I am sure that you have listened to lots of Whitney Houston hit songs in your life, but did you know which song is Whitney’s most successful song till now? If not, then I think you must know about her most successful album.
Don’t worry if you don’t know about Whitney’s most successful album or hits; lots of her fans are not aware of those details. Today, with the help of Whitney Houston Interesting Facts and Trivia, I am going to share all the information related to her life and career.
From her chart-busting singles to her last album, you will find lots of interesting and fun facts about Whitney Houston. Apart from the facts, you can also read her quotes by clicking here: ‘Famous Whitney Houston quotes.’
A)- Whitney Houston Interesting facts and trivia
1- She earned the nickname ‘The Voice’ due to her exceptional and powerful vocal abilities.
2- Apart from being a singer, Whitney was also an actress, producer, and model.
3- Her records sold over 220 million, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
4- She was named the second-greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2023.
5- Whitney started her modelling career as a teenager, and in 1981, at the age of 18, she made history by becoming the 1st African American woman to appear on the cover of the American magazine ‘Seventeen.’
6- In 2022, a biographical film about her life and career, titled ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody,’ was released by Sony Pictures. Naomi Ackie played the role of Whitney, and the movie earned around $59.8 million at the box office.
7- At the age of 12, Whitney had her 1st solo performance at New Hope, where she sang the hymn “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah.”
8- Her mother, Cissy Houston, gave her lessons on how to sing music when Whitney was a teenager.
9- Her 1st album sold more than 25 million copies globally and became one of the best-selling albums of all time.
10- In 2001, Whitney signed one of the biggest recording deals of all time with Arista Records, valued at more than $100 million.
11- She was inspired by her mother and artists like Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, and Chaka Khan, and their styles had a profound impact on her singing.
12- Her most watched video on YouTube is ‘Whitney Houston: I Will Always Love You’ with over 1.5 billion views.
13- Whitney’s most streamed song on Spotify is ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)’, with more than 1.05 billion streams as of November 8, 2023.
14- In 1988, she was awarded an honorary degree of ‘Doctor of Humane Letters’ from Grambling State University.
B)- Whitney Houston Childhood and Early Life Facts
15- Whitney was born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey. She was an African-American.
16- She was born at Newark Beth Israel Hospital, which is now Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
17- Her mother, Cissy Houston, was a Grammy-winning soul and gospel singer.
18- Her father, ‘John Russell Houston’, was an entertainment talent manager and a former army serviceman.
19- She had three siblings, and she was the youngest of her parents.
20- Houston started singing in church at a young age.
21- Her real name was “Whitney Elizabeth Houston.”
22- Houston joined the church choir of New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, when she was just 5 years old. She also learned to play the piano at the church.
23- In 1977, at the age of 14, she participated in a statewide talent show called the New Jersey Star Talent Search and won second place.
C)- Educational Facts
24- She attended Franklin Elementary School but later transferred to Mount Saint Dominic Academy due to her desire to pursue a career in music.
25- Whitney completed high school at Mount Saint Dominic Academy in 1981.
26- After completing high school graduation, Whitney didn’t attend college and started her musical career.
D)- Career-related facts and information
27- She started her music career by working as a background singer for her mother, Cissy Houston, in a cabaret club in New York City.
28- Whitney also provided background vocals for Chaka Khan & Lou Rawls on their albums “Naughty” and “Shades of Blue,” both released in 1980.
29- She signed with Arista Records at the age of 19 in 1983.
30- Whitney recorded her first single “Hold Me”, a duet with Teddy Pendergrass. It was released in 1984 and reached No. 5 on the R&B chart.
31- She released her first studio album, ‘Whitney Houston’, on Valentine’s Day, 14 February, 1985, by Arista Records.
32- Her 1st album topped the Billboard 200 chart in 1986 for nearly 14 weeks and produced three No. 1 singles.
33- Her first album was 46 minutes, 54 seconds long, and consisted of seven singles. In 2023, her album was certified 14× Platinum by the RIAA.
34- During her 35-year music career, Whitney released seven studio albums, one live album, 8 compilation albums, 7 EPs, and 5 Box sets.
35- Her last and final studio album was I ‘Look to You’, which was released on 28 August, 2009.
36- Her most successful single is “I Will Always Love You,” from the soundtrack to the 1992 film The Bodyguard. At that time, her song made a record by being No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 14 weeks and selling over 20 million copies worldwide.
37- Her most successful studio album is The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album (1992). The album has sold more than 50 million copies globally, making it the best-selling album by a female artist of all time.
38- Whitney made her acting debut in 1992 in a romantic thriller movie called ‘The Bodyguard.’ The film was a box-office success, grossing over $411 million worldwide.
39- She appeared in four feature films during her lifetime, including The Bodyguard (1992), Waiting to Exhale (1995), The Preacher’s Wife (1996), and Cinderella (1997).
Whitney Houston Major Awards and Nominations
- 22 American Music Awards out of 38 nominations
- 16 Billboard Music Awards out of 22 nominations
- 2 BRIT Awards out of 5 nominations
- 55 Cash Box Year-End Awards out of 81 nominations
- 6 Grammy Awards out of 25 nominations
- 2 Grammy Hall of Fame out of 2 nominations.
- 14 World Music Awards out of 20 nominations
40- She also had 28 Guinness World Records.
Net Worth
41- Whitney Houston is estimated to have earned over $250 million during her career.
42- She earned a lot of money during her career but also spent a lot, due to which she had a negative $20 million net worth at the time of her death.
43- During her last time, she was in debt, and later, her debt was paid by Whitney Houston Estate.
E) Love-life and Marriage Facts
44- Houston was briefly linked to actor and comedian Eddie Murphy in the mid-1980s.
45- She was also rumoured to have had a brief romantic involvement with Jermaine Jackson.
46- Her well-known relationship was with singer Bobby Brown. They married in 1992 and had one child together.
47- In an interview, Houston revealed that she had multiple miscarriages during her married life. Her 1st miscarriage happened during the shoot of ‘the bodyguard.’
48- Her marriage to Brown didn’t work well, and they divorced in 2007.
49- Whitney had one daughter, ‘Bobbi Kristina Brown’, with her ex-husband Bobby Brown.
Death
50- Whitney Houston tragically passed away on February 11, 2012, at the age of forty-eight.
51- As per reports, the reason for her death was accidental drowning in the bathtub of her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
I hope, with the help of Whitney Houston Interesting Facts and Trivia, you get a deeper understanding of her life and career. To read such interesting facts about famous people, stay connected with us.
FAQs
Ans- Whitney Houston passed away on February 11, 2012.
Ans- She had only one kid, a daughter from her ex-husband, Bobby Brown.
Ans- British actress ‘Naomi Ackie’ played the role of Whitney in her movie.