Whitney Houston Biography

Fast Facts

• Nicknamed Nippy by her parents; later used that as the name of her management company
• Began singing in her mother's church choir at 11 years old
• Landed gigs as a backup vocalist for Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls in 1978
• Worked as a model in the early 1980s, gracing the covers of Glamour and Seventeen magazines
• Appeared on the sitcoms Gimme a Break! (1984) and Silver Spoons (1985)
• Broke a U
• S
• chart record in 1988 with seven consecutive No
• 1 hits, beating the previous record of six by the Beatles and the Bee Gees
• Formed the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children in 1989, which gives annual grants for deserving minorities to attend New York City's Juilliard School of Music
• Received an honorary doctorate from Grambling University
• Accidentally drowned on the eve of the 54th Grammy Awards in the bathtub in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she was preparing to appear at mentor Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party