Whitney Houston was – and still is – a legend in more ways than one. On the six-year anniversary of her death, we honour the vocal icon by remembering her incredible life.
Houston was born on Aug. 9, 1963 in Newark, New Jersey to famed gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of recording artist Dionne Warwick, and became the goddaughter of Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin.
Houston began singing in her church where she blew audiences away with her powerful vocals. At 15, she was discovered by a photographer who loved her natural beauty, and she began modelling. Houston was actually one of the first black females to appear on the cover of Seventeen magazine.
At 19, Houston was discovered by record executive Clive Davis, who immediately signed her after hearing her perform at a nightclub.
The pop singer's self-titled debut album was released in 1985 and featured hits like "Saving All My Love For You," "How Will I Know" and "Greatest Love Of All." Her second album, Whitney, came out two years later, and made Houston the first woman in history to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 charts.
As she rose to fame, Houston would go on to sell out concerts and act in movies such as The Bodyguard and Waiting To Exhale – while contributing highly-successful soundtracks to the films..
Houston has been called one of the greatest voices of all time, belting out hits with her unique and immeasurable vocal range such as ”I Will Always Love You," "Exhale," "Where Do Broken Hearts Go," "My Love Is Your Love," "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," "I Have Nothing," and countless more. And let's not forget her rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl XXV, which is considered to be the best performance of the national anthem in the game's history.
The “Queen Of The Night” also became the most-awarded female artist of all time, winning over 415 awards from the Grammys, American Music Awards, Oscars and more.
The world may have lost a legend too soon upon her tragic death in 2012 at just 48 years-old, but Houston’s voice and influence will continue to inspire and live on forever.
Relive some of Houston’s most celebrated moments below:
Original article by Isha Thorpe at iHeartRadio