1999
• The 71st Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1999
• The 41st Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1999
• The 26th Annual American Music Awards, ABC, 1999
• The 1999 MTV Movie Awards, MTV, 1999
• The 1999 MTV Europe Music Awards, MTV, 1999
• The 13th Annual Soul Train Music Awards, syndicated, 1999
• The 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 2000
• The 27th Annual American Music Awards, ABC, 2000
• Herself, The 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV, 2000
• Award recipient, The 14th Annual Soul Train Music Awards, 2000
• Honoree, The 1st Annual BET Awards, BET, 2001
• Television Work
• Specials
• Executive producer, Whitney Houston: This Is My Life, ABC, 1992
• Executive producer, Classic Whitney Live from Washington, D.C., HBO, 1997
• Movies
• Executive producer, "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" (also known as"Cinderella"), The Wonderful World of Disney, ABC, 1997
• Film Appearances
• Perfect, Columbia, 1985
• School for Vandals, 1986
• Herself, Whitney Houston: Live in Concert, 1991
• Rachel Marron, The Bodyguard, Warner Bros., 1992
• Savannah Jackson, Waiting to Exhale, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1995
• Herself, The History of Rock 'n' Roll, Volume 5 (also known as The Sounds of Soul), Warner Bros., 1995
• Julia Biggs, The Preacher's Wife, Buena Vista, 1996
• Herself, Scratch the Surface (documentary), 1997
• Anything for Love, Universal, 1999
• Herself, A New Princess (also known as The Making of "The Princess Diaries"), 2001
• Film Work
• Song performer, The Bodyguard, 1992
• Song performer, Waiting to Exhale, 1995
• Executive producer of music soundtrack and producer of gospel music, The Preacher's Wife, Buena Vista, 1996
• Singer, The Prince of Egypt (animated), DreamWorks Distribution LLC, 1998
• Producer, The Princess Diaries, Buena Vista, 2001
• RECORDINGS
• Albums
• Whitney Houston (includes the songs "Saving All My Love for You,""Greatest Love of All," and "You Give Good Love"), Arista, 1985
• Whitney (songs include "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and "For the Love of You"), Arista, 1987
• I'm Your Baby Tonight, Arista, 1990
• The Bodyguard (original soundtrack; songs include "I Will Always Love You" and "I'm Every Woman"), 1992
• My Love Is Your Love, Arista, 1998
• Greatest Hits, 2000
• Just Plain Whitney, 2002
• Performed with numerous music artists, including Teddy Pendergrass, BobbyBrown, Chaka Khan, Neville Brothers, Dionne Warwick, Jermaine Jackson, and Jimmy Reid.
• Singles
• Also recorded "Exhale (Shoop, Shoop)," "Heartbreak Hotel," and "It's NotRight, But It's Okay."
• Music Videos
• "How Will I Know?," 1986
• Also appeared in Ja Rule, Ashanti, Vita, and Charli Baltimore's "Down 4 You."
• Videos
• Whitney--The Unreleased Mixes, 2000
• WRITINGS
• Film Music
• Song "Queen of the Night," The Bodyguard, Warner Bros., 1992

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

• Ammons, Kevin, Good Girl, Bad Girl, Birch Lane Press, 1996
• Contemporary Black Biography, Vol. 28, Gale Group, 2001
• Contemporary Musicians, Vol. 25, Gale Group, 1999

Periodicals

• Ebony, January, 1993, pp. 119-122; November, 1997
• Good Housekeeping, January, 1997, p. 62
• Jet, August 20, 2001, p. 18
• Los Angeles Times, November 22, 1992
• Newsweek, December 23, 1996, p. 70
• New York Times, October 28, 1985
• Vanity Fair, November, 1992, pp. 240-241, 272-276
• Washington Post, November 26, 1992, p. B1