49 Fun Facts About Whitney Houston

In which New Jersey city was Whitney Houston born in 1963?

Newark is home to New Hope Baptist Church, where she first sang in the choir her mother directed, and where her 2012 funeral was held.

Which Grammy-winning singer, founder of The Sweet Inspirations, was Whitney Houston's mother?

Cissy Houston; as a teenager Whitney sang backup, then solos, in her mother's nightclub act, which brought her first record offers.

Which of these famous singers was Houston's cousin?

Dionne Warwick; Whitney's mother and her group, The Sweet Inspirations, sang backup on Warwick's early records.

What nickname did Whitney Houston's family and friends use for her as a child?

Nippy; her parents turned down her first record offers, insisting she finish high school before signing anything.

Which vocal technique is Whitney Houston widely credited with popularising in mainstream pop?

Melisma; the early 'I' in her 'I Will Always Love You' stretches across notes for nearly six seconds, and talent-show hopefuls copied the style for years.

Before Halle Berry played her for HBO, Houston had hoped to film which actress's life story?

Dorothy Dandridge; Houston held the rights to a biography of the star and spent years trying to persuade studios to make the film.

As a model in 1981, Houston became one of the first Black women on the cover of which magazine?

Seventeen; she had been scouted in New York, and a modelling agency signed her.

Which record executive signed Houston to Arista in 1983 after seeing her perform in a New York nightclub?

Clive Davis; he then spent two years finding producers and songwriters for her debut album before releasing it in 1985.

In 1984, Houston's duet 'Hold Me' paired her with which soul star, back after a 1982 car crash?

Teddy Pendergrass; the crash had left him paralysed, and in 1985 he returned to the stage at Live Aid in a wheelchair.

Whose manager demanded half the publishing for a cover of 'I Will Always Love You'?

Elvis Presley; the songwriter refused Colonel Tom Parker's terms, and nearly two decades later Houston's version became a worldwide number one.

Which advice columnist cited Houston's first single, 'You Give Good Love', among songs with suggestive titles?

Ann Landers; Houston answered in the Chicago Tribune that the columnist had judged the title without listening to the song.

Houston's first Grammy came for which song, in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category?

Saving All My Love for You; in its video she plays a woman in love with a married man, a role she said did not mirror her own life.

Which Houston video became her first in heavy rotation on MTV, helping break the channel's color barrier for Black women?

How Will I Know; the video's exposure on MTV brought her a new teenage audience.

Whitney (1987) made Houston the first woman to do what?

Debut at number one on the Billboard 200; yet Rolling Stone's review called the album 'smug, repressive and ridiculously safe'.

Houston's seven straight number ones broke a record shared by the Bee Gees and which band?

The Beatles; her record-breaking seventh, 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go', was a ballad she at first doubted had enough depth.

'One Moment in Time', a UK number one for Houston, was recorded as a theme for which event?

It won her a Sports Emmy and was a top five hit in the US.

Houston performed at a 1988 Wembley tribute concert marking the 70th birthday of which anti-apartheid leader?

Nelson Mandela; after his election as president, she played three concerts in South Africa in 1994.

Which production duo gave Houston's 1990 third album its more urban sound?

L.A. Reid and Babyface; they set out to give her a new direction, amid talk that her pop hits had lost touch with Black listeners.

At which event did Houston sing 'The Star-Spangled Banner' in 1991?

Super Bowl; the single of that performance was reissued after the September 11 attacks and climbed to number six on the Hot 100.

Houston donated her proceeds from the 1991 national anthem single to which organisation?

The American Red Cross; that spring she also staged Welcome Home Heroes, an HBO concert for returning Gulf War troops and their families in Virginia.

Who played the title role opposite Houston in her 1992 film debut, The Bodyguard?

Kevin Costner; he pushed for the unaccompanied opening of 'I Will Always Love You', an idea producer David Foster first called ridiculous.

'I Will Always Love You' was written and originally recorded by which country star?

Dolly Parton; the film's big ballad was meant to be 'What Becomes of the Brokenhearted' until that song went to Fried Green Tomatoes.

Houston's 1993 hit 'I'm Every Woman', from The Bodyguard, covered which singer's 1978 original?

Chaka Khan; as a teenager Houston had done studio work singing backup for Khan.

Which instrument takes the solo on Houston's recording of 'I Will Always Love You'?

Saxophone; Kirk Whalum played it, and for the film scene Houston sang the song live rather than lip-syncing.

Houston's 1996 Christmas comedy with Denzel Washington updated which 1948 movie?

She earned $10 million, then the most for a Black actress, and its soundtrack is the best-selling gospel album ever.

In the 1997 TV film Cinderella, which she also co-produced, Houston played which role?

The Fairy Godmother; Houston also hand-picked Brandy to play Cinderella in the film.

Houston's sixth and final competitive Grammy, in 2000, was for which song?

It's Not Right but It's Okay; in June 1999 she made a surprise appearance at New York's Pride dance to sing it.

Houston's production company co-produced which 2001 Disney teen comedy?

The Princess Diaries; its success led Houston and Debra Martin Chase to produce the 2004 sequel as well.

Houston's 2000 duet 'If I Told You That' paired her with which British star?

George Michael; producer Rodney Jerkins had first planned the duet with the King of Pop, and George Michael was the next pick.

Houston married which R&B singer in 1992?

Bobby Brown; when they divorced in 2007, Houston won custody of their daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

Houston's marriage was documented in a 2005 reality series that aired on which network?

Bravo; her husband told reporters they would return for a second season, but the show was never renewed.

In which interviewer's 2002 sit-down did Houston famously declare 'crack is whack'?

Diane Sawyer; Houston said it in a 2002 ABC Primetime special while promoting her album Just Whitney.

By which nickname was Whitney Houston widely known?

The Voice; her estate later titled its symphonic tribute tour The Voice of Whitney.

After shaky rehearsals, Houston was dropped from the 2000 Oscars; who was the show's musical director?

Burt Bacharach; reports at the time were unsure whether she had pulled out or been fired from the show.

Which longtime friend and assistant of Houston's described their early romance in a 2019 memoir?

Robyn Crawford; she had resigned from Houston's company in May 2000, as the singer's troubles mounted.

Houston's final studio album, released in 2009, was titled what?

I Look to You; while promoting it she gave Oprah Winfrey a two-part interview about her drug use.

Houston's final film, released six months after her death, was a remake of which 1976 musical drama?

Sparkle; she had first planned the remake in the late 1990s with Aaliyah as its star, until Aaliyah died in a 2001 plane crash.

Houston died on February 11, 2012, at which Los Angeles-area hotel?

The Beverly Hilton; the pre-Grammy party she had planned to attend went ahead there that night, turned into a tribute to her.

Two days before her death, Houston sang 'Jesus Loves Me' with which singer from her hit 'Heartbreak Hotel'?

Kelly Price; Houston was a guest at Price's own pre-Grammy party and stepped onstage for the impromptu duet.

In 2020 Houston was inducted, on her first nomination, into which institution?

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; her mother and sister-in-law accepted the honour on her behalf.

In 1978 the 14-year-old Houston earned her first standing ovation at Town Hall singing which Broadway song?

It was from Annie, sung during her mother's cabaret show; five years later she sang 'Home' from The Wiz on Merv Griffin.

In the mid-1980s Houston reportedly turned down a role on which hit sitcom?

The Cosby Show; she reportedly passed on the part because she had decided to pursue singing instead.

Rolling Stone's 2023 list of the greatest singers ranked Houston second, behind which singer?

Aretha Franklin; at the 1998 Grammys she stepped in at the last minute to sing 'Nessun dorma' for an ailing Luciano Pavarotti.

Which 'He's a Rebel' singer, a friend of Whitney's mother, first met Whitney when she was eight?

Darlene Love; she sang lead on 'He's a Rebel', though Phil Spector released it under the Crystals' name.

Houston was introduced to a national TV audience in June 1983 singing 'Home' from The Wiz on whose show?

She had signed with Arista just two months earlier after Clive Davis saw her at the Sweetwaters club.

In 1984 Houston duetted on 'Take Good Care of My Heart' with which member of a famous family group?

The track appeared on his album Dynamite, the same year her duet with Teddy Pendergrass gave her a first hit.

In the late 1970s, which singer turned down The Bodyguard over its script, years before Houston starred?

Diana Ross was to star opposite Ryan O'Neal, but she backed away, and the project stalled for years before Houston took the role.

The Bodyguard's 'I Have Nothing' lost the Oscar for Best Original Song to a song from which film?

Aladdin's 'A Whole New World' won; Tim Rice wrote its lyrics because Alan Menken's first Aladdin lyricist, Howard Ashman, had died.

Which actress played Houston in the 2022 biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody?

Naomi Ackie lip-synced to Houston's original recordings, singing herself only briefly in a few early scenes.