Singer and actress Whitney Houston, a winner of six Grammy Awards including record of the year for I Will Always Love You and album of the year for The Bodyguard, has died at age 48, a spokeswoman for the singer said.
Unfortunately it is true, said spokeswoman Jill Fritzo.
No other details were immediately available. Celebrity website TMZ.com said Houston was found dead at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, but that could not be immediately confirmed.
Houston, inspired by soul singers in her New Jersey family, including mother Cissy Houston and cousins Dionne Warwick and the late Dee Dee Warwick, as well as her godmother Aretha Franklin, became one of the most celebrated female singers of all time, taking multiple Emmy, Grammy and Billboard Music awards.
Her popularity soared in the 1980s and 1990s with consecutive No. 1 hits including the smash single I Will Always Love You, from the soundtrack of the feature film The Bodyguard, in which she starred.
Whitney Houston's performance on the Merv Griffen show (April 29, 1985)
Whitney Houston I have nothing (South Africa, 1994)
Whitney Houston I will always love you
Whitney Houston performs at last year's Grammy Awards.REUTERSWhitney Houston is entirely broke, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday. The singer has blown all of her money - including a reported $100 million record deal - and is being supported by an advance on her next album granted by her record label, Arista.ReutersWhitney Houston is the latest victim of a yet another conspiracy theory regarding the Illuminati. Houston's sudden death on Saturday has caused some to theorize that it was, in fact, murder at the hands of the Illuminati.ReutersWhitney Houston's funeral is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 18, at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where Houston sang as a child with her mother Cissy Houston and her cousin Dionne Warwick. It will be an invite-only affair and Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston's ex-husband, may not get an invitation, according to TMZ. ReutersWhitney Houston poses with her Grammy after she was named Best Pop Vocal Performer-Female at the 30th annual Grammy Awards at New York's Radio City Music Hall March 2, 1988. ReutersSinger Whitney Houston, performs on stage during Michael Jackson's "30th Anniversary Celebration, The Solo Years" concert, September 7, 2001 in New York's Madison Square Garden. ReutersWhitney Houston (R) and Mariah Carey sing the nominated song "When You Believe," at the 71st Annual Academy Awards March 21. ReutersWhitney Houston belting it out for the National Anthem during the Super Bowl 1991.http://open.salon.comSinger Whitney Houston performs the song "Try It On My Own" during the "VH1 Divas Duets" concert at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, May 22, 2003.ReutersBobbi Kristina inherited her mother's entire estate.Reuters