This great artist left a mark on society and will never be forgotten.
We’ve all heard rumors of this lady’s life, but what really happened behind the
scenes?
From a small-town start to a battle with her own father, here is the untold truth about
Whitney Houston:
12.
Bobby Brown -
Most of us know about Whitney Houston’s relationship with Bobby Brown.
He is a singer, songwriter, and actor.
But, perhaps he is most famous for his marriage to Houston.
The two met in 1989 during the Soul Train Music Awards.
It wasn’t until three years later that the couple tied the knot.
At first, people couldn’t see how Whitney and Bobby got along, considering their very
different musical styles, families, and reputations.
However, they soon became inseparable.
Houston constantly corrected people who called her by her maiden name, telling them to refer
to her as “Mrs. Brown.”
She also said in numerous interviews that Brown wasn’t the negative man the media
portrayed him as.
Although he faced several charges for various things throughout their marriage, Whitney
continuously supported him.
She even made it to all of his court hearings.
However, things weren’t all rainbows and butterflies.
Houston said during an interview with Oprah that they loved hard and fought hard.
She also stated in a 1999 interview for Jet magazine that, opposed to common belief, Brown
had never laid a hand on her and wished people would stop spreading that rumor about him.
The duo stayed together for fifteen years, but they got a divorce in 2007.
11.
The Toll of Stardom -
Whitney Houston was one of the world’s most talented vocalists.
She sold around two hundred million albums internationally.
She set numerous records throughout her career.
Houston was the only singer to have seven Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers in a row,
and she is also the only female artist to have two awards from Billboard 200 in their
magazine’s end-of-year charts.
All of her records reached gold, platinum, multi-platinum, or diamond status.
She released her first studio album, Whitney Houston, in 1985, which went on to sell better
than any other woman’s debut record in history.
Her other albums include 1990’s I’m Your Baby Tonight and 1998’s My Love Is Your
Love.
She won a total of seven Grammys for her work, including the 1993 Grammy for Record of the
Year.
However, despite all of Houston’s success, being in the spotlight so often, her busy
schedule, the lack of privacy, and the constant tabloid gossip took a toll on her, and the
press was often focused on her more than other artists due to her extreme popularity.
It was well-known that Whitney Houston struggled with addiction, and seeing herself on the
cover of unfashionable magazines made her issues worse and more difficult to deal with.
In the late 1990s, her image took a downhill turn; she began arriving late to scheduled
meetings, canceling television appearances, and calling off entire concerts.
People started noticing Houston’s erratic behavior, which brought her more negative
attention.
Plus, everyone could see her physical changes as well, including drastic weight loss.
It wasn’t until years later that she discussed her problems publicly.
10.
Gospel Singer -
Many of us know about Whitney Houston’s life after her rise to fame, but where she
got her start is lesser known.
She was born in 1963 in New Jersey to John Russell Houston, Jr. and Emily Houston, more
commonly known as Cissy.
Her family was filled with talented people.
Her mother was a gospel singer, her older brother Michael was also a singer, and her
half-brother, Gary Garland, was a basketball player for the NBA.
Plus, her cousins Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick were both singers, and Whitney’s godmother,
Darlene Love, was a singer.
Aretha Franklin was even considered to be Houston’s honorary aunt.
She began her musical journey performing in a Baptist church in her hometown.
With help from her mom, she continued to sharpen her singing ability.
Throughout her teens, Whitney toured nightclubs with Cissy, and the mother-daughter-duo performed
together several times.
At the young age of fourteen, she sang backup for the Michael Zager Band, and just a year
later started doing backup for Lou Rawls and Chaka Khan.
Houston also began modeling and even appeared on the cover of Seventeen magazine in 1981,
and went on to be in several more magazines as well.
After she recorded a few more songs, including one on Paul Jabara and Friends, she began
gaining recognition.
In 1983 Clive Davis signed her to Arista Records, and the rest is history.
9.
Wendy Williams -
Before this celebrity gossip made her television debut, she was the hostess of a popular WBLS
radio show in New York.
One of her most famous interviews on this show was with Whitney Houston in 2003.
It received a lot of media attention, and Williams appeared in VH1’s Whitney Houston:
The Untold Story later that year to talk about her discussion with the star.
During their interview, Wendy began by praising Houston’s musical prowess.
They then started talking about Whitney’s newest album at that time and her plans to
bring her record to the top of the charts, and then things took a turn for the worse;
Williams brought up Whitney’s Diane Sawyer interview.
The conversation proceeded to dive into topics concerning the rumors about Houston’s personal
troubles that were circulating at the time.
She became immediately defensive and attempted to change the subject.
However, Wendy kept pushing.
She brought up Whitney’s mother and daughter, to which she didn’t respond well.
Whitney used the opportunity to defend herself against the scrutiny of the press and Wendy’s
continual mentioning of her on her WBLS show.
There’s no denying that the pressure of stardom got to Whitney Houston throughout
her career, so it’s no surprise that the conversation didn’t go as smoothly as planned.
8.
The Exes -
We all know that Whitney Houston ended up with Bobby Brown, but she dated quite a few
famous guys before settling down long-term.
One of the guys she dated was Eddie Murphy.
During an interview with Ebony magazine, she said Arsenio Hall had introduced the two of
them and they’d been seeing each other for about three years at the time, and he had
even bought her a diamond ring.
During the same interview, she spoke about Randall Cunningham as well.
He used to be an NFL quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles and at the time he had an interest
in Whitney Houston.
Gary Cobb, one of Randall’s teammates, spoke out about his courtship of Houston, stating
that his friend didn’t go about things in the right way.
Cunningham was known as a straight-edge good-guy and wasn’t what the singer was interested
in romantically; she wanted a “bad boy.”
So, although she dated other men, it wasn’t until meeting Bobby Brown that she truly fell
in love.
7.
Bisexual -
Rumors about Whitney Houston’s preference when it came to romantic relationships were
circulating long before she married Bobby Brown.
People often thought she was bisexual.
During her teenage years, while attending Mount Saint Dominic Academy, she met Robyn
Crawford.
The two quickly became best friends.
Crawford was the tough one in their relationship and helped Whitney stand up to the bullying
she faced in school.
When she became successful, she took Robyn on as her personal organizer and advisor.
They were inseparable for years, even throughout much of Houston’s marriage to Brown.
Although she denied any involvement with Crawford, Whitney’s friends and family have since
stated that she did, in fact, have an ongoing romantic bond with Crawford.
Brown has even spoken out since his ex-wife’s passing, confirming their involvement.
He stated that Houston’s mother didn’t approve of the relationship, which kept her
from pursuing it publicly.
People have also said that Robyn and Bobby got into physical altercations with one another
on several different occasions.
Eventually, Crawford left, which many have thought to be a huge factor in Houston’s
downfall.
6.
Movies -
Although Whitney Houston received most of her fame through her vocal talent, she had
a pretty successful acting career as well.
Her most recognized film is 1992’s The Bodyguard, for which she played the main character, Rachel
Marron, and performed many of the songs, including memorable hits like “I Will Always Love
You” and “I’m Every Woman.”
However, she had other successful movies as well, one of which was The Preacher’s Wife
from 1996.
This comedy-drama follows the story of a preacher and his family, who receive help from an angel;
Whitney Houston played Julia Biggs, the Reverend’s wife, and Denzel Washington played God’s
messenger.
She also starred in the 2012 film Sparkle alongside American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks,
in which she played the main character’s mother.
Even though her musical career outshined her acting, Houston was certainly a well-rounded
star.
5.
Daughter -
Whitney Houston gave birth to Bobbi Kristina in March 1993.
Just like her mother, Bobbi was always in the spotlight.
She attended Red Carpet events with her parents, appeared on reality television, and worked
as a singer.
She was fourteen years old when her parents separated and remained in the custody of Whitney.
It was around the same time that Nick Gordon moved in with Bobbi Kristina and her mother.
During his time in the Houston household, Whitney considered him a son and brother to
her daughter.
The two began dating later and announced their relationship after her mother passed away,
much to the dismay of her family members.
Sadly, the world lost Bobbi Kristina three years after Whitney Houston; for which her
father has stated that he blames Nick Gordon.
Since the civil suit concerning Whitney’s daughter was brought against him, he has also
faced several accusations from recent girlfriends, which causes us to question what really happened
that day in 2015.
4.
Guinness World Records -
Although many points in her life were heartbreaking, there was no denying Houston’s natural talent
regarding performances on and off-stage.
We’ve discussed some of the star’s various successes and timeless records.
She won well over four hundred awards throughout her career: seven Grammys, one of which was
given in 2013, over twenty American Music Awards, over ten World Music Awards, and several
more.
But, it isn’t as well-known that she set a Guinness World Record; she was noted to
have received more awards than any other female artist.
This isn’t surprising considering Houston’s amazing vocals and presence but is impressive
nonetheless.
3.
Spiritual Retreat -
One interesting thing Whitney Houston did that caught a lot of people off-guard was
her “spiritual retreat” to Israel.
She grew up in a religious family; as we know, she began her singing career off at church.
However, this was a different time in her life.
In 2003, while she was still married to Bobby Brown, during one of the lower points in her
life, she and her husband embarked on the trip with the intent of visiting a community
that housed around two-thousand Hebrew Israelites.
While she was there, she met with the Prime Minister among various other important people.
She was filmed during a few different erratic outbursts as well, however.
Houston was spotted dancing with strangers and singing during a restroom break, and Bobby
Brown was seen on video crying when they visited the burial site of Christ.
The trip ended in a touching moment for Whitney, as she was baptized in the same river as Christ
allegedly was.
2.
Father Suing -
It’s all fun and games until your own father’s company starts suing you.
In 2002, Whitney Houston faced a charge brought up by John Houston Entertainment.
They claimed that Whitney had broken their contract.
Her father’s business partner, Kevin Skinner, said that they had helped her deal with the
outcome of another charge she had faced some time before, which resulted in those allegations
being dropped.
However, when the company requested payment for their services, Houston apparently refused.
So, John Houston Entertainment decided to sue the star for $100 million.
Her father stated that he was not involved in the lawsuit, but Skinner and his attorney
claimed otherwise.
Whitney stuck by her dad’s side and stated that he had nothing to do with the situation.
Her statement was backed up by the fact that John Houston didn’t attend the court hearings.
Unfortunately, he passed in 2003.
The charge against Whitney was dropped a year later.
1.
Rumors of Demise -
Whitney Houston dealt with an abundance of gossip concerning her and her family throughout
the years.
One of which will make you think, “why?”.
We’ve already discussed the troubled times in Houston’s life, but there was one rumor
that stood out from the others.
In late 2001, after her weight loss, she performed at Madison Square Garden during a tribute
concert for Michael Jackson.
After observing the star’s appearance, fans were in shock and began questioning her health.
Then, she was supposed to sing the next night but canceled without giving any reason.
So, naturally, the public decided to come up with an explanation.
The media is famous for reporting things as facts with no proof to back them up.
In this situation, they began saying that Houston had succumbed to the issues she was
facing.
But, her representative quickly cleared the air and claimed that she had just spoken with
Houston, who was at home with her family.
She also stated that the reason for Whitney’s weight loss had been due to tension at home,
as she didn’t eat when she was stressed.