name	My Love Is Your Love
type	studio
artist	Whitney Houston
cover	Whitney Houston - My Love Is Your Love album cover.jpg
released	November 17, 1998
recorded	August–October 1998
genre	R&B;, soul, pop
length	60:45
label	Arista
producer	Babyface, Kelvin Bradshaw, Lloyd"Spec" TurnerClive Davis, Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis, Missy Elliott, David Foster, Lauryn Hill, Whitney Houston, Wyclef Jean, Rodney Jerkins
last album	''The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album''(1996)
this album	''My Love Is Your Love''(1998)
next album	''Whitney: The Greatest Hits'' (2000)
misc	}}

''My Love Is Your Love'' is the fourth studio album by American singer Whitney Houston, released worldwide on November 17, 1998. The album, her first studio album in eight years since ''I'm Your Baby Tonight'', was composed of mid-tempo R&B;, hip hop, ballads, urban-dance, reggae, and torch songs, produced by different musicians such as Rodney Jerkins, Soulshock & Karlin, Wyclef Jean, David Foster, and Babyface. Although the album only peaked at number thirteen—her lowest position at the point—on the ''Billboard'' 200, and it sold less than Houston's previous albums in the United States, it was a hit globally, with successful world tour in support of the album. In particular, it was a hit in Europe, topping the charts in Austria, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. It also reached the top five in other Euroepan countries like Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom. The album generated five hit singles, including three top five Hot 100 hits: "Heartbreak Hotel", "It's Not Right But It's Okay" and the title track, "My Love Is Your Love", became Houston's third best-selling single ever. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI, Europe) certified it 4× platinum for shipping 4 million copies of the album in 1999 and 2002, respectively. Worldwide it has sold over 10 million copies.

With its commercial success, ''My Love Is Your Love'' received rave reviews from many critics, regarded as one of her best works. At the 42nd Grammy Awards of 2000, the album got seven nominations including Best R&B; Album and two Best R&B; Songs, and won one of which, Houston's sixth Grammy Award, Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance.

Commercial performance

In the United States, ''My Love Is Your Love'' was released on November 17, 1998 when major records were released simultaneously for the holidays by high-profile musicians like Garth Brooks, Jewel, Method Man, The Offspring and Seal besides her.''Time'' magazine wrote, "Music-industry folks have dubbed it Super Tuesday because more than 10 major pop acts issued new CDs on the single day, making it the heaviest release date ever." The album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 chart at number thirteen, which was the peak position of the album and her lowest chart position at that point in time, with sales of 123,000 copies in its first week. That result was a little disapponted because the release was Houston's first non-soundtrack album in eight years and so anticipated highly. But eventually, the album got good results thanks to a series of hit singles, her energetic promotions and a successful tour. ''My Love Is Your Love'' was present on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart for seventy-five weeks and on ''Billboard'' Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart for seventy-nine weeks, peaking at number seven. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it 4× Platinum on November 1, 1999, for shipments of 4 million copies of the album. According to the Nielson SoundScan, the albums has sold 2,753,000 copies.

Across Europe, it was more successful than in United States. In early times of its release, the commercial response for the album was short of expectations. But its sales rose sharply during the European leg of the ''My Love Is Your Love World Tour'', which was the highest grossing arena concert tour of 1999 in the continent, and consequently ''My Love Is Your Love'' became the second best-selling album of 1999 in Europe behind Cher's ''Believe'', spending more than one year on the charts in many countries. In the U.K., it reached the number four on the albums chart and was certified 3× Platinum for shipments of 900,000 copies of the album by the British Phonographic Industry(BPI). In France, the album peaked at number two on the albums chart, was certified 2× Platinum by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique(SNEP), selling 700,000 copies. In Germany, it climbed to the number two on the albums chart on its 35th week and has sold more than 670,000 copies. The album reached the number one on the albums charts in Austria, Switzerland and Netherlands, and the top five in Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Finland. ''My Love Is Your Love'' was certified 4× Platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry(IFPI) for shipments of 4 million copies of the album in Europe. Worldwide, the album has sold over 10 milion copies.

Critical response

Upon the album's debut, the album received positive responses from music critics. Rob Sheffield of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine commented that "It's easily her most consistent album ever — in fact, it's her first consistent album.", and praised her mature voice as follows. Jon Pareles, in his review for the ''New York Times'', praised her fully developed voice, too. He stated that her sound was "supple and devout", comparing Carey's fidgetting sound with every phrase in "When You Believe", and commented "Ms. Houston used to be similarly showy and disjointed, but now her improvisations bring emotional coherence to technical feats." With expressing his interest about any connections between her troubled marriage and her new materials, commented "Lest anyone draw other conclusions from the songs, the album carries a disclaimer." Also, he was almost positive about her new songs with changed style such as "It's Not Right But It's Okay", "Heartbreak Hotel" and "My Love Is Your Love", but was critical of more old-fashioned ballads, commenting "sound stodgy and bombastic". In ''Billboard'' magazine's review, the issue dated November 28, 1999, they called the album "A tour de force that showcases her strengths in a wide array of musical genres from pop to R&B; to gospel to dance." Also, stating "On an album with writing and production input from a diverse roster of players, Houston keeps it all together with her spectacular voice and singular artistic persona.", wrote "the album with immense crossover potential". Mark Bautz of ''Entertainment Weekly'' gave the album B+, calling ''My Love Is Your Love'' "A schizophrenic album" and "A primer on today's hip-hop/R&B; scene: the good, the bad." by reason of the uneveness of the album. He commented "Wyclef Jean's gorgeous reggae-tinged title song and three funky cuts by Rodney Jerkins showcase the 35-year-old Whitney Houston in all her creative, soulful maturity. In contrast, a trio of schmaltzy Babyface-produced tunes expose her as merely a gifted interpreter of bland radio-ready fare.". Similarly,''TIME'' praised some new songs, calling the title song "superb" and Houston's remake of Stevie Wonder's classic "fabulous", but criticized the old-fashioned songs of the album sharply, commenting "The problem is with the Old Guard: producer David Foster's work is dull, and Dianne Warren and Babyface, who both wrote tracks, have better work on their respective resumes." Writing for ''USA Today'' in November 1998, Steve Jones made a favorable comment on almost every song whether it is a ballad with her formula for success or a new styled song produced by hot, young producers who've updated and diversified her sound, stating "There's something here for just about everybody, whether you favor R&B;, pop or adult contemporary radio." But he chose the remake "I Was Made To Love Him" as the best track of the album, complimenting the song highly, "The rollicking, gender-flipping remake". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic, who gave the album four out of five stars, called it "easily ranks among her best" and complimented the musical diversity "Houston has never been quite so subtle before, nor has she ever shown this desire to branch out musically." But he also wasn't positive for adult contemporary ballads of the album, stating "In fact, the songs that feel the stiffest are the big production numbers; tellingly, they're the songs that are the most reminiscent of old-school Houston." ''Los Angeles Times'' gave it three out of four stars, writing "[It] reflect her growth as an artist and as an individual."

Track listing

{{tracklist | extra_column = Producer(s) | writing_credits = yes | title1 = It's Not Right But It's Okay | writer1 = Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Isaac Phillips, Tony Estes | extra1 = Rodney Jerkins | length1 = 4:52 | title2 = Heartbreak Hotel | note2 = Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price | writer2 = Kenneth Karlin, Tamara Savage, Carsten Schack | extra2 = Soulshock and Karlin | length2 = 4:41 | title3 = My Love Is Your Love | writer3 = Wyclef Jean, Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis | extra3 = Wyclef Jean, Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis | length3 = 4:22 | title4 = When You Believe | note4 = Duet with Mariah Carey from ''The Prince of Egypt'' | writer4 = Stephen Schwartz (additional music by Babyface) | extra4 = Babyface | length4 = 4:32 | title5 = If I Told You That | writer5 = Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Tony Estes | extra5 = Rodney Jerkins | length5 = 4:37 | title6 = In My Business | note6 = Featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott | writer6 = Missy Elliott, Kelvin "K.B." Bradshaw, Lloyd "Spec" Turner | extra6 = Missy Elliott, Kelvin "K.B." Bradshaw, Lloyd "Spec" Turner | length6 = 3:27 | title7 = I Learned from the Best | writer7 = Diane Warren | extra7 = David Foster | length7 = 4:21 | title8 = Oh Yes | writer8 = Missy Elliott, Kelvin "K.B." Bradshaw, Lloyd "Spec" Turner | extra8 = Missy Elliott, Kelvin "K.B." Bradshaw, Lloyd "Spec" Turner | length8 = 6:47 | title9 = Get It Back | writer9 = Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Tony Estes | extra9 = Rodney Jerkins | length9 = 4:53 | title10 = Until You Come Back | writer10 = Babyface, Daryl Simmons | extra10 = Babyface | length10 = 4:52 | title11 = I Bow Out | writer11 = Diane Warren | extra11 = Babyface, Rodney Jerkins | length11 = 4:31 | title12 = You'll Never Stand Alone | writer12 = Diane Warren | extra12 = Babyface | length12 = 4:21 | title13 = I Was Made to Love Him | note13 = hidden track | writer13 = Henry Cosby, Lula Mae Hardaway, Sylvia Moy, Stevie Wonder | extra13 = Lauryn Hill | length13 = 4:26 }} {{tracklist | collapsed = yes | headline = Australian and Korean 2CD Limited Edition (The Club Remix Bonus CD) | title1 = It's Not Right But It's Okay | note1 = Thunderpuss 2000 Club Mix | length1 = 9:15 | title2 = My Love Is Your Love | note2 = Wyclef Remix | length2 = 4:10 | title3 = Heartbreak Hotel | note3 = Hex Hector Radio Mix | length3 = 4:20 | title4 = It's Not Right But It's Okay | note4 = Johnny Vicious Radio Mix | length4 = 4:14 | title5 = My Love Is Your Love | note5 = Jonathan Peters' Tight Mix | length5 = 8:23 }}

Promotions

Date

Title

Details

''The Rosie O'Donnell Show''

*Houston performed "Heartbreak Hotel (Whitney Houston song)

''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show''

When You Believe" from ''The Prince of Egypt (OST)>The Prince of Egypt Original Soundtrack Album'' with Mariah Carey well known as 'big rival' for the first time on TV.

*Houston and Carey talked about their recording process for "When You Believe" and new albums.

*Later, Houston returned to sing "I Learned from the Best" on the stage again.

Heartbreak Hotel (Whitney Houston song)>Heartbreak Hotel" with Faith Evans & Kelly Price.

''Late Show with David Letterman''

David Letterman, sang "My Love Is Your Love (song)>My Love Is Your Love" with Wyclef Jean and was interviewed.

My Love Is Your Love (song)>My Love Is Your Love" and "I Learned from the Best" at Rockefeller Center in New York.

''The Prince Of Egypt TV Special''

*Houston co-host the special with Mariah Carey for promoting the animated film, ''"The Prince of Egypt"'', aired on WNBC.

The Prince of Egypt (OST)>The Prince of Egypt Original Soundtrack Album''.

*Other version of "When You Believe" music video was released on this special.

*Houston performed "Until You Come Back" & "My Love Is Your Love (song)

*Houston was interviewed by [[Jay Leno and performed "I Learned from the Best".

''The Surprise Show''

*Houston performed "It's Not Right But It's Okay" on Dutch TV show, ''The Surprise Show''.

''C'era Un Ragazzo''

*Houston appeared on the Italian TV show ''C'era Un Ragazzo'' and sang "It's Not Right But It's Okay".

All at Once (Whitney Houston song)>All at Once" with the show host Gianni Morandi and "I Learned from the Best".

Festival della canzone italiana>The 37th Festival di Sanremo in 1987, in where she participated as guest performer and sang "All at Once" twice.

I Will Always Love You#Whitney Houston version>I Will Always Love You" performance, and finished the song with that girl.

*It was followed by "It's Not Right But It's Okay" and "I Learned from the Best" performance.

*Houston was introduced as "the international singing legend" by the host, Johnny Vaughan, and performed "It's Not Right But It's Okay".

*This performance marked the first time she's performed on the show in twelve years("How Will I Know" in 1987).

''Sen kväll med Luuk''

TV4 (Sweden)>TV4's most popular talk shows ever during ''My Love Is Your Love'' European promotion.

*Houston performed "It's Not Right But It's Okay" and was interviewed by host, Kristian Luuk, for about 10 minutes.

''Top of the Pops''

It's Not Right But It's Okay", "My Love Is Your Love (song)>My Love Is Your Love and "I Learned from the Best" at the Elstree Studios.

*Each of three song performances were aired on other date in 1999.

*Her appearance on TOTP, was only the second time in her career - the first was 1987's performance for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)".

*Houston sang "It's Not Right But It's Okay" on the German TV show ''Wetten Dass'' during European promotion for ''My Love Is Your Love''.

''Les Annees Tube''

Heartbreak Hotel (Whitney Houston song)>Heartbreak Hotel" with the video in the background on French TV show, ''Les Annees Tube'', aired TF1.

*This show was taped during her European promotion in February, 1999.

*Her appearance on French TV show, was for the first time since her tragic incident with Serge Gainsbourg who insulted her on the live French TV show called ''Champs Elysees'' in 1986.

align="left"

When You Believe" from The Prince of Egypt with Mariah Carey, which was nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Song>Best Original Song.

*Houston sang "It's Not Right But It's Okay" with "Get It Back" intro.

*She later returned to honor Luther Vandross with ''Quincy Jones Award for Outstanding Career Achievements'' and sang "So Amazing" during Luther Vandross Tribute Medley.

Tina Turner, Cher, Brandy Norwood>Brandy and Faith Hill top the bill for this concert special staged by VH1 which pays tribute to the women of pop music.

Beacon Theatre (New York City)>Beacon Theatre in New York on April 13, became the highest-rated single broadcast in VH1 history.

*Whitney performed two new songs from ''My Love Is Your Love'' album as well as her classic hits.

*setlist:

**"It's Not Right But It's Okay"

**"Ain't No Way (with Mary J. Blige)

My Love Is Your Love (song)>My Love Is Your Love" (featuring Treach by Naughty by Nature)

**"I Will Always Love You"

**"I'm Every Woman" (with Chaka Khan)

**"I'm Every Woman" (reprise) (with Mary J. Blige, Brandy, Faith Hill, Chaka Khan and LeAnn Rimes)

''The Oprah Winfrey Show''

*Houston first showcased her new edgy wardrobe designed by Dolce & Gabbana on this show prior to the ''My Love Is Your Love World Tour'' opening in Chicago at the Arie Crown Theater.

It's Not Right But It's Okay", "My Love Is Your Love (song)>My Love Is Your Love" and "Greatest Love of All".

Singles

All five singles released from ''My Love Is Your Love'', were great success worldwide. In the United States, they were all the top forty ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits, which of three reached the top five on the chart, selling a total of 3.9 million copies. The album generated two Platinum and two Gold singles, awarded by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1999. In the United Kingdom, Houston also went to have five top forty singles including three top five hits, with a total of 1.09 million copies sold, becoming the eighth best-selling singles artist of 1999. The singles also achieved big success in other countries such as Canada, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.

"When You Believe", duet with Mariah Carey, was released as the lead single of the album in December 1998. The song debuted at number fifty-one without retail single on the new ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, changed airplay-only tracks to enter the chart, the issue date of December 5, 1998. Before release, it led to expectations that the song would be a smash hit for star power of two industrial rivals. However, after the single had released, it managed to peak at number fifteen on the chart, the issue dated January 30, 1999. It reached number thirty-three on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B; Singles & Tracks chart. ''Billboard'' was unfavorable for the single, commenting "Given the potential of these two[Houston and Carey] powerhouse voices, however, the song falls flat with a surprisingly understated and downright disappointing bridge: You wait and wait for the duel of the divas, and it simply never materializes," but positive of Houston's performance; "The genuine story in this track is the return of Houston, who sounds fantasticㅡas clear and confident as ever." The RIAA certified it Gold for shipments of 500,000 copies on March 24, 1999. Unlike in the United States, the single was a success on the world charts. It reached the top five in the U.K. with 260,000 copies sold, Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the top ten in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand. Thanks to popularity for the song across Europe, it eventually peaked at number two on the Eurochart Hot 100.

The album's second single, "Heartbreak Hotel" which features Faith Evans and Kelly Price, entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at number eighty-four, the issue date of December 26, 1998. In its first week when the song was commercially available, it leaped to number twenty-nine, and after six weeks peaked at number two on the Hot 100, making it the first Houston single to peak in the runner-up spot. The song entered the revamped ''Billboard'' Hot R&B; Singles & Tracks chart at number twenty-three with the mark of its seventh week on the chart, the issue date of January 9, 1999. In Its first week of retail release, it reached the number six and the following week topped the chart, becoming her eighth No.1 single on the Hot R&B; chart. The single stayed on the summit for seven consecutive weeks from February 13 to March 27, 1999, which was her third longest stay atop this chart behind "I Will Always Love You" for eleven weeks and "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" for eight weeks, and was on the chart for a total of thirty-one weeks. The single sold over 1,400,000 copies in the U.S. alone, becoming the third best-selling single of 1999, and was certified Platinum by the RIAA on March 2, 1999.

"It's Not Right But It's Okay" was released as the third single from the album in May 1999. Before May, it was featured as the B-side of maxi-singles with "Heartbreak Hotel," and charted on the Hot 100 and Hot R&B; with its only airplay and sales of maxi-singles. The song appeared firstly at number sixty-four on the Hot R&B; Singles & Tracks chart, the issue date of January 9, 1999. It rose higher position of the chart steadily, and eventually reached its peak position, number seven, in its twenty-fourth week on the chart. On the Hot 100 chart, the single debuted at number eighty-seven, the issue date of May 8, 1999, and after the regular-length cassette & CD configurations had hit stores, peaked at number four, selling 522,000 copies in the United States. The RIAA certified it Gold on June 29, 1999. It was also successful in the United Kingdom. The single reached the number three on the singles chart, making it her twelfth top ten hits, and sold over 510,000 units, ranked at number twenty-five in the list of UK's best-selling singles in 1999. In Canada, it made rare chart performances, peaking at number three for the regular single and number five for its import single simultaneously on the Canadian SoundScan Singles chart in August 1999. After her European promotion during February in 1999, it was popular in many countries of Europe, reaching the number one in Spain, top twenty in Austria, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden. Finally it peaked at number nine on the Eurochart Hot 100.

The title track, "My Love Is Your Love" was the fourth single from the album. It was a massive hit worldwide, becoming Houston's another signature song. Firstly, the single was released in each country of Europe from June 1999, prior to the Unite States. Upon release, the song was popular immediately across Europe, and became a bigger hit during her ''My Love Is Your Love European Tour.'' In the U.K., it went straight to its peak position, number two, on the singles chart, the issue date of July 3, 1999. The single sold 525,000 copies, becoming the twenty-second best-selling single of 1999. In Germany, it peaked at number two and was certified Platinum for shipments of 500,000 copies by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI). It also reached the number two in countries such as Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. It went to top ten in Belgium, Denmark, France, and Norway. Eventually the single topped the Eurochart Hot 100 for a week, becoming her fourth number one single, and was positioned at number six in the Europe's Top Singles list of 1999. In New Zealand, it peaked at number one for a week, which was Houston's third number-one single after 1987's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and 1992's "I Will Always Love You." Likewise, it was a hit in the United States. The song debuted at number eighty-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in September 1999 and peaked at number four in January 2000, becoming her 22nd top ten hit. In addition, it reached the number two position on the Hot R&B; Singles & Tracks chart, spending a total of twenty-nine weeks on the chart. The single sold 1,100,000 copies and was certified Platinum by the RIAA on December 14, 1999. Worldwide it sold over 3 million copies and became her third best-selling single ever, behind "I Will Always Love You" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)," with 12 million and 4.2 million copies sold, respectively.

"I Learned from the Best" became the fifth and final single to be released off the album in February, 2000. The song debuted at number eighty-three on the Hot 100 and peaked at number twenty-seven. It reached the number thirteen on the Hot R&B; Singles & Tracks. According to the Nielsen SoundScan, the single sold 352,000 units in the United States alone. Outside the U.S., it wasn't successful as big as the previous singles from the album. The single reached the number six in Finland, the number eight in Spain, and the number nineteen in the United Kingdom with 95,000 copies sold. Besides, it went to the top forty in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.

''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music chart

The songs with various remix versions, released off ''My Love Is Your Love'', were very popular in dance clubs and smash hits on the ''Billboard'' Dance Music chart. Four consecutive singles reached the number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play chartㅡ"It's Not Right But It's Okay" for three weeks, "Heartbreak Hotel" for a week, "My Love Is Your Love" for two Weeks, and "I Learned from the Best" for three weeks. Moreover, the maxi-singles, released as vinyl, cassette and CD formats, were successful on the ''Billboard'' Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart. "My Love Is Your Love" topped the chart for two weeks, and "I Learned from the Best" for one week. "Heartbreak Hotel/It's Not Right But It's Okay" and "It's Not Right But It's Okay/I Will Always Love You" peaked at number two on the chart, respectively.

Charts and certifications

Chart positions

!Charts	!Peakposition
ARIA Charts	Australian Albums Chart
	IFPI>Austrian Albums Chart
Belgian Albums Chart(Wa)
UK Albums Chart

Year-end charts

Chart (1998) !! Position
French Albums Chart
! Chart (1999) !! Position
Austrian Albums Chart
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)	11
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)	24
Dutch Albums Chart	15
French Albums Chart
Swiss Albums Chart	8

Decade-end charts

!Chart (1990–1999)	!Position
Austrian Albums Chart

Certifications and sales

!Region	!Provider	!Music recording sales certification	!Sales/shipments
Australia		Gold	35,000+
Austria		Platinum	50,000+
Belgium	IFPI(BEA)	Platinum	50,000+
Canada	[[CRIA	2× Platinum	200,000+
Europe		4× Platinum	4,000,000+
Finland	Gold	24,548+
France		2× Platinum	700,000+
Netherlands	NVPI	Platinum	100,000+
Poland		Platinum
Sweden		2× Platinum	160,000+
Switzerland	3× Platinum	150,000+
United Kingdom		3× Platinum	900,000+
United States		4× Platinum	2,753,000+/4,000,000+
Worldwide	!10,000,000+

Singles chart positions

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		! colspan="4" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! rowspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! rowspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! rowspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! rowspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! colspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! rowspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! rowspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! rowspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! rowspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! rowspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! rowspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! rowspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! rowspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! rowspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! rowspan="2" style="width:3em;font-size:75%"
		! style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! style="width:3em;font-size:75%"
1998		15	33	3	―	26	4	13	6	5	4	2	10	5	8	7	4	2	8	2	2
	style="text-align:left;font-size:90%;"	2	1	―	1	12	―	17	―	―	―	―	―	7	―	―	41	―	rowspan="2"	―	77
	4	7	―	1	3	3	88	20	40	―	1	―	21	14	21	12	―	12	18
style="text-align:left;font-size:90%;"	4	2	―	1	10	2	27	2	3	9	―	12	10	2	2	2	4	1	2	2
	27	13	20	1	―	19	―	―	―	―	8	6	44	48	18	34	―	―	23	28

Note: A^ In New Zealand, "Heartbreak Hotel" was released as a double A-Side single with "It's Not Right But It's Okay" in April 1999.

Chart procession and succession

Accolades

Academy Awards

|- | width="35" align="center"|1999 || "When You Believe" (Duet with Mariah Carey) || Best Original Song (the songwriter: Stephen Schwartz) || |-

American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Awards

|- | width="35" align="center" rowspan="2"|1999 || rowspan="2"|"When You Believe" (Duet with Mariah Carey) || Outstanding Performance Of A Song For A Feature Film || |- |Outstanding Music Video || |-

American Music Awards

During Houston's career, she was nominated a total of seven times for "Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist" and "Favorite Soul/R&B; Female Artist" category, which of them won four and three respectively. Also, ''My Love Is Your Love'' was her fourth nomination for "Favorite Soul/R&B; Album" category. |- | width="35" align="center" rowspan="3"|2000 || rowspan="2"|Whitney Houston (herself) || |Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist || |- | Favorite Soul/R&B; Female Artist || |- | ''My Love Is Your Love'' || Favorite Soul/R&B; Album || |-

Bambi Verleihung (Bambi Awards)

Houston was honord with "Pop International" award for her 20 years outstanding career as a musical artist. |- | width="35" align="center"|1999 || align="center"|— || Pop International || |-

Billboard Music Awards

|- | width="35" align="center" rowspan="3"|1999 || Whitney Houston (herself) || Female Artist of the Year || |- | rowspan="2"|"Heartbreak Hotel"(Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price) || Hot 100 Single of the Year || |- | R&B; Single of the Year || |-

Blockbuster Entertainment Awards

|- | width="35" align="center"|1999 || ''My Love Is Your Love'' || Faverite Female Artist, R&B; || |- | width="35" align="center" rowspan="3"|2000 || ''My Love Is Your Love'' || Favorite Female Artist, R&B; || |- | "Heartbreak Hotel"(Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price) || Favorite Single || |- | "When You Believe" (Duet with Mariah Carey) || Favorite Song from a Movie || |-

BMI Pop Awards

All winners are determined by the number of feature broadcast performances on American radio and TV during the eligibility year. |- | width="35" align="center" rowspan="3"|2000 || "Heartbreak Hotel" || BMI Pop Award (Karlin, Soulshock) || |- | "It's Not Right But It's Okay" || BMI Pop Award (Fred Jerkins, Rodney Jerkins) || |- | "When You Believe" || BMI Pop Award (Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds) || |- | width="35" align="center"|2001 || "My Love Is Your Love" || BMI Pop Award (Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis) ||

BRIT Awards

|- | width="35" align="center"|2000'' || Whitney Houston (herself) || Best International Female Artist || |-

Golden Globe Awards

|- | width="35" align="center"|1999 || "When You Believe" (Duet with Mariah Carey) || Best Original Song, Motion Picture (the songwriter: Stephen Schwartz) || |-

Grammy Awards

Houston won her first "Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance" award through her career. She had been nominated six times for this category but not won. This was her sixth Grammy Award. |- | align="center" rowspan="7"|2000 || "When You Believe" (Duet with Mariah Carey) || Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals || |- | "It's Not Right But It's Okay" || Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance || |- | ''My Love Is Your Love'' || Best R&B; Album || |- | rowspan="2"|"Heartbreak Hotel"(Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price) || Best R&B; Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal || |- | Best R&B; Song (the songwriters: Kenneth Karlin, Tamara Savage and Carsten Schack) || |- | "It Not Right But It's Okay" || Best R&B; Song (the songwriters: LaShawn Daniels, Tony Estes, Fred Jerkins III, Rodney Jerkins, and Isaac Phillips) || |- | "When You Believe" (Duet with Mariah Carey) || Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (the songwriters: Stephen Schwartz, Babyface) || |-

MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Awards

|- | width="35" align="center"|1999 || Whitney Houston (herself) || Best International Act || |-

MTV Europe Music Awards

|- | width="35" align="center" rowspan="2"|1999 || rowspan="2"|Whitney Houston (herself) || Best Female || |- |Best R&B; || |-

MTV Video Music Awards

Houston was nominated for "Best R&B; Video" for "Heartbreak Hotel" music video directed by Kevin Bray, which was her first nomination in thirteen years at VMAs since she has won the "Best Female Video" for "How Will I Know" at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards. |- | width="35" align="center"|1999 || "Heartbreak Hotel" || Best R&B; Video || |-

NAACP Image Awards

|- | width="35" align="center" rowspan="5"|1999 || ''My Love Is Your Love'' || Outstanding Female Artist || |- | rowspan="3"|"When You Believe" (Duet with Mariah Carey) || Outstanding Duo or Group || |- |Outstanding Music Video || |- |Outstanding Song || |- | ''My Love Is Your Love'' || Outstanding Album || |- | width="35" align="center" rowspan="2"|2000 || "Heartbreak Hotel"(Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price) || Outstanding Female Artist || |- | "My Love Is Your Love" || Outstanding Song || |-

NRJ Music Awards

|- | width="35" align="center" rowspan="2"|2000 || Whitney Houston (herself) || Artiste féminine internationale de l'année (International Female Artist of the Year) || |- | ''My Love Is Your Love'' || Album international de l'année (International Album of the Year) || |-

Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Awards

Certification awards

{|class="wikitable" !width="35"|Year !width="80"|Date !width="250"|Title !width="80"|Format(s) !width="250"|Award Description(s) !width="75"|Result(s) |- |align="center" rowspan="2"|1998 |align="center" rowspan="2"|December 18 |''My Love Is Your Love'' |align="center"|Album |Gold | |- |''My Love Is Your Love'' |align="center"|Album |Platinum | |- |align="center" rowspan="8"|1999 |align="center"|January 15 |''My Love Is Your Love'' |align="center"|Album |2× Multi-Platinum | |- |align="center"|February 17 |"Heartbreak Hotel" |align="center"|Single |Gold | |- |align="center"|March 2 |"Heartbreak Hotel" |align="center"|Single |Platinum | |- |align="center"|March 24 |"When You Believe" |align="center"|Single |Gold | |- |align="center"|June 29 |"It's Not Right But It's Okay" |align="center"|Single |Gold | |- |align="center"|September 30 |"My Love Is Your Love" |align="center"|Single |Gold | |- |align="center"|October 15 |''My Love Is Your Love'' |align="center"|Album |3× Multi-Platinum | |- |align="center"|December 14 |"My Love Is Your Love" |align="center"|Single |Platinum | |- |align="center"|2000 |align="center"|May 15 |''My Love Is Your Love'' |align="center"|Album |4× Multi-Platinum | |- |}

Artists of the Century Awards

|- | width="35" align="center"|1999 || Whitney Houston (herself) || Top-selling R&B; Female Artist of the Century || |-

Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards

|- | width="35" align="center" rowspan="2"|1999 || "Heartbreak Hotel"(Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price) || |Best R&B;/Soul Single, Group, Band Or Duo || |- | ''My Love Is Your Love'' || Best R&B;/Soul Album Of The Year, Solo || |-

Soul Train Music Awards

Houston was honored "the Artist of the Decade, female" award in recognition of extraordinary artistic contributions during the 1990s. |- | width="35" align="center" rowspan="3"|2000 || "My Love Is Your Love" || |Best R&B;/Soul Single, Female || |- | ''My Love Is Your Love'' || Best R&B;/Soul Album, Female | |- |Special Award || The Artist of the Decade — Female || |-

''Billboard'' Magazine Year-End Charts

{|class="wikitable" !width="35"|Year !width="340"|Category !width="340"|Work !width="75"|Position |- | align="center" rowspan="40"|1999 | Top Pop Artists | six charted singles & albums | align="center"|#9 |- | Top ''Billboard'' 200 Album Artists | one charted albums | align="center"|#32 |- | Top ''Billboard'' 200 Albums | ''My Love Is Your Love'' | align="center"|#30 |- | Top ''Billboard'' 200 Album Artists - Female | two charted albums | align="center"|#10 |- | Hot 100 Singles Artists | four charted singles | align="center"|#11 |- | rowspan="4"|Hot 100 Singles | "Heartbreak Hotel" Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price | align="center"|#4 |- | "It's Not Right But It's Okay" | align="center"|#44 |- | "My Love Is Your Love" | align="center"|#73 |- | "When You Believe" (Duet with Mariah Carey) | align="center"|#99 |- | Hot 100 Singles Artists - Female | four charted singles | align="center"|#5 |- | rowspan="4"|Hot 100 Singles Sales | "Heartbreak Hotel" Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price | align="center"|#6 |- | "My Love Is Your Love" | align="center"|#37 |- | "It's Not Right But It's Okay" | align="center"|#43 |- | "When You Believe" (Duet with Mariah Carey) | align="center"|#68 |- | rowspan="2"|Hot 100 Singles Airplay | "Heartbreak Hotel" Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price | align="center"|#16 |- | "It's Not Right But It's Okay" | align="center"|#54 |- | Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Artists | six charted singles & albums | align="center"|#9 |- | Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Artists - Female | six charted singles & albums | align="center"|#3 |- | Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Album Artists | one charted album | align="center"|#12 |- | Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums | ''My Love Is Your Love'' | align="center"|#12 |- | Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Artists | four charted singles & tracks | align="center"|#9 |- | rowspan="3"|Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | "Heartbreak Hotel" Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price | align="center"|#3 |- | "My Love Is Your Love" | align="center"|#33 |- | "It's Not Right But It's Okay" | align="center"|#37 |- | rowspan="4"|Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles Sales | "Heartbreak Hotel" Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price | align="center"|#2 |- | "My Love Is Your Love" | align="center"|#33 |- | "It's Not Right But It's Okay" | align="center"|#37 |- | "When You Believe" (Duet with Mariah Carey) | align="center"|#69 |- | rowspan="3"|Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Airplay | "Heartbreak Hotel" Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price | align="center"|#9 |- | "It's Not Right But It's Okay" | align="center"|#46 |- | "My Love Is Your Love" | align="center"|#53 |- | Hot Dance Club-Play Artists | three charted singles | align="center"|#2 |- | rowspan="3"|Hot Dance Club-Play Singles | "My Love Is Your Love" | align="center"|#3 |- | "It's Not Right But It's Okay" | align="center"|#11 |- | "Heartbreak Hotel" Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price | align="center"|#23 |- | Hot Dance Maxi-Singles Sales Artists | three charted singles | align="center"|#5 |- | rowspan="3"|Hot Dance Maxi-Singles Sales | "Heartbreak Hotel" Featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price | align="center"|#8 |- | "It's Not Right But It's Okay"/"I Will Always Love You" | align="center"|#11 |- | "My Love Is Your Love" | align="center"|#15 |- | Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | "When You Believe" (Duet with Mariah Carey) | align="center"|#19 |- | width="35" align="center" rowspan="21"|2000 | Top Pop Artists | six charted titles | align="center"|#34 |- | Top ''Billboard'' 200 Artists | three charted titles | align="center"|#50 |- | Top ''Billboard'' 200 Albums | ''My Love Is Your Love'' | align="center"|#184 |- | Top ''Billboard'' 200 Artists - Female | three charted titles | align="center"|#10 |- | Hot 100 Artists | four charted titles | align="center"|#27 |- | Hot 100 Singles & Tracks | "My Love Is Your Love" | align="center"|#47 |- | Hot 100 Artists - Female | four charted titles | align="center"|#10 |- | rowspan="2"|Hot 100 Singles Sales | "My Love Is Your Love" | align="center"|#25 |- | "I Learned from the Best" | align="center"|#46 |- | Hot 100 Airplay | "My Love Is Your Love" | align="center"|#67 |- | Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Artists | six charted titles | align="center"|#22 |- | Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Artists - Female | six charted titles | align="center"|#5 |- | Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Album Artists | two charted titles | align="center"|#38 |- | Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Artists | four charted titles | align="center"|#24 |- | Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | "I Learned from the Best" | align="center"|#82 |- | rowspan="2"|Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles Sales | "My Love Is Your Love" | align="center"|#34 |- | "I Learned from the Best" | align="center"|#40 |- | Hot Dance Club-Play Artists | two charted titles | align="center"|#8 |- | Hot Dance Club-Play Singles | "I Learned from the Best" | align="center"|#3 |- | Hot Dance Maxi-Singles Sales Artists | four charted titles | align="center"|#15 |- | Hot Dance Maxi-Singles Sales | "I Learned from the Best" | align="center"|#19 |- |}

Personnel

Whitney Houston – vocals, background vocals, vocal arranger, exec producer

Dion Allen – background vocals, choir, chorus

Melodie Daniels – background vocals

Babyface – keyboard, background vocals

Jerry Barnes – bass

Sherrod Barnes – guitar

Tom Barney – bass vocals

Mary Ann Tatum – background vocals

Ali Boudris – acoustic guitar

Kelly Price – performer

Lynn Davis – background vocals, choir, chorus

Loren Dawson – strings

Sheila E. – percussion

Nathan East – bass vocals

Missy Elliott – vocals, background vocals, performer, writer

Toni Estes – backing vocals

Faith Evans – performer

David Foster – keyboard

Simon Franglen – synclavier

Sharlotte Gibson – backing vocals

Gavin Greenaway – conductor

Mariah Carey – performer

Daryl Hawes – backing vocals

Loris Holland – celeste

Rodney Jerkins – strings, keyboard, multiple instruments

Karlin – multiple instruments

Mark Kibble – background vocals, choir, chorus

Larry Kimpel – bass

Ricky Lawson – drums

Jeff Mironov – sitar

Bill K. Myers – conductor

Rob Paparozzi – harmonica

Robby Pardlo – background vocals

Peach – background vocals, choir, chorus

Greg Phillinganes – piano

Eric Rigler – pipe, human whistle

Bill Ross – conductor

Shanice – background vocals

Jamie Siegel – electric guitar

Syretha Smith – background vocals, choir, chorus

V. Jeffrey Smith – flute

Soulshock – multiple instruments

Tiffany Squire – background vocals

Damon Thomas – choir conductor

Michael Hart Thompson – electric guitar

Ryan Toby – backing vocals

Lloyd Turner – keyboard

Production

Executive Producers: Whitney Houston, Clive Davis

Producers: Babyface, Kelvin Bradshaw, Jerry Duplessis, Missy Elliott, David Foster, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Rodney Jerkins, Karlin, Soulshock, Lloyd Turner

Engineers: Paul Boutin, Tim Boyle, Dana Jon Chappelle, Commissioner Gordon, Felipe Elgueta, Paul J. Falcone, Paul Falcone, Humberto Gatica, Brad Gilderman, Jean-Marie Horvat, Reggie Jackson, Manny Marroquin, Don Murray, Kevin Parker, Rick St. Hillaire, Jon Smeltz, Kendal Stubbs, Tommy Vicari

Assistant engineers: Chuck Bailey, Luis Castillo, Ray Cervenka, Greg Dennon, Mark Eshelman, Jonas G., Brian Garten, Jason Groucott, Victor McCoy, Sue McLean, Susat Mclean, Wes Naprstek, John Nelson, Wes Neprstek, Jamie Siegel, John Sorenson, Tom Sweeney, Pascal Volberg, Michael White

Mixing: Tom Bender, Commissioner Gordon, E'lyk, Paul Falcone, Jon Gass, Brad Gilderman, Mick Guzauski, Jean-Marie Horvat, Manny Marroquin, Rick St. Hillaire, Soulshock

Mixing assistant: E'lyk

Mastering: Tony Dawsey

Editing: Harvey Mason, Jr.

Instrumentation: Kelvin Bradshaw, Karlin, Soulshock, Lloyd Turner

Pro-tools: Harvey Mason, Jr.

Drum programming: Babyface, Kelvin Bradshaw, Che Guevara, Rodney Jerkins

Synthesizer programming: Felipe Elgueta

Production coordination: Robyn Crawford, Miriam Gonzales, Jennifer McGee, Maria Padula, Susanne Savage, Ivy Skoff

Session coordinator: Suzette Williams

Contractor: Debbie Datz-Pyle, Sandy DeCrescent

Arrangers: David Foster, Lauryn Hill, Karlin, Bill Meyers, Bill Ross, Soulshock, Hans Zimmer

Keyboard arrangements: David Foster, Rodney Jerkins

Orchestral arrangements: Bill K. Myers

Rhythm arrangements: Lloyd Turner, Kelvin Bradshaw

Vocal arrangement: Whitney Houston

Art direction: Christopher Stern

Photography: Dana Lixenberg

Make-up: Roxanna Floy

Hair stylist: Ellin La Var

Stylist: Patti Wilson

References

Category:1998 albums Category:Whitney Houston albums Category:Albums produced by Clive Davis Category:Albums produced by Rodney Jerkins Category:Albums produced by David Foster Category:Albums produced by Missy Elliott Category:Albums produced by Wyclef Jean Category:Arista Records albums

es:My Love Is Your Love fr:My Love is Your Love it:My Love Is Your Love pl:My Love Is Your Love pt:My Love Is Your Love fi:My Love Is Your Love sv:My Love Is Your Love tr:My Love Is Your Love uk:My Love Is Your Love

Your Love may refer to:

"Your Love" (Culture Beat song)

"Your Love" (Graham Central Station song)

"Your Love" (Jamie Principle song)

"Your Love" (Lime song)

"Your Love" (The Outfield song)

"Your Love" (Nicki Minaj song)

"Your Love", a song by Keane from ''Night Train''

"Your Love", a song by Kylie Minogue from ''Fever''

"Your Love", a song by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr.

"Your Love", a song by The Prodigy from ''Experience''

"Your Love", a 1964 song by Shirley Bassey, written by Alma Cook

''Your Love'' (album), an album by Raymond Lam

tl:Your Love zh:Your Love

My Love may refer to:

Music

Albums

''My Love'' (Janice Vidal album), or the title song

''My Love'' (Lisa Brokop album), or the title song

''My Love'' (Petula Clark album), or the title song (see below)

''My Love: Essential Collection'', by Celine Dion, or the title song (see below)

Songs

"My Love" (Celine Dion song)

"My Love" (Jill Scott song)

"My Love" (Justin Timberlake song)

"My Love" (Lionel Richie song)

"My Love" (Mary J. Blige song)

"My Love" (Paul McCartney & Wings song)

"My Love" (Petula Clark song)

"My Love" (The-Dream song)

"My Love" (Westlife song)

"My Love" (Little Texas song)

"Min kärlek" ("My love"), by Shirley Clamp

"My Love", by Ciara from ''Ciara: The Evolution''

"My Love", by Julio Iglesias, with Stevie Wonder

"My Love", by Lene Marlin from ''Another Day''

"My Love", by Lenny Kravitz from ''Are You Gonna Go My Way''

"My Love", by Pixie Lott from ''Turn It Up''

"My Love", by Selena from ''Selena''

"My Love", by Sia Furler from ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' film soundtrack

"My Love, My Love", a popular song

Film and television

''My Love'' (1970 film), a Bollywood romance

''My Love'' (2006 film), a Russian animated short film by Aleksandr Petrov

''My Love'' (2007 film), a South Korean romantic comedy

''My Love, My Love'' (film), a 1967 French drama

''My Love'' (TV series), a 2005 Russian series starring Denis Matrosov

es:My Love (desambiguación) fr:My Love ja:マイ・ラヴ ru:Моя любовь th:มายเลิฟ zh:My Love

birth name	Whitney Elizabeth Houston
background	solo_singer
birth date	August 09, 1963
birth place
death date	February 11, 2012
death place
instrument	Vocals, piano
genre	Pop, R&B;, soul, dance, gospel
occupation	Singer, actress, model, film producer, record producer, songwriter
years active	1977–2012
label	Arista, RCA
associated acts	Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Jermaine Jackson, Mariah Carey, Enrique Iglesias, Bobby Brown
website	}}

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the ''Guinness World Records'' cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time. Her awards include two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards in her lifetime. Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. Houston began singing with her New Jersey church's junior gospel choir at age 11. After she began performing alongside her mother in night clubs in the New York City area, she was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis. Houston released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification.

Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits ("Saving All My Love for You"; "How Will I Know"; "Greatest Love of All"; "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"; "Didn't We Almost Have It All"; "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"). She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one ''Billboard'' 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Album") on the ''Billboard'' magazine year-end charts (''Whitney Houston'' and ''The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album''). Houston's 1985 debut album ''Whitney Houston'' became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was named ''Rolling Stone''s best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album ''Whitney'' (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African-American female artists to follow in her footsteps.

Houston's first acting role was as the star of the feature film ''The Bodyguard'' (1992). The film's original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single "I Will Always Love You", became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. With the album, Houston became the first act (solo or group, male or female) to sell more than a million copies of an album within a single week period. The album makes her the top female act in the top 10 list of the best-selling albums of all time, at number four. Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to their soundtracks, including the films ''Waiting to Exhale'' (1995) and ''The Preacher's Wife'' (1996). ''The Preacher's Wife'' soundtrack became the best-selling gospel album in history. Three years after the release of her fourth studio album ''My Love Is Your Love'' (1998), she renewed her recording contract with Arista Records. She released her fifth studio album ''Just Whitney'' in 2002, and the Christmas-themed ''One Wish: The Holiday Album'' in 2003. In 2009, Houston released her seventh studio album ''I Look to You''.

On February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in her guest room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California, of causes not immediately known. News of her death, the day before the 2012 Grammy Awards, dominated American and international media, especially cable news.

Life and career

1963–1976: Early life

Whitney Houston was born in what was then a middle-income neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, the third and youngest child of Army serviceman and entertainment executive John Russell Houston, Jr. (September 13, 1920 – February 2, 2003), and gospel singer Cissy Houston (née Emily Drinkard). She was of African American, Native American and Dutch descent. Her mother, along with cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick and godmother Aretha Franklin were all notable figures in the gospel, rhythm and blues, pop, and soul genres. Houston was raised a Baptist, but was also exposed to the Pentecostal church. After the 1967 Newark riots, the family moved to a middle-class area in East Orange, New Jersey, when she was four.

At the age of 11, Houston began to follow in her mother's footsteps and started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano. Her first solo performance in the church was "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah".

When Houston was a teenager, she attended Mount Saint Dominic Academy, a Catholic girls' high school in Caldwell, New Jersey, where she met her best friend Robyn Crawford, whom she described as the "sister she never had". While Houston was still in school, her mother continued to teach her how to sing. In addition to her mother, Franklin, and Warwick, Houston was also exposed to the music of Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Roberta Flack, most of whom would have an impact on her as a singer and performer.

1977–1984: Early career

Houston spent some of her teenage years touring nightclubs where her mother Cissy was performing, and she would occasionally get on stage and perform with her. In 1977, at age 14, she became a backup singer on the Michael Zager Band's single "Life's a Party". Zager subsequently offered to obtain a recording contract for the young singer, but Cissy declined, wanting her daughter to finish school first. Then in 1978, at age 15, Houston sang background vocals on Chaka Khan's hit single "I'm Every Woman", a song she would later turn into a larger hit for herself on her monster-selling ''The Bodyguard'' soundtrack album. She also sang back-up on albums by Lou Rawls and Jermaine Jackson.

In the early 1980s, Houston started working as a fashion model after a photographer saw her at Carnegie Hall singing with her mother. She appeared in ''Seventeen'' and became one of the first women of color to grace the cover of the magazine. She was also featured in layouts in the pages of ''Glamour'', ''Cosmopolitan'', ''Young Miss'', and appeared in a Canada Dry soft drink TV commercial. Her striking looks and girl-next-door charm made her one of the most sought after teen models of that time. While modeling, she continued her burgeoning recording career by working with producers Michael Beinhorn, Bill Laswell and Martin Bisi on an album they were spearheading called ''One Down'', which was credited to the group Material. For that project, Houston contributed the ballad "Memories", a cover of a song by Hugh Hopper of Soft Machine. Robert Christgau of ''The Village Voice'' called her contribution "one of the most gorgeous ballads you've ever heard". She also appeared as a lead vocalist on one track on a Paul Jabara album, entitled ''Paul Jabara and Friends'', released by Columbia Records in 1983.

Houston had previously been offered several recording agencies (Michael Zager in 1980, and Elektra Records in 1981), however her mother declined the offers stating her daughter must first complete high school. In 1983, Gerry Griffith, an A&R; representative from Arista Records, saw her performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed. He convinced Arista's head Clive Davis to make time to see Houston perform. Davis too was impressed and offered a worldwide recording contract which Houston signed. Later that year, she made her national televised debut alongside Davis on ''The Merv Griffin Show''.

Houston signed with Arista in 1983, but did not begin work on her album immediately. The label wanted to make sure no other label signed the singer away. Davis wanted to ensure he had the right material and producers for Houston's debut album. Some producers had to pass on the project due to prior commitments. Houston first recorded a duet with Teddy Pendergrass entitled "Hold Me" which appeared on his album, ''Love Language''. The single was released in 1984 and gave Houston her first taste of success, becoming a Top 5 R&B; hit. It would also appear on her debut album in 1985.

1985–1986: Rise to international prominence

With production from Michael Masser, Kashif, Jermaine Jackson, and Narada Michael Walden, Houston's debut album ''Whitney Houston'' was released in February 1985. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine praised Houston, calling her "one of the most exciting new voices in years" while ''The New York Times'' called the album "an impressive, musically conservative showcase for an exceptional vocal talent". Arista Records promoted Houston's album with three different singles from the album in the US, UK and other European countries. In the UK, the dance-funk "Someone for Me", which failed to chart in the country, was the first single while "All at Once" was in such European countries as the Netherlands and Belgium, where the song reached the top 5 on the singles charts, respectively.

In the US, the soulful ballad "You Give Good Love" was chosen as the lead single from Houston's debut to establish her in the black marketplace first. Outside the US, the song failed to get enough attention to become a hit, but in the US, it gave the album its first major hit as it peaked at No. 3 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and No. 1 on the Hot R&B; chart. As a result, the album began to sell strongly, and Houston continued promotion by touring nightclubs in the US. She also began performing on late-night television talk shows, which were not usually accessible to unestablished black acts. The jazzy ballad "Saving All My Love for You" was released next and it would become Houston's first No. 1 single in both the US and the UK. She was then an opening act for singer Jeffrey Osborne on his nationwide tour. "Thinking About You" was released as the promo single only to R&B-oriented; radio stations, which peaked at number ten on the US R&B; Chart. At the time, MTV had received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by black, Latino, and other racial minorities while favoring white acts. The third US single, "How Will I Know", peaked at No. 1 and introduced Houston to the MTV audience thanks to its video. Houston's subsequent singles from this, and future albums, would make her the first African-American female artist to receive consistent heavy rotation on MTV.

By 1986, a year after its initial release, ''Whitney Houston'' topped the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart and stayed there for 14 non-consecutive weeks. The final single, "Greatest Love of All", became Houston's biggest hit at the time after peaking No. 1 and remaining there for three weeks on the Hot 100 chart, which made her debut the first album by a female artist to yield three No. 1 hits. Houston was No. 1 artist of the year and ''Whitney Houston'' was the No. 1 album of the year on the 1986 ''Billboard'' year-end charts, making her the first female artist to earn that distinction. At the time, Houston released the best-selling debut album by a solo artist. Houston then embarked on her world tour, ''Greatest Love Tour''. The album had become an international success, and was certified 13× platinum (diamond) in the United States alone, and has sold a total of 25 million copies worldwide.

At the 1986 Grammy Awards, Houston was nominated for three awards including Album of the Year. She was not eligible for the Best New Artist category due to her previous hit R&B; duet recording with Teddy Pendergrass in 1984. She won her first Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for "Saving All My Love for You". At the same award show, she performed that Grammy-winning hit, that performance later winning her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.

Houston won seven American Music Awards in total in 1986 and 1987, and an MTV Video Music Award. The album's popularity would also carry over to the 1987 Grammy Awards when "Greatest Love of All" would receive a Record of the Year nomination. Houston's debut album is listed as one of ''Rolling Stone''s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and on The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Definitive 200 list. Houston's grand entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to ''USA Today''. Following Houston's breakthrough, doors were opened for other African-American female artists such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker to find notable success in popular music and on MTV.

1987–1991: ''Whitney'', ''I'm Your Baby Tonight'' and "The Star Spangled Banner"

With many expectations, Houston's second album, ''Whitney'', was released in June 1987. The album again featured production from Masser, Kashif and Walden as well as Jellybean Benitez. Many critics complained that the material was too similar to her previous album. ''Rolling Stone'' said, "the narrow channel through which this talent has been directed is frustrating". Still, the album enjoyed commercial success. Houston became the first female artist in music history to debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, and the first artist to enter the albums chart at number one in both the US and UK, while also hitting number one or top ten in dozens of other countries around the world. The album's first single, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)", was also a massive hit worldwide, peaking at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and topping the singles chart in many countries such as Australia, Germany and the UK. The next three singles, "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional", and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" all peaked at number one on the US Hot 100 chart, which gave her a total of seven consecutive number one hits, breaking the record of six previously shared by The Beatles and The Bee Gees. Houston became the first female artist to generate four number-one singles from one album. ''Whitney'' has been certified 9× Platinum in the US for shipments of over 9 million copies, and has sold a total of 20 million copies worldwide.

At the 30th Grammy Awards in 1988, Houston was nominated for three awards, including Album of the Year, winning her second Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)". Houston also won two American Music Awards in 1988 and 1989, respectively, and a Soul Train Music Award. Following the release of the album, Houston embarked on the ''Moment of Truth World Tour'', which was one of the ten highest grossing concert tours of 1987. The success of the tours during 1986–87 and her two studio albums ranked Houston No. 8 for the highest earning entertainers list according to ''Forbes'' magazine. She was the highest earning African-American woman overall and the third highest entertainer after Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy.

Houston was a supporter of Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid movement. During her modeling days, the singer refused to work with any agencies who did business with the then-apartheid South Africa. On June 11, 1988, during the European leg of her tour, Houston joined other musicians to perform a set at Wembley Stadium in London to celebrate a then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday. Over 72,000 people attended Wembley Stadium, and over a billion people tuned in worldwide as the rock concert raised over $1 million for charities while bringing awareness to apartheid. Houston then flew back to the US for a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City in August. The show was a benefit concert that raised a quarter of a million dollars for the United Negro College Fund. In the same year, she recorded a song for NBC's coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics, "One Moment in Time", which became a Top 5 hit in the US, while reaching number one in the UK and Germany. With her world tour continuing overseas, Houston was still one of the top 20 highest earning entertainers for 1987–88 according to ''Forbes'' magazine.

In 1989, Houston formed The Whitney Houston Foundation For Children, a non-profit organization that has raised funds for the needs of children around the world. The organization cares for homelessness, children with cancer or AIDS, and other issues of self-empowerment. With the success of her first two albums, Houston was undoubtedly an international crossover superstar, the most prominent since Michael Jackson, appealing to all demographics. However, some black critics believed she was "selling out". They felt her singing on record lacked the soul that was present during her live concerts.

At the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards, when Houston's name was called out for a nomination, a few in the audience jeered. Houston defended herself against the criticism, stating, "If you're gonna have a long career, there's a certain way to do it, and I did it that way. I'm not ashamed of it". Houston took a more urban direction with her third studio album, ''I'm Your Baby Tonight'', released in November 1990. She produced and chose producers for this album and as a result, it featured production and collaborations with L.A. Reid and Babyface, Luther Vandross, and Stevie Wonder. The album showed Houston's versatility on a new batch of tough rhythmic grooves, soulful ballads and up-tempo dance tracks. Reviews were mixed. ''Rolling Stone'' felt it was her "best and most integrated album". while ''Entertainment Weekly'', at the time thought Houston's shift towards an urban direction was "superficial".

The album contained several hits: the first two singles, "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "All the Man That I Need" peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart; "Miracle" peaked at number nine; "My Name Is Not Susan" peaked in the top twenty; "I Belong to You" reached the top ten of the US R&B; chart and garnered Houston a Grammy nomination; and the sixth single, the Stevie Wonder duet "We Didn't Know", reached the R&B; top twenty. The album peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200 and went on to be certified 4× platinum in the US while selling twelve million total worldwide.

In 1990, Houston was the spokesperson for a youth leadership conference hosted in Washington, D.C. She had a private audience with President George H. W. Bush in the Oval Office to discuss the associated challenges.

With America entangled in the Persian Gulf War, Houston performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium on January 27, 1991. Due to overwhelming response to her rendition, it was released as a commercial single and video of her performance, and reached the Top 20 on the US Hot 100, making her the only act to turn the national anthem into a pop hit of that magnitude (Jose Feliciano's version reached No. 50 in November 1968). Houston donated all her share of the proceeds to the American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund. As a result, the singer was named to the Red Cross Board of Governors.

Her rendition was considered the benchmark for singers and critically acclaimed. ''Rolling Stone'' commented that "her singing stirs such strong patriotism. Unforgettable", and the performance ranked No. 1 on the 25 most memorable music moments in NFL history list. VH1 listed the performance as one of the greatest moments that rocked TV. Following the attacks on 9/11, it was released again by Arista Records, all profits going towards the firefighters and victims of the attacks. This time it peaked at No. 6 in the Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Later in 1991, Houston put together her ''Welcome Home Heroes'' concert with HBO for the soldiers fighting in the Persian Gulf War and their families. The free concert took place at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia in front of 3,500 servicemen and women. HBO descrambled the concert so that it was free for everyone to watch. Houston's concert gave HBO its highest ratings ever. She then embarked on the ''I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour''.

1992–1994: Marriage to Bobby Brown and ''The Bodyguard''

Throughout the 1980s, Houston was romantically linked to American football star Randall Cunningham and actor Eddie Murphy, whom she dated. She then met R&B; singer Bobby Brown at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. After a three-year courtship, the two were married on July 18, 1992. On March 4, 1993, Houston gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown, her only child, and his fourth. Brown would go on to have several run-ins with the law, including some jail time.

With the commercial success of her albums, movie offers poured in, including offers to work with Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones, and Spike Lee; but Houston felt the time wasn't right. Houston's first film role was in ''The Bodyguard'', released in 1992 and co-starring Kevin Costner. Houston played Rachel Marron, a star who is stalked by a crazed fan and hires a bodyguard to protect her. ''USA Today'' listed it as one of the 25 most memorable movie moments of the last 25 years in 2007. Houston's mainstream appeal allowed people to look at the movie color-blind.

Still, controversy arose as some felt the film's advertising intentionally hid Houston's face to hide the film's interracial relationship. In an interview with ''Rolling Stone'' in 1993, the singer commented that "people know who Whitney Houston is – I'm black. You can't hide that fact." Houston received a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress. ''The Washington Post'' said Houston is "doing nothing more than playing Houston, comes out largely unscathed if that is possible in so cockamamie an undertaking", and ''The New York Times'' commented that she lacked passion with her co-star. Despite the film's mixed reviews, it was hugely successful at the box office, grossing more than $121 million in the U.S. and $410 million worldwide, making it one of the top 100 grossing films in film history at its time of release, though it is no longer in the top 100 due to rising ticket prices since the time the film was released.

The film's soundtrack also enjoyed big success. Houston executive produced and contributed six songs for the motion picture's adjoining soundtrack album. ''Rolling Stone'' said it is "nothing more than pleasant, tasteful and urbane". The soundtrack's lead single was "I Will Always Love You", written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1974. Houston's version of the song was acclaimed by many critics, regarding it as her "signature song" or "iconic performance". ''Rolling Stone'' and ''USA Today'' called her rendition "the tour-de-force". The single peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks, number one on the R&B; chart for a then-record-breaking 11 weeks, and number one on the Adult Contemporary charts for five weeks, thus becoming the first single to top those three charts simultaneously for five weeks.

The single was certified 4× platinum by the RIAA, making Houston the first female artist with a single to reach that level in the RIAA history and becoming the best-selling single by a female artist in the US. The song also became a global success, hitting number-one in almost all countries, and one of the best-selling singles of all time with 12 million copies sold. The soundtrack topped the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and remained there for 20 non-consecutive weeks, the longest tenure by any album on the chart in the Nielsen SoundScan era, and became one of the fastest selling albums ever. During Christmas week of 1992, the soundtrack sold over a million copies within a week, becoming the first album to achieve that feat under Nielsen SoundScan system. With the follow-up singles "I'm Every Woman", a Chaka Khan cover, and "I Have Nothing" both reaching the top five, Houston became the first female artist to ever have three singles in the Top 11 simultaneously. The album was certified 17× platinum in the US alone, with worldwide sales of 44 million , making ''The Bodyguard'' the second album by a female act on the list of the world's Top 10 best-selling albums, topping Shania Twain's 40 million sold for ''Come On Over''.

Houston won three Grammys for the album in 1994, including two of the Academy's highest honors, Album of the Year and Record of the Year. In addition, she won a record 8 American Music Awards at that year's ceremony including the Award of Merit, 11 Billboard Music Awards, 3 Soul Train Music Awards in 1993–94 including Sammy Davis, Jr. Award as Entertainer of the Year, 5 NAACP Image Awards including Entertainer of the Year, a record 5 World Music Awards, and a BRIT award. Following the success of the project, Houston embarked on another expansive global tour, ''The Bodyguard World Tour'', in 1993–94. Her concerts, movie, and recording grosses made her the third highest earning female entertainer of 1993–94, just behind Oprah Winfrey and Barbra Streisand according to ''Forbes'' magazine. Houston placed in the top five of ''Entertainment Weekly''s annual "Entertainer of the Year" ranking and was labeled by ''Premiere'' magazine as one of the 100 most powerful people in Hollywood.

In October 1994, Houston attended and performed at a state dinner in the White House honoring newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela. At the end of her world tour, Houston performed three concerts in South Africa to honor President Mandela, playing to over 200,000 people. This would make the singer the first major musician to visit the newly unified and apartheid free nation following Mandela's winning election. The concert was broadcast live on HBO with funds of the concerts being donated to various charities in South Africa. The event was considered the nation's "biggest media event since the inauguration of Nelson Mandela".

1995–1997: ''Waiting to Exhale'', ''The Preacher's Wife'' and ''Cinderella''

In 1995, Houston starred alongside Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon in her second film ''Waiting to Exhale'', a motion picture about four African-American women struggling with relationships. Houston played the lead character Savannah Jackson, a TV producer in love with a married man. She chose the role because she saw the film as "a breakthrough for the image of black women because it presents them both as professionals and as caring mothers". After opening at number one and grossing $67 million in the US at the box office and $81 million worldwide, it proved that a movie primarily targeting a black audience can cross over to success, while paving the way for other all-black movies such as ''How Stella Got Her Groove Back'' and the Tyler Perry movies that have become popular in the 2000s. The film is also notable for its portrayal of black women as strong middle class citizens as opposed to stereotypes. The reviews were mainly positive for the ensemble cast. ''The New York Times'' said "Ms. Houston has shed the defensive hauteur that made her portrayal of a pop star in 'The Bodyguard' seem so distant." Houston was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture", but lost to her co-star Bassett.

The film's accompanying soundtrack, ''Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album'', was produced by Houston and Babyface. Though Babyface originally wanted Houston to record the entire album, she declined. Instead, she "wanted it to be an album of women with vocal distinction", and thus gathered several African-American female artists for the soundtrack, to go along with the film's strong women message. As a result, the album featured a range of contemporary R&B; female recording artists along with Houston, such as Mary J Blige, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, Patti Labelle, and Brandy. Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" peaked at No. 1, and then spent a record eleven weeks at the No. 2 spot and eight weeks on top of the R&B; Charts. "Count On Me", a duet with CeCe Winans, hit the US Top 10; and Houston's third contribution, "Why Does It Hurt So Bad", made the Top 30. The album debuted at No. 1, and was certified 7× Platinum in the United States, denoting shipments of seven million copies. The soundtrack received strong reviews as ''Entertainment Weekly'' said "the album goes down easy, just as you'd expect from a package framed by Whitney Houston tracks.... the soundtrack waits to exhale, hovering in sensuous suspense" and has since ranked it as one of the 100 Best Movie Soundtracks. Later that year, Houston's children's charity organization was awarded a VH1 Honor for all the charitable work.

In 1996, Houston starred in the holiday comedy ''The Preacher's Wife'', with Denzel Washington. She plays a gospel-singing wife of a pastor (Courtney B. Vance). It was largely an updated remake of the 1948 film "The Bishop's Wife" which starred Loretta Young, David Niven and Cary Grant. Houston earned $10 million for the role, making her one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood at the time and the highest earning African American actress in Hollywood. The movie, with its all African-American cast, was a moderate success, earning approximately $50 million at the U.S. box offices. The movie gave Houston her strongest reviews so far. ''The San Francisco Chronicle'' said Houston "is rather angelic herself, displaying a divine talent for being virtuous and flirtatious at the same time" and that she "exudes gentle yet spirited warmth, especially when praising the Lord in her gorgeous singing voice". Houston was again nominated for an NAACP Image Award and won for Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture.

Houston recorded and co-produced, with Mervyn Warren, the film's accompanying gospel soundtrack. ''The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album'' included six gospel songs with Georgia Mass Choir that were recorded at the Great Star Rising Baptist Church in Atlanta. Houston also duetted with gospel legend Shirley Caesar. The album sold six million copies worldwide and scored hit singles with "I Believe in You and Me" and "Step by Step", becoming the largest selling gospel album of all time. The album received mainly positive reviews. Some critics, such as that of ''USA Today'', noted the presence of her emotional depth, while ''The Times'' said "To hear Houston going at full throttle with the 35 piece Georgia Mass Choir struggling to keep up is to realise what her phenomenal voice was made for".

In 1997, Houston's production company changed its name to BrownHouse Productions and was joined by Debra Martin Chase. Their goal was "to show aspects of the lives of African-Americans that have not been brought to the screen before" while improving how African-Americans are portrayed in film and television. Their first project was a made-for-television remake of Rodgers & Hammerstein's ''Cinderella''. In addition to co-producing, Houston starred in the movie as the Fairy Godmother along with Brandy, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, and Bernadette Peters. Houston was initially offered the role of Cinderella in 1993, but other projects intervened. The film is notable for its multi-racial cast and nonstereotypical message. An estimated 60 million viewers tuned into the special giving ABC its highest TV ratings in 16 years. The movie received seven Emmy nominations including Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy, while winning Outstanding Art Direction in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Special.

Houston and Chase then obtained the rights to the story of Dorothy Dandridge. Houston was to play Dandridge, who was the first African American actress to be nominated for an Oscar. She wanted the story told with dignity and honor. However, Halle Berry also had rights to the project and she got her version going first. Later that year, Houston paid tribute to her idols such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Dionne Warwick by performing their hits during the three-night HBO Concert ''Classic Whitney'', live from Washington, D.C. The special raised over $300,000 for the Children's Defense Fund. Houston received The Quincy Jones Award for outstanding career achievements in the field of entertainment at the 12th Soul Train Music Awards.

1998–2000: ''My Love Is Your Love'' and ''Whitney: The Greatest Hits''

After spending much of the early and mid 1990s working on motion pictures and their soundtrack albums, Houston's first studio album in eight years, the critically acclaimed ''My Love Is Your Love'', was released in November 1998. Though originally slated to be a greatest hits album with a handful of new songs, recording sessions were so fruitful that a new full-length studio album was released. Recorded and mixed in only six weeks, it featured production from Rodney Jerkins, Wyclef Jean and Missy Elliott. The album debuted at number thirteen, its peak position, on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. It had a funkier and edgier sound than past releases and saw Houston handling urban dance, hip hop, mid-tempo R&B;, reggae, torch songs, and ballads all with great dexterity.

From late 1998 to early 2000, the album spawned several hit singles: "When You Believe" (US No. 15, UK No. 4), a duet with Mariah Carey for 1998's ''The Prince of Egypt'' soundtrack, which also became an international hit as it peaked in the Top 10 in several countries and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song; "Heartbreak Hotel" (US No. 2, UK No. 25) featured Faith Evans and Kelly Price, received a 1999 MTV VMA nomination for Best R&B; Video, and number one on the US R&B; chart for seven weeks; "It's Not Right But It's Okay" (US No. 4, UK No. 3) won Houston her sixth Grammy Award for Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance; "My Love Is Your Love" (US No. 4, UK No. 2) with 3 million copies sold worldwide; and "I Learned from the Best" (US No. 27, UK No. 19). These singles became international hits as well, and all the singles, except "When You Believe", became number one hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance/Club Play chart. The album sold four million copies in America, making it certified 4× platinum, and a total of eleven million copies worldwide.

The album gave Houston some of her strongest reviews ever. ''Rolling Stone'' said Houston was singing "with a bite in her voice" and ''The Village Voice'' called it "Whitney's sharpest and most satisfying so far". In 1999, Houston participated in VH-1's Divas Live '99, alongside Brandy, Mary J. Blige, Tina Turner, and Cher. The same year, Houston hit the road with her 70 date ''My Love Is Your Love World Tour''. The European leg of the tour was Europe's highest grossing arena tour of the year. In November 1999, Houston was named Top-selling R&B; Female Artist of the Century with certified US sales of 51 million copies at the time and ''The Bodyguard Soundtrack'' was named the Top-selling Soundtrack Album of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). She also won The Artist of the Decade, Female award for extraordinary artistic contributions during the 1990s at the 14th Soul Train Music Awards, and an MTV Europe Music Award for Best R&B;.

In May 2000, ''Whitney: The Greatest Hits'' was released worldwide. The double disc set peaked at number five in the United States, reaching number one in the United Kingdom. In addition, the album reached the Top 10 in many other countries. While ballad songs were left unchanged, the album features house/club remixes of many of Houston's up-tempo hits. Included on the album were four new songs: "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (a duet with Enrique Iglesias), "Same Script, Different Cast" (a duet with Deborah Cox), "If I Told You That" (a duet with George Michael), and "Fine", and three hits that had never appeared on a Houston album: "One Moment in Time", "The Star Spangled Banner", and "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful", a duet with Jermaine Jackson from his 1986 ''Precious Moments'' album. Along with the album, an accompanying VHS and DVD was released featuring the music videos to Houston's greatest hits, as well as several hard-to-find live performances including her 1983 debut on ''The Merv Griffin Show'', and interviews. The greatest hits album was certified 3× platinum in the US, with worldwide sales of 10 million.

2000–2005: ''Just Whitney'', and personal struggles

Though Houston was seen as a "good girl" with a perfect image in the 1980s and early 1990s, by the late 1990s, her behavior changed. She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals, and canceling concerts and talk-show appearances. With the missed performances and weight loss, rumors about Houston using drugs with her husband circulated. On January 11, 2000, airport security guards discovered marijuana in both Houston's and husband Bobby Brown's luggage at a Hawaii airport, but the two boarded the plane and departed before authorities could arrive. Charges were later dropped against them, but rumors of drug usage between the couple would continue to surface. Two months later, Clive Davis was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Houston had been scheduled to perform at the event, but failed to show up.

Shortly thereafter, Houston was scheduled to perform at the Academy Awards but was fired from the event by musical director and long time friend Burt Bacharach. Her publicist cited throat problems as the reason for the cancellation. In his book ''The Big Show: High Times and Dirty Dealings Backstage at the Academy Awards'', author Steve Pond revealed that "Houston's voice was shaky, she seemed distracted and jittery, and her attitude was casual, almost defiant", and that while Houston was to sing "Over the Rainbow", she would start singing a different song. Houston later admitted to having been fired. Later that year, Houston's long-time executive assistant and friend, Robyn Crawford, resigned from Houston's management company.

In August 2001, Houston signed the biggest record deal in music history with Arista/BMG. She renewed her contract for $100 million to deliver six new albums, on which she would also earn royalties. She later made an appearance on ''Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special''. Her extremely thin frame further spurred rumors of drug use. Houston's publicist said, "Whitney has been under stress due to family matters, and when she is under stress she doesn't eat." The singer was scheduled for a second performance the following night but canceled. Within weeks, Houston's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" would be re-released after the September 11 attacks, with the proceeds donated to the New York Firefighters 9/11 Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Fraternal Order of Police. The song peaked at No. 6 this time on the US Hot 100, topping its previous position.

In 2002, Houston became involved in a legal dispute with John Houston Enterprise. Although the company was started by her father to manage her career, it was actually run by company president Kevin Skinner. Skinner filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit and sued for $100 million (but lost), stating that Houston owed the company previously unpaid compensation for helping to negotiate her $100 million contract with Arista Records and for sorting out legal matters. Houston stated that her 81-year-old father had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Although Skinner tried to claim otherwise, John Houston never appeared in court. Houston's father later died in February 2003. The lawsuit was dismissed on April 5, 2004, and Skinner was awarded nothing.

Also in 2002, Houston did an interview with Diane Sawyer to promote her then-upcoming album. The interview was the highest-rated television interview in history. During the prime-time special, Houston spoke on topics including rumored drug use and marriage. She was asked about the ongoing drug rumors and replied, "First of all, let's get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. Okay? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is wack." The line was from Keith Haring's mural which was painted in 1986 on the handball court at 128th Street and 2nd Avenue. Houston did, however, admit to using other substances at times, including cocaine.

In December 2002, Houston released her fifth studio album, ''Just Whitney...''. The album included productions from then-husband Bobby Brown, as well as Missy Elliott and Babyface, and marked the first time that Houston did not produce with Clive Davis as Davis had been released by top management at BMG. Upon its release, ''Just Whitney...'' received mixed reviews. The album debuted at number 9 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and it had the highest first week sales of any album Houston had ever released. The four singles released from the album, didn't fare well on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but became Hot Dance Club Play hits. ''Just Whitney...'' was certified platinum in the United States, and sold approximately three million worldwide.

On a June 2003 trip to Israel, Houston said of her visit, "I've never felt like this in any other country. I feel at home, I feel wonderful."

In late 2003, Houston released her first Christmas album ''One Wish: The Holiday Album'', with a collection of traditional holiday songs. Houston produced the album with Mervyn Warren and Gordon Chambers. A single titled "One Wish (for Christmas)" reached the Top 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and the album was certified gold in the US. Having always been a touring artist, Houston spent most of 2004 touring and performing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Russia. In September 2004, she gave a surprise performance at the World Music Awards in a tribute to long time friend Clive Davis. After the show, Davis and Houston announced plans to go into studio to work on her new album.

In early 2004, husband Bobby Brown starred in his own reality TV program, ''Being Bobby Brown'' (on the Bravo network), which provided a view into the domestic goings-on in the Brown household. Though it was Brown's vehicle, Houston was a prominent figure throughout the show, receiving as much screen time as Brown. The series aired in 2005 and featured Houston in, what some would say, not her most flattering moments. The ''Hollywood Reporter'' said it was "undoubtedly the most disgusting and execrable series ever to ooze its way onto television." Despite the perceived train-wreck nature of the show, the series gave Bravo its highest ratings in its time slot and continued Houston's successful forays into film and television. The show was not renewed for a second season after Houston stated that she would no longer appear in it, and Brown and Bravo could not come to an agreement for another season.

2006–2012: Return to music, ''I Look to You'', tour and film comeback

After years of controversy and turmoil, Houston separated from Bobby Brown in September 2006, filing for divorce the following month. On February 1, 2007, Houston asked the court to fast track their divorce. The divorce was finalized on April 24, 2007, with Houston granted custody of the couple's daughter. On May 4, Houston sold the suburban Atlanta home featured in ''Being Bobby Brown'' for $1.19 million. A few days later, Brown sued Houston in Orange County, California court in an attempt to change the terms of their custody agreement. Brown also sought child and spousal support from Houston. In the lawsuit, Brown claimed that financial and emotional problems prevented him from properly responding to Houston's divorce petition. Brown lost at his court hearing as the judge dismissed his appeal to overrule the custody terms, leaving Houston with full custody and Brown with no spousal support. In March 2007, Clive Davis of Arista Records announced that Houston would begin recording a new album. In October 2007, Arista released another compilation ''The Ultimate Collection'' outside the United States.

Houston gave her first interview in seven years in September 2009, appearing on Oprah Winfrey's season premiere. The interview was billed as "the most anticipated music interview of the decade". Whitney admitted on the show to using drugs with former husband Bobby Brown, who "laced marijuana with rock cocaine". By 1996, she told Oprah, "[doing drugs] was an everyday thing... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself."

Houston released her new album, ''I Look to You'', in August 2009. The album's first two singles are "I Look to You" and "Million Dollar Bill". The album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1, with Houston's best opening-week sales of 305,000 copies, marking Houston's first number one album since '' The Bodyguard'', and Houston's first studio album to reach number one since 1987's ''Whitney''. Houston also appeared on European television programs to promote the album. She performed the song "I Look to You" on the German television show ''Wetten, dass..?''. Three days later, she performed the worldwide first single from I Look To You, Million Dollar Bill, on the French television show Le Grand Journal. Houston appeared as guest mentor on ''The X Factor'' in the United Kingdom. She performed "Million Dollar Bill" on the following day's results show, completing the song even as a strap in the back of her dress popped open two minutes into the performance. She later commented that she "sang [herself] out of [her] clothes".

The performance was poorly received by the British media, and was variously described as "weird" and "ungracious", "shambolic" and a "flop". Despite this reception, "Million Dollar Bill" jumped to its peak from 14 to number 5 (her first UK top 5 for over a decade), and three weeks after release "I Look to You" went gold. Houston appeared on the Italian version of ''The X Factor'', performing the same song "Million Dollar Bill" to excellent reviews. She was awarded the Gold Certificate for achieving over 50,000 CD sales of "I Look To You" in Italy. In November, Houston performed "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" at the 2009 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California. Two days later, Houston performed both songs on the Dancing With The Stars season 9 finale. As of December 2009, "I Look to You" has been certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than one million copies in the United States. On January 26, 2010, her debut album was re-released in a special edition entitled ''Whitney Houston – The Deluxe Anniversary Edition''.

Houston later embarked on a world tour, entitled the Nothing but Love World Tour. It was her first world tour in over ten years and was announced as a triumphant comeback. However, some poor reviews and rescheduled concerts brought some negative media attention. Houston canceled some concerts due to illness and received widespread negative reviews from fans who were disappointed in the quality of her voice and performance. Some fans reportedly walked out of her concerts.

In January 2010, Houston was nominated for two NAACP Image Awards, one for Best Female Artist and one for Best Music Video. She won the award for Best Music Video for her single "I Look to You". On January 16, she received The BET Honors Award for Entertainer citing her lifetime achievements spanning over 25 years in the industry. The 2010 BET Honors award was held at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. and aired on February 1, 2010. Jennifer Hudson and Kim Burrell performed in honor of her, garnering positive reviews. Houston also received a nomination from the Echo Awards, Germany's version of the Grammys, for Best International Artist. In April 2010, the UK newspaper ''The Mirror'' reported that Houston was thinking about recording her eighth studio album and wanted to collaborate with will.i.am (of The Black Eyed Peas), her first choice for a collaboration.

Houston also performed the song "I Look to You" on the 2011 BET ''Celebration of Gospel'', with gospel–jazz singer Kim Burrell, held at the Staples Center, Los Angeles. The performance aired on January 30, 2011. Early in 2011, she gave an uneven performance in tribute to cousin Dionne Warwick at music mogul Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy gala. In May 2011, Houston enrolled in a rehabilitation center again, as an out-patient, citing drug and alcohol problems. A representative for Houston said that it was a part of Houston's "longstanding recovery process".

In September 2011, ''The Hollywood Reporter'' announced that Houston was to produce and star (alongside Jordin Sparks and Mike Epps) in the remake of the 1976 film ''Sparkle''. It was also reported that Houston would play Sparks's "not-so encouraging mother". Houston was to have had executive producer credits on top of acting credits according to Debra Martin Chase, producer of ''Sparkle''. She stated that Houston deserved the title considering she had been there from the beginning in 2001 when Houston obtained ''Sparkle'' production rights. R&B; singer Aaliyah's death in a 2001 plane crash derailed production, which would have begun in 2002.

On October 7, 2011, RCA Music Group announced that it was disbanding Arista Records along with J Records and Jive Records. With the shutdown, future material involving Houston was to have been released on the RCA Records brand.

Death

On February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in a suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California, submerged in the bathtub. The cause of death is not immediately known. Beverly Hills paramedics arrived at approximately 3:30 p.m. and found the singer unresponsive and performed CPR. Houston was pronounced dead at 4:00 p.m. PST. Local police said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent."

On the Thursday before her death, February 9, 2012, Houston visited singers Brandy and Monica, together with Clive Davis, at their rehearsals for Davis' pre-Grammy Awards party. That same day, she made her last public performance, when she joined Kelly Price on stage at the party and sang "Jesus Loves Me".

Reaction

The Clive Davis party that Houston was expected to attend, and that featured many of the biggest names in music and movies, went on as scheduled although it was quickly turned into a tribute to Houston. Davis spoke about Houston's death at the evening's start: "By now you have all learned of the unspeakably tragic news of our beloved Whitney's passing. I don't have to mask my emotion in front of a room full of so many dear friends. I am personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years. Whitney was so full of life. She was so looking forward to tonight even though she wasn't scheduled to perform. Whitney was a beautiful person and a talent beyond compare. She graced this stage with her regal presence and gave so many memorable performances here over the years. Simply put, Whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we carry on."

Tony Bennett, who had a drug addiction problem in the 1970s, spoke of Houston's death before performing at Davis' party. He said, "First, it was Michael Jackson, then Amy Winehouse, now, the magnificent Whitney Houston", tying it into his public stance in favor of legalizing drugs. Bennett sang "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" and said of Houston, "When I first heard her, I called Clive Davis and said, 'You finally found the greatest singer I've ever heard in my life.'"

Several other celebrities released statements responding to Houston's death. Dolly Parton, whose song "I Will Always Love You" was covered by Houston, said, "I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed'." Houston's godmother Aretha Franklin said, "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen." Mariah Carey said, "Heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend ... She will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth."

Moments after news of her death emerged, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all broke from their regularly scheduled programming to dedicate time to non-stop coverage of Houston's death. All three featured live interviews with people who knew Houston including those that have worked with her, interviewed her along with some of her peers in the music industry. ''Saturday Night Live'' displayed a still photo in silent reverence of a smiling Houston, alongside Molly Shannon, from her 1996 appearance. MTV and VH-1 interrupted their regularly scheduled programming on Sunday February 12 to air many of Houston's classic videos with MTV often airing news segments in between and featuring various reactions from fans and celebrities.

Houston's former husband, Bobby Brown, was reported to be "in and out of crying fits" since receiving the news. He did not cancel a scheduled performance and within hours of his ex-wife's sudden death, an audience in Mississippi observed as Brown blew kisses skyward, tearfully saying: "I love you, Whitney".

Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the 54th Grammy Awards announced that Jennifer Hudson would perform a tribute to Houston at the February 12, 2012, awards. He said "event organizers believed Hudson — an Academy Award-winning actress and Grammy Award-winning artist — could perform a respectful musical tribute to Houston". Ehrlich went on to say: "It's too fresh in everyone's memory to do more at this time, but we would be remiss if we didn't recognize Whitney's remarkable contribution to music fans in general, and in particular her close ties with the Grammy telecast and her Grammy wins and nominations over the years". At the start of the awards ceremony, footage of Houston performing was shown following a prayer read by host, LL Cool J. Later in the program following a montage of photos of musicians who died in 2011, Hudson paid tribute to Houston and the other artists by performing "I Will Always Love You".

Artistry and legacy

Voice

Houston was a mezzo-soprano, and was commonly referred to as "The Voice" in reference to her exceptional vocal talent. Her vocal range extended from G below middle C (G₃) to high B-flat (B₅); she could belt out to treble F (F₅). She was third in MTV's list of 22 Greatest Voices, and sixth on ''Online Magazine COVE''s list of the 100 Best Pop Vocalists with a score of 48.5/50. In 2008, ''Rolling Stone'' listed Houston as the thirty-fourth of the 100 greatest singers of all time, stating, "Her voice is a mammoth, coruscating cry: Few vocalists could get away with opening a song with 45 unaccompanied seconds of singing, but Houston's powerhouse version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" is a tour de force."

Mariah Carey stated, "Whitney has a really rich, strong mid-belt that very few people have. She sounds really good, really strong." While in her review of ''I Look to You'', music critic Ann Powers of the ''Los Angeles Times'' writes, "[Houston's voice] stands like monuments upon the landscape of 20th century pop, defining the architecture of their times, sheltering the dreams of millions and inspiring the climbing careers of countless imitators", adding "When she was at her best, nothing could match her huge, clean, cool mezzo-soprano".

Houston's vocal stylings have had a significant impact on the music industry. She has been called the "Queen of Pop" for her influence during the 1990s, commercially rivaling Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. Stephen Holden from ''The New York Times'', in his review of Houston's Radio City Music Hall concert on July 20, 1993, praised her attitude as a singer highly, writing "Whitney Houston is one of the few contemporary pop stars of whom it might be said: the voice suffices. While almost every performer whose albums sell in the millions calls upon an entertainer's bag of tricks, from telling jokes to dancing to circus pyrotechnics, Ms. Houston would rather just stand there and sing." He added the comments on her singing style: "Her [Houston's] stylistic trademarks – shivery melismas that ripple up in the middle of a song, twirling embellishments at the ends of phrases that suggest an almost breathless exhilaration – infuse her interpretations with flashes of musical and emotional lightning."

Elysa Gardner of the ''Los Angeles Times'' in her review for ''The Preacher's Wife Soundtrack'' praised Houston's vocal ability highly, commenting, "She is first and foremost a pop diva – at that, the best one we have. No other female pop star – not Mariah Carey, not Celine Dion, not Barbra Streisand – quite rivals Houston in her exquisite vocal fluidity and purity of tone, and her ability to infuse a lyric with mesmerizing melodrama."

Influence

During the 1980s, MTV was coming into its own and received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by black artists. With Michael Jackson breaking down the color barrier for black male artists, Houston did the same for black female artists. She became one of the few black female artists to receive heavy rotation on the network following the success of the "How Will I Know" video. Following Houston's breakthrough, other African-American female artists, such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker, were successful in popular music. Baker commented that "Because of what Whitney and Sade did, there was an opening for me... For radio stations, black women singers aren't taboo anymore."

Allmusic additionally noted her contribution to success of black artists on the pop scene, commenting, "Houston was able to handle big adult contemporary ballads, effervescent, stylish dance-pop, and slick urban contemporary soul with equal dexterity; the result was an across-the-board appeal that was matched by scant few artists of her era, and helped her become one of the first black artists to find success on MTV in Michael Jackson's wake." ''The New York Times'' stated that "Houston was a major catalyst for a movement within black music that recognized the continuity of soul, pop, jazz and gospel vocal traditions". Richard Corliss of ''Time'' magazine commented about her first success breaking various barriers:

Of her first album's ten cuts, six were ballads. This chanteuse [Houston] had to fight for air play with hard rockers. The young lady had to stand uncowed in the locker room of macho rock. The soul strutter had to seduce a music audience that anointed few black artists with superstardom. [...] She was a phenomenon waiting to happen, a canny tapping of the listener's yen for a return to the musical middle. And because every new star creates her own genre, her success has helped other blacks, other women, other smooth singers find an avid reception in the pop marketplace.

According to ''The New York Times'', Houston "revitalized the tradition of strong gospel-oriented pop-soul singing". Ann Powers of the ''Los Angeles Times'' referred to the singer as a "national treasure". She was considered by many to be a "singer's singer", who had an influence on countless other vocalists, both female and male. Similarly, Steve Huey from Allmusic wrote that the shadow of Houston's prodigious technique still looms large over nearly every pop diva and smooth urban soul singer – male or female – in her wake, and spawned a legion of imitators. ''Rolling Stone'', on her biography, stated that Houston "redefined the image of a female soul icon and inspired singers ranging from Mariah Carey to Beyoncé". ''Essence'' ranked Houston the fifth on their list of 50 Most Influential R&B; Stars of all time, calling her "the diva to end all divas".

A number of artists have acknowledged Houston as an influence, including Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Nelly Furtado, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Ciara, P!nk, Robin Thicke, Jennifer Hudson, Stacie Orrico, Amerie, Destiny's Child, Mariah Carey, who was often compared to Houston, said, "Houston has been a big influence on me." She later told ''USA Today'' that "none of us would sound the same if Aretha Franklin hadn't ever put out a record, or Whitney Houston hadn't."

Mary J. Blige said that Houston inviting her onstage during VH1's ''Divas Live'' show in 1999 "opened doors for [her] all over the world". Brandy stated, "The first Whitney Houston CD was genius. That CD introduced the world to her angelic yet powerful voice. Without Whitney, half of this generation of singers wouldn't be singing." Kelly Rowland, in an ''Ebony'' feature article celebrating black music in June 2006, recalled that "[I] wanted to be a singer after I saw Whitney Houston on TV singing 'Greatest Love of All'. I wanted to sing like Whitney Houston in that red dress." She added that "And I have never, ever forgotten that song [Greatest Love of All]. I learned it backward, forward, sideways. The video still brings chills to me. When you wish and pray for something as a kid, you never know what blessings God will give you."

Beyoncé told the ''Globe and Mail'' that Houston "inspired [her] to get up there and do what [she] did". Alicia Keys, in an interview about her album ''The Element of Freedom'' with ''Billboard'' magazine, also said "Whitney is an artist who inspired me from [the time I was] a little girl". Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson cites Houston as her biggest musical influence. She told ''Newsday'' that she learned from Houston the "difference between being able to sing and knowing how to sing". Leona Lewis, who has been called the New Whitney Houston, also cites her as an influence. Lewis stated that she idolized her as a little girl. American recording artist Lady Gaga said that Houston had been one of her "vocal idols" for years. In an interview with IBN Live, Gaga revealed that she used to listen to Houston's version of "The Star Spangled Banner" over and over again. At the 2011 Grammys, Gaga gave a shout-out to Houston, and said that she wrote the song "Born This Way" thinking about Houston's vocals.

Awards and achievements

Houston was the most awarded female artist of all time, according to Guinness World Records, with two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. She held the all-time record for the most American Music Awards of any female solo artist and shared the record with Michael Jackson for the most AMAs ever won in a single year with eight wins in 1994. Houston won a record 11 Billboard Music Awards at its fourth ceremony in 1993. She also had the record for the most WMAs won in a single year, winning five awards at the 6th World Music Awards in 1994.

In May 2003, Houston placed at number three on VH1's list of "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era", behind Madonna and Janet Jackson. She was also ranked at number 116 on their list of the "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons of All Time". In 2008, ''Billboard'' magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary, ranking Houston at number nine. Similarly, she was ranked as one of the "Top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time" by VH1 in September 2010. In November 2010, ''Billboard'' released its "Top 50 R&B;/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years" list and ranked Houston at number three whom not only went on to earn eight number one singles on the R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but also landed five number ones on R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums.

Houston's debut album is listed as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine and is on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Definitive 200 list. In 2004, ''Billboard'' picked the success of her first release on the charts as one of 110 Musical Milestones in its history. Houston's entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to ''USA Today'' in 2007. It stated that she paved the way for Mariah Carey's chart-topping vocal gymnastics. In 1997, the Franklin School in East Orange, New Jersey was renamed to The Whitney E. Houston Academy School of Creative and Performing Arts. In 2001, Houston was the first artist ever to be given a BET Lifetime Achievement Award.

Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 200 million albums and singles worldwide. Although she released relatively few albums, she was ranked as the fourth best-selling female artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 55 million certified albums sold in the US alone.

She held an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Grambling State University, Louisiana.

Discography

''Whitney Houston'' (1985)

''Whitney'' (1987)

''I'm Your Baby Tonight'' (1990)

''My Love Is Your Love'' (1998)

''Just Whitney'' (2002)

''One Wish: The Holiday Album'' (2003)

''I Look to You'' (2009)

Filmography

+ Film roles
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes and awards
1992	''The Bodyguard''	Rachel Marron	Nominated – 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best Female PerformanceNominated – 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough PerformanceNominated – 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo with co-star Kevin CostnerNominated – 1992 Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress
1995	''Waiting to Exhale''	Savannah Jackson	Nominated – 1996 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
1996	''The Preacher's Wife''	Julia Biggs
1997		Fairy Godmother
2012		Emma	Posthumous release

+ Television roles	! Year	! Title	! Network	! Role	Notes
1984	''Gimme a Break!''	NBC	Rita	"Katie's College" (Season 3, Episode 20)
1985	''Silver Spoons''	NBC	Herself	"Head Over Heels" (Season 4, Episode 1, Air date: September 15, 1985)She performed the edited version of "Saving All My Love for You", changing some of the words.
2002	''Boston Public''	Fox	Herself	She performed "Try It On My Own" from the 2002 studio album ''Just Whitney''.

+ Commercials
! Year	! Company	! Promoting	! Country	Notes
	Dr Pepper/Seven Up	Canada Dry(soft drink beverage)	United States		* Houston appeared in this commercial before debut as a professional singer and sang the praises of sugar free Canada Dry Ginger Ale.
	Coca-Cola	Diet Coke(soft drink beverage)	United States		* Houston sang the Diet Coke theme song, "Just for the taste of it".
	Coca-Cola	Diet Coke(soft drink beverage)	United States		* Houston sang the other version of the Diet Coke advertising slogan at the time, "Just for the taste of it".	* Outside the United States, the second version of advertising was released, in which "Greatest Love of All" was used as background music.	1989 MTV Video Music Awards#Video of the Year>Video of the Year winning "This Note's for You" by Neil Young, parodied parts of this advertising to criticize pop/rock stars who make commercial endorsements, most notably Michael Jackson for Pepsi and Houston for Diet Coke, using look-alikes for them.
		Electronics(the stereo, TV)	Japan		Keith Thomas (producer)>Keith Thomas. It was released as a CD single in Japan and included in Japanese edition of ''I'm Your Baby Tonight''.
	AT&T;	Telephone services	United States		* Houston sang its theme song, "True Voice".

+ Production
! Year	! Title	! Director	Notes and awards
1997		Robert Iscove	Executive producerNominated – 50th Primetime Emmy Awards
2001		[[Garry Marshall	ProducerWon – 2002 Young Artist Award for Best Family Feature Film – ComedyNominated – 2002 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Family Film (Live Action) Nominated – 2002 Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Family FilmNominated – 2002 Teen Choice Award for Film – Choice Movie, Comedy
2003		Oz Scott	Producer
2004	''The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement''	Garry Marshall	Producer
2006		Kenny Ortega	Co-executive producer

Tours

;World tours

''The Greatest Love World Tour'' (1986)

''Moment of Truth World Tour'' (1987–88)

''I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour'' (1991)

''The Bodyguard World Tour'' (1993–94)

''My Love Is Your Love World Tour'' (1999)

''Nothing But Love World Tour'' (2010)

;Regional tours

''Feels So Right Tour'' (1990)

''Pacific Rim Tour'' (1997)

''The European Tour'' (1998)

''Soul Divas Tour'' (2004)

;Televised concerts

''Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute'' (1988)

''Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston'' (1991)

''The Concert for a New South Africa'' (1994)

''Classic Whitney Live from Washington, D.C.'' (1997)

See also

American Music Award nominations for Whitney Houston

Grammy nominations for Whitney Houston

Honorific nicknames in popular music

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

List of best-selling music artists

Melisma

References

Further reading

External links

Category:1963 births Category:2012 deaths Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:African American female singers Category:African American film actors Category:African American record producers Category:African-American film producers Category:American dance musicians Category:American female models Category:American gospel singers Category:American mezzo-sopranos Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:Arista Records artists Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats Category:Baptists from the United States Category:Death in California Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from East Orange, New Jersey Category:People from Newark, New Jersey Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics

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birth name	Roseann O'Donnell
birth date	March 21, 1962
birth place	Bayside, Queens, New York City, United States
occupation	TV personality, comedienne, actress, singer, author
years active	1979–present
spouse	Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell (2004–2007)
website	Rosie.com }}

Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American stand-up comedienne, actress, singer, author and media personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family Vacations.

Raised Roman Catholic, O'Donnell lost her mother to cancer as a pre-teen and has stressed the importance of protecting children and supporting families throughout her career. O'Donnell started her comedy career while still a teenager and her big break was on the talent show ''Star Search'' when she was twenty years old. A TV sitcom and a series of movies introduced her to a larger national audience and in 1996 she started hosting ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' which won multiple Emmy awards.

During her years on ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' she wrote her first book, a memoir called ''Find Me'' and developed the nickname "Queen Of Nice" as well as a reputation for philanthropic efforts. She used the book's $3 million advance to establish her own For All Kids foundation and promoted other charity projects encouraging other celebrities on her show to also take part. O'Donnell came out stating "I'm a dyke!" two months before finishing her talk show run, saying that her primary reason was to bring attention to gay adoption issues. O'Donnell is a foster—and adoptive—mother. She has since continued to support many LGBT causes and issues.

In 2006 O'Donnell became the new moderator on ''The View'' boosting ratings and attracting controversies with her liberal views, and strong personality, dominating many of the conversations. She became a polarizing figure to many and her strong opinions resulted in several notable controversies including an on-air dispute regarding the Bush administration's policies with the war in Iraq resulting in a mutual agreement to cancel her contract. In 2007 O'Donnell also released her second memoir, ''Celebrity Detox'', which focuses on her struggles with fame and her time at ''The View''. She continues to do charity work and remains involved with LGBT and family-related issues. In 2008 O'Donnell starred in and executive produced ''America (2009 film)'', a Lifetime channel original movie in which she plays the therapist of the title character, a 16-year-old boy aging out of the foster care system. The film is based on the E.R. Frank book of the same name.

In October 2009, she appeared in the original cast of ''Love, Loss, and What I Wore''. In November 2009 "Rosie Radio", a daily two-hour show with O'Donnell discussing news and events on Sirius XM Radio, premiered. O'Donnell said she was approached by the company after she appeared on ''The Howard Stern Show''. O'Donnell has signed on with the Oprah Winfrey Network OWN to return to daytime TV with a talk show in Fall 2011.

Early life

O'Donnell, the third of five children, was born in Bayside, Queens, New York and raised in Commack, Long Island, New York. She is the daughter of Roseann Teresa (née Murtha), a homemaker, and Edward Joseph O'Donnell, an electrical engineer who worked in the defense industry. O'Donnell's father had immigrated from County Donegal, Ireland during his childhood, and her mother was Irish American; O'Donnell was raised Catholic. Four days before her 11th birthday, on March 17, 1973, O'Donnell's mother died of breast cancer. While she attended Commack High School, O'Donnell was voted homecoming queen, prom queen, senior class president and class clown. It was during high school that she began exploring her interest in comedy, beginning with a skit performed in front of the school in which she imitated Gilda Radner's character Roseanne Rosannadanna. After graduating in 1980, O'Donnell briefly attended Dickinson College, later transferring to Boston University, before ultimately dropping out of college.

Career

Early work

O'Donnell toured as a stand-up comedian in clubs from 1979 to 1984. She got her first big break on ''Star Search'', explaining on ''Larry King Live'': After this success, she moved on to television sitcom comedy, making her series debut as Nell Carter's neighbor on ''Gimme a Break!'' in 1986. In 1988, she joined music video station VH1's lineup of veejays. She started hosting a series for VH1, ''Stand-up Spotlight'', a showcase for up-and-coming comedians and comediennes. In 1992 she starred in ''Stand By Your Man'', a Fox Network sitcom co-starring Melissa Gilbert. The show bombed, just as O'Donnell's movie career took off. O'Donnell made her feature film debut in ''A League Of Their Own'' alongside Tom Hanks and Madonna. Throughout her career, she has taken on an eclectic range of roles: she appeared in ''Sleepless in Seattle'' as Meg Ryan's best friend; as Betty Rubble in the live-action film adaptation of The Flintstones with John Goodman; as one of Timothy Hutton's co-stars in ''Beautiful Girls''; as a federal agent comedically paired with Dan Aykroyd in ''Exit to Eden''; as the voice of a tomboyish female gorilla named Terk in Disney's ''Tarzan''; and as a baseball-loving nun in M. Night Shyamalan's ''Wide Awake''.

''The Rosie O'Donnell Show''

In 1996, she began hosting a daytime talk show, ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show''. The show proved very successful, winning multiple Emmy awards, and earning O'Donnell the title of "The Queen of Nice" for her style of light-hearted banter with her guests and interactions with the audience. As part of her playful banter with her studio audience, O'Donnell often launched koosh balls at the crowd and camera. She also professed an infatuation with Tom Cruise.

With New York City as the show's homebase, O'Donnell displayed her love of Broadway musicals and plays by having cast members as guests, encouraging the audience to see shows, premiering production numbers as well as promoting shows with ticket give-aways.

After the Columbine shootings, O'Donnell became an outspoken supporter of gun control and a major figure in the Million Mom March. During the April 19, 1999, broadcast of her talk show, she stated, "You are not allowed to own a gun, and if you do own a gun, I think you should go to prison." O'Donnell previously had remarked, "I don't personally own a gun, but if you are qualified, licensed and registered, I have no problem." In May 1999, a month after the Columbine shootings, O'Donnell interviewed Tom Selleck, who was promoting ''The Love Letter''. O'Donnell confronted him about his recent commercial for the National Rifle Association (NRA) and challenged him about the NRA's position on the use of "assault weapons." She said at the end of the segment the conversation had "not gone the way I had hoped" and added "if you feel insulted by my questions, I apologize, because it was not a personal attack. It was meant to bring up the subject as it is in the consciousness of so many today." Around the same time, the cast from ''Annie Get Your Gun'' was to appear on the show but refused O'Donnell's request to remove the line "I can shoot a partridge with a single cartridge" from the song "Anything You Can Do" and agreed to perform "My Defenses Are Down" instead. Later in 1999, O'Donnell discontinued her contract with Kmart as their spokeswoman, as gun enthusiasts complained that she shouldn't be the spokesperson for the largest gun retailer. O'Donnell countered that Kmart sells hunting rifles, not handguns or assault weapons and does so legally which she supports. Both Kmart and O'Donnell denied publicly that Kmart had terminated the contract. In May 2000, O'Donnell's bodyguard applied for a concealed firearm permit. O'Donnell stated that the security firm contracted by Warner Brothers requested the gun. O'Donnell stated that because of threats, she and her family need protection, which she attributes to her "tough gun-control rhetoric".

After the September 11, 2001 attacks Broadway and tourism in New York City was down and many shows were in danger of closing. O'Donnell was among many in the entertainment field who encouraged viewers to visit and support the performing arts. She announced that she would donate $1 million dollars for aid in the rescue efforts and encouraged other celebrities and citizens alike to "give till it hurts". In 2002, she left her talk show. The show was then replaced by ''The Caroline Rhea Show'', with comedienne Caroline Rhea and ran for one additional season.

''The View''

In September 2006, O'Donnell replaced Meredith Vieira as a co-host and moderator of the ''The View'', a daytime women-oriented talkshow. Star Jones, a co-host on the show, quit with some speculating Jones's conservative views would be in constant tension with O'Donnell's more liberal counterpoint. O'Donnell had also disputed Jones's route of rapid weight loss, alluding that it must have been gastric bypass surgery rather than dieting and exercise alone as Star had insisted which also fed speculation about certain tension between the two, Jones later confirmed it was surgery. As a big-name talent O'Donnell drew criticism for her opinions while keeping the show's "buzz factor up". O'Donnell is credited with helping the show be more news-focused while still embracing the "fluff" of daytime TV talkshows (celebrities, fashion and food). Despite the overall downward trend for most daytime broadcast shows, ratings rose by 27%. The show was the fourth most watched in all of daytime in the key demographic of women ages 18–49, and scored record ratings in the total viewer category with an average of 3.4 million viewers—up 15% versus the same time in 2005. O'Donnell adapted to the multi-personality forum in contrast to her anchoring her own talkshows in the past and moderated the opening "Hot Topics" portion of the show where newsworthy items were discussed. Unlike previous years, politics and taboo subjects were readily explored with O'Donnell and fellow-comic Joy Behar often giving strong opinions against former President Bush's domestic and foreign policies including the Iraq war. As a conservative counterpoint, Elisabeth Hasselbeck would support the Bush Administration's issues and the two would get into an adversarial give-and-take.

Encouraged by the show to be outspoken, O'Donnell sometimes provoked debate, one time stating "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam" or criticizing fellow TV personalities. O'Donnell, who was raised Roman Catholic was accused of "serial anti-Catholicism" and called a bigot by the Catholic League's president Bill Donohue for what he claimed "relentless and profoundly ignorant attacks on the Roman Catholic Church and its teachings." She had compared the Republican Party's cover-up of the Mark Foley congressional page incident, where he sent sexually suggestive messages to teenaged boys who had formerly served as congressional pages, to the cover-up of child sexual abuse by Catholic Church officials who actively concealed perpetrators by moving them from parish to parish as detailed in Amy Berg's ''Deliver Us from Evil'' about abuse within the Catholic Church (Berg was a guest on the show). O'Donnell's outspokeness and spontaneousness sometimes led to her views being recirculated by other media outlets, often surprising ''The View'' co-hosts including O'Donnell. Frequently portrayed unfavorably by conservative media outlets and what she deemed as Republican pundits, O'Donnell lamented that they were focusing on her comments instead of more important national and world issues.

On December 5, 2006, O'Donnell used a series of ''ching chong''s to imitate newscasters in China. She was criticized for her use of the term, and there was disappointment of her perceived insensitivity when she had fought for gay and lesbian rights and spoken out against homophobia. On December 14, O'Donnell apologized to "those who felt hurt" explaining that "Some people have told me it's as bad as the n-word. I was like, really? I didn't know that." O'Donnell warned that "there's a good chance I'll do something like that again, probably in the next week, not on purpose. Only 'cause it's how my brain works." ''Time'' called it a "pseudo-apology". O'Donnell later wrote in ''Celebrity Detox'' that "I wish I had been a bit more pure in my public apology."

Also in December 2006, O'Donnell criticized billionaire Donald Trump for holding a press conference to reinstate Miss USA Tara Conner, accusing him of using her scandal to "generate publicity for the Miss USA Pageant" (to which he owns the rights) by announcing he was giving her a second chance. O'Donnell commented that due to Trump's multiple marital affairs and questionable business bankruptcies, he was not a moral authority for young people in America. She stated, "Left the first wife, had an affair. Left the second wife, had an affair – but he's the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America!" In response, Trump began a "vicious" mass media blitz in which he appeared on various television shows, either in person or by phone, threatening to sue O'Donnell (he never did). He called her names, threatened to take away her partner Kelli, and claimed that Barbara Walters regretted hiring her. Walters was stuck in the middle as a social acquaintance of Trump's, and said O'Donnell didn't feel like she defended her enough which led to what both women agreed was an unfortunate confrontation in one of the dressing rooms. "I had pain and hurt and rejection," O'Donnell said, "sometimes [my emotions] overwhelm me. Sometimes I get flooded." Walters responded that both Trump and O'Donnell are highly opinionated people and that Trump has never filed for bankruptcy, but several of his casino companies did but are now out of bankruptcy. She also denied that she was unhappy with O'Donnell, saying, "I have never regretted, nor do I now, the hiring of Rosie O'Donnell."

O'Donnell condemned many of the Bush administration's policies, especially the war in Iraq and the resulting occupation. She consistently brought up recent military deaths and news about the war, and criticized the US media for its lack of attention to these issues compared to media coverage throughout the world. This led to a series of heated exchanges with co-host Hasselbeck and conservative media recycling unfavorable comments towards O'Donnell as well as "the most-discussed moment of her professional life." On May 17, 2007, O'Donnell rhetorically asked, "655,000 Iraqi civilians dead. Who are the terrorists? ... if you were in Iraq and another country, the United States, the richest in the world, invaded your country and killed 655,000 of your citizens, what would you call us?" Conservative commentators responded by claiming O'Donnell was comparing American soldiers to terrorists. On May 23, 2007, a heated discussion ensued, in part, because of what O'Donnell perceived as Elisabeth Hasselbeck's unwillingness to defend O'Donnell as not against the troops with O'Donnell asking her "Do you believe I think our troops are terrorists?" Hasselbeck answered in the negative but also stated "Defend your own insinuations." O'Donnell was hurt and felt Hasselbeck had betrayed her friendship, "there's something about somebody being different on TV toward you than they are in the dressing room. It didn't really ring true for me." O'Donnell stated that Republican pundits were mischaracterising her statements and the right-wing media would portray her as a bully attacking "innocent pure Christian Elisabeth" whenever they disagreed. O'Donnell said that she knew her time on the show was over when she saw on the studio monitor that the director had made a decision to cut to a split screen effect showing her and Hasselbeck on either side. The argument was not why she left the show after that day. "I didn't want to argue for a living," she told Oprah Winfrey in an hour-long special, "I didn't come back because the director and the producer did a split screen, and they had to prepare that in advance [...] I felt there was setup egging me into that position. The executive producer and I did not gel. O'Donnell and ABC agreed to cut short her contract agreement on May 25, 2007, as a result of this issue. ABC News reported that her arguments with Hasselbeck brought the show its best ratings ever.

On the April 30, 2007, show Walters announced that O'Donnell would be listed by ''Time'' magazine as one of their 100 most influential people. On May 25, 2007, it was announced by ABC and O'Donnell that she would not stay until the end of her contract (which was supposed to end in June). "[The producers] encouraged me to speak my feelings — and I did. And some of those, at the time I spoke them, were controversial. They seem to have come more into favor." O'Donnell was named "The Most Annoying Celebrity of 2007" by a ''PARADE'' reader's poll, in response she said, "Frankly, most celebrities are annoying ... and I suppose I am the most annoying, but, whatever." In 2008, ''The View'' won an Emmy for "Outstanding Special Class Writing" for a specially themed Autism episode she helped create. Janette Barber, O'Donnell's longtime friend and producer/writer of the ''Rosie O'Donnell Show'', accepted the award on behalf of herself and the other two winners, Christian McKiernan and Andrew Smith.

2007–present

In March 2007, O'Donnell started a video blog, ''Jahero'', on her website Rosie.com answering fans questions, giving behind the scenes information and serving as a video diary. Originally featuring only O'Donnell and her hair and make-up artist Helene Macaulay they were soon joined by her writer from ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'', Janette Barber. Called ''Jahero'', which has each of their first name's letters in it, they occasionally had short cameo appearances by ''View'' co-hosts Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and Barbara Walters. Jenny McCarthy appeared once briefly, as has Hasselbeck's mother-in-law and O'Donnell's mother-in-law, her wife Kelli's mother. Kathy Griffin also appeared, where she read some of the questions. It became so popular that O'Donnell and her creative team considered an "on the road" version of the video blog utilizing fan-submitted suggestions. O'Donnell was the front runner for the "best celebrity blogger" category in the 2007 Blogger's Choice Awards which she won.

O'Donnell expressed interest in replacing long-time host Bob Barker when he retired from CBS's game show ''The Price Is Right''. Barker was a frequent guest on her talk show and told reporters that she "would make a fine host." Although it was reported he had "endorsed" her as a "possible successor", Barker said that he had no role in choosing his replacement. In June 2007, she announced on her blog it was not going to happen and noted she was reluctant to uproot her family to move to California.

In November 2009 "Rosie Radio", a daily two-hour show with O'Donnell discussing news and events on Sirius XM Radio, premiered. The show is on Stars channel 102 from 10am to 12noon Eastern time, with replays in the afternoon, premiered. O'Donnell said she was approached by the company after she appeared on Howard Stern's Sirius XM show. The radio show will end in June, 2011, as O'Donnell begins full time work on her show for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

Other ventures

''Rosie'' magazine

In 2000, O'Donnell partnered with the publishers of ''McCall's'' to revamp the magazine as ''Rosie's McCall's'' (or, more commonly, ''Rosie''). The magazine was launched as a competitor to fellow talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey's monthly magazine. ''Rosie'' covered issues including breast cancer, foster care and other matters of concern to O'Donnell. In the September 2000 issue she shared that "she has struggled with depression her entire life" and decided to start medications when she realized her fears were affecting her family. With a strong start and a circulation close to 3.5 million things looked promising but the magazine stumbled as conflicts emerged between O'Donnell and the editors. The contract gave O'Donnell control over editorial process and editorial staff but veto power remained with publisher Gruner+Jahr USA. O'Donnell quit the magazine in September 2002 following a dispute over editorial control. "If I'm going to have my name and my brand on the corner of a magazine, it has to be my vision" she told People. Rosie magazine folded in 2003. In late 2003, O'Donnell and the publishers each sued the other for breach of contract. The publishers claimed that, by removing herself from the magazine's publication, she was in breach of contract. The trial received considerable press coverage. O'Donnell would often give brief press interviews outside of the courtroom responding to various allegations. Of note was a former magazine colleague and breast cancer survivor who testified that O'Donnell said to her on the phone that people who lie "get sick and they get cancer. If they keep lying, they get it again". O'Donnell apologized the next day and stated "I'm sorry I hurt her the way I did, that was not my intention." The judge ruled against both sides and dismissed the case. In 2006, O'Donnell responded to a question on the "Ask Ro" section of her website in which she stated that she would love to do another magazine.

Books

In 2002, O'Donnell wrote ''Find Me,'' a combination of memoir, mystery and detective story with an underlying interest in re-uniting birth mothers with their children. In addition to cataloging her childhood and early adulthood, the book delved into O'Donnell's relationship with a woman with multiple personality disorder who posed as an under-aged teen who had become pregnant by rape. The book reached number two on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list.

In October 2007, she released ''Celebrity Detox'', her second memoir which focuses on the struggles with leaving fame behind, noting her exits from ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' and ''The View''.

R Family Vacations

In 2003 O'Donnell and Carpenter partnered with travel entrepreneur Gregg Kaminsky to launch R Family Vacations catering to LGBT families, "the very first all gay and lesbian family vacation packages" where "gays and lesbians can bring their kids, their friends, and their parents." Although O'Donnell is not involved on a day-to-day basis, she does contribute to the creative aspects of "advertising and marketing materials" and initiated the idea for the company when she filled in as a last-minute replacement headliner on one of Kaminsky's Atlantis Events gay cruises and also came up with the name "R Family Vacations." On July 11, 2004, the first cruise was held with 1600 passengers including 600 children. In addition to traditional entertainment and recreational activities, the company partnered with Provincetown's Family Pride, a 25-year-old Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates for GLBT families to host discussions on "adoption, insemination, surrogacy, and everything else that would be helpful to gay parenting." ''All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise'', a documentary film about the trip debuted on HBO on April 6, 2006, and was nominated for three Emmy Awards. Of the experience O'Donnell stated "we didn't really realize the magic that was going to take place. People who had never met another gay family met other families and it was powerful."

Charitable work

Over her career O'Donnell has developed a reputation for raising funds and her own philanthropy to charitable causes. In May 1996, Warner Books advanced O'Donnell $3 million to write a memoir. She used the money to seed her For All Kids foundation to help institute national standards for day care across the country. Her memoir, ''Find Me'', was released in April 2002 and became the second highest on the ''New York Times'' Bestseller List.

Since 1997, Rosie's For All Kids Foundation, overseen by Elizabeth Birch, has awarded more than $22 million in Early Childhood Care and Education program grants to over 900 nonprofit organizations. On October 30, 2006, she was honored by the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. "It's our privilege to be honoring and hosting Rosie," said NYSPCC president David Stack in a statement. "Her Rosie's for All Kids Foundation has awarded more than $22 million in grants to over 1,400 child-related organizations, and that's just one of her many impressive activities on behalf of children." In November 2006 ''Nightline'' aired a video report about the opening of The Children's Plaza and Family Center in Renaissance Village, a FEMA trailer park in Louisiana. This was an emergency response initiative of Rosie's For All Kids Foundation with the help of many local nonprofit organizations and for-profit businesses, all efforts were to assist the families displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

San Francisco public relations firm Fineman Associates awarded top prize to Procter & Gamble Co.'s designation of O'Donnell as "unkissable" in a promotion for Scope mouthwash on the 1997 annual list of the nation's worst public relations blunders. In response to the promotion, the "unkissable" O'Donnell partnered with Warner Lambert's competitor Listerine who donated bottles of mouthwash to the studio audience and donated $1,000 to charity every time a hosted guest would kiss her in exchange for O'Donnell promoting their product. On occasion, the guests would offer multiple kisses and ''People'' reported O'Donnell "smooched her way to more than $350,000."

In 2003, Rosie and Kelli O'Donnell collaborated with Artistic Director Lori Klinger to create "Rosie's Broadway Kids", dedicated to providing free instruction in music and dance to New York City public schools or students. Rosie's Broadway Kids serves more than 4,500 teachers, students, and their family members at 21 schools. Currently programs are in Harlem, Midtown West, Chelsea, Lower East Side, East Village, and Chinatown. All net profits from O'Donnell's 2007 book ''Celebrity Detox'' are also being donated to Rosie's Broadway Kids.

In December 2006, at a one-night charity event on the Norwegian Pearl cruiseship, Elizabeth Birch, Executive Director for the Rosie's For All Kids Foundation, confirmed that $50 million from O'Donnell's five-year contract were donated in an irrevocable trust to charity. She is also reported to have contributed several hundred thousand dollars for rehabilitation therapies for war veterans who have lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan wars. On ''The Tyra Banks Show'', Tyra brought up to O'Donnell that people don't realize that Rosie has given more than $100 million to charity. In May 2007 O'Donnell and Pogo Games announced a joint-effort to raise money for Rosie's All Kids Foundation. EA, which owns Pogo, committed $30,000 and more money can be raised based on the amount of playing time people spend on certain games. They also held a sweepstakes in which winners get to fly to New York and meet Rosie and attend a charity function as her guest.

During the summer of 2007 Rosie was a guest on the multi-artist True Colors Tour, which traveled through 15 cities in the United States and Canada. The tour, sponsored by the gay cable channel Logo, began on June 8, 2007. Hosted by comedienne Margaret Cho and headlined by Cyndi Lauper, the tour also included Debbie Harry, Erasure, The Gossip, Rufus Wainwright, The Dresden Dolls, The MisShapes, Indigo Girls, The Cliks and other special guests. Profits from the tour helped to benefit the Human Rights Campaign as well as P-FLAG and The Matthew Shepard Foundation. She appeared again on True Colors Tour 2008.

Personal life

Coming out

In her January 31, 2002, appearance on the sitcom ''Will & Grace'', she played a lesbian mom. A month later as part of her act at the Ovarian Cancer Research benefit at Caroline's Comedy Club O'Donnell came out as a lesbian, announcing "I'm a dyke!" "I don't know why people make such a big deal about the gay thing. ... People are confused, they're shocked, like this is a big revelation to somebody." The announcement came two months before the end of the hosting of her talk show. Although she also cited the need to put a face to gays and lesbians her primary reason was to bring attention to the gay adoption issue. O'Donnell is a foster and adoptive mother. She protested against adoption agencies, particularly in Florida, that refused adoptive rights to gay and lesbian parents. Diane Sawyer interviewed O'Donnell in a March 14, 2002, episode of ''PrimeTime Thursday'', telling ''USA Today'' she chose to talk to Sawyer because she wanted an investigative piece on Florida's ban on gay adoption. She told Sawyer if that was done, "I would like to talk about my life and how (the case) pertains to me." She spoke about the two gay men in Florida who face having a foster child they raised removed from their home. State law won't let them adopt because Florida bans gay or bisexual people from adopting. O'Donnell's coming out drew criticism from some LGBT activists who cited her repeated references to being enamored of Tom Cruise on ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' as deceptive. She responded in her act stating, "I said I wanted him to mow my lawn and bring me a lemonade. I never said I wanted to blow him." After leaving her show and coming out, O'Donnell returned to stand-up comedy, and cut her hair. O'Donnell told the press that her haircut was meant to mimic the haircut of former Culture Club backup singer Helen Terry. She subsequently attributed the haircut as a way to emulate Boy George, in hopes that he would allow her to produce his stage show ''Taboo''. O'Donnell did invest in and produce the show, but it was an expensive failure on Broadway.

Marriage and children

On February 26, 2004, O'Donnell married Kelli Carpenter, a former Nickelodeon marketing executive, in San Francisco two weeks after SF's Mayor Gavin Newsom authorized the granting of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Her decision to go to San Francisco to marry Carpenter was seen as a show of defiance against then-President George W. Bush over his support for the Federal Marriage Amendment. }} The couple were married by San Francisco Treasurer Susan Leal, one of the city's highest ranking lesbian officials and they were serenaded by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. O'Donnell and Carpenter are parents to adopted children Parker Jaren (born 1995), Chelsea Belle (born 1997), and Blake Christopher (born 1999). Their fourth child, Vivienne Rose (who was conceived through artificial insemination), was born in 2002 to Carpenter. In 2000 the family took in a foster child Mia (born in 1997), and announced intentions to adopt her. In 2001 the state of Florida removed Mia from their home, and Rosie has since worked extensively to bring an end to the Florida law prohibiting same-sex family adoption. As of 2010 O'Donnell and her family currently reside in Nyack, New York, a suburb of New York City that is located in Rockland County and in Miami's Star Island. O'Donnell's brother Daniel, who is also gay, represents the Upper West Side of Manhattan as a member of the New York State Assembly.

Works

;Television:

''Gimme a Break!'' NBC (cast member 1986–1987)

''Stand-Up Spotlight'' VH1 (1988–1991)

''Stand by Your Man'' FOX (1992)

''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' Syndicated (1996–2002) (also producer and executive producer)

''The Twilight of the Golds'' Showtime (1997)

''Jackie's Back!'' Lifetime (1999) (cameo)

''Will & Grace'' NBC (2002) (recurring role)

''Riding the Bus with My Sister'' CBS (2005 TV movie) (also executive producer)

''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' HBO (2005)

''Queer as Folk'' Showtime (2005) (recurring role)

''All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise'' HBO (2006) (also documentary's producer and executive producer)

''The View'' ABC (September 5, 2006 – May 27, 2007's Moderator)

''Nip/Tuck'' FX (2006) (two episodes in Season 4, four episodes in Season 5)

''Little Britain USA'' HBO (2008) (Series 1, Episode 1)

''Rosie Live!'' NBC (2008) (also producer and executive producer)

''Christmas In Rockefeller Center 2008'' NBC (2008)

''America'' Lifetime (2009) (also executive producer and screenplay)

''Stalking Streisand'' HBO (2009)

''Drop Dead Diva'' (as Judge Madeline Summers) (2009–10)

;Award ceremonies:

''Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards'' (Host) (1997–2003)

''54th Annual Tony Awards'' (Host) (2000)

''42nd Annual Grammy Awards'' (Host) (2000)

;Radio:

''Rosie Radio'' SIRIUS XM (2009)

;Theater:

''Grease'' (1994) (as Betty Rizzo)

''Seussical'' (2001) (replacement for David Shiner)

''Fiddler on the Roof'' (2004) (replacement for Andrea Martin in 2005)

''Love, Loss, and What I Wore'' (2009)

;Filmography:

''A League of Their Own'' (1992)

''Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993)

''Another Stakeout'' (1993)

''Fatal Instinct'' (1993)

''Car 54, Where Are You?'' (1994)

''I'll Do Anything'' (1994)

''The Flintstones'' (1994)

''Exit to Eden'' (1994)

''Now and Then'' (1995)

''Beautiful Girls'' (1995)

''Harriet the Spy'' (1996)

''A Very Brady Sequel'' (1996) (Cameo)

''Wide Awake'' (1998)

''Get Bruce'' (1999) (documentary about Bruce Vilanch)

''Tarzan'' (1999) (voice)

''Artists and Orphans: A True Drama'' (2001) (short subject) (narrator)

''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (2001) (Archive footage)

''Last Party 2000'' (2001) (documentary)

''The Lady in Question Is Charles Busch'' (2005) (documentary)

''Show Business'' (2005) (documentary)

''Pursuit of Equality'' (2005) (documentary)

''All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise'' (2006) (documentary) (also executive producer)

;Bibliography:

''Find Me'' (2002)

''Celebrity Detox'' (2007)

''Rosie O'Donnell's Crafty U: 100 Easy Projects The Whole Family Can Enjoy All Year Long'' (2008)

;Discography: {|class="wikitable" !rowspan="2"| Year !rowspan="2"| Album !colspan="3"| Chart positions |-style="font-size:smaller;" !width="50"|US Holiday !width="50"|US |- |1999 |''A Rosie Christmas'' |align="center"|1 |align="center"|20 |- |2000 |''Another Rosie Christmas'' |align="center"|3 |align="center"|45 |}

;Singles:

!Year	!Single	!width="50"	!Album
2000	"Santa on the Rooftop" (w/ Trisha Yearwood)		''A Rosie Christmas''

Nominations and awards

;Daytime Emmy Awards:

1997 Outstanding Talk/Service Show Host, Rosie O'Donnell

1998 Outstanding Talk Show, ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show''

1998 Outstanding Talk/Service Show Host, Rosie O'Donnell (tied with Oprah Winfrey)

1999 Outstanding Talk Show, ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show''

1999 Outstanding Talk Show Host, Rosie O'Donnell

2000 Outstanding Talk Show, ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show''

2000 Outstanding Talk Show Host, Rosie O'Donnell

2001 Outstanding Talk Show, ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show''

2001 Outstanding Talk Show Host, Rosie O'Donnell (tied with Regis Philbin)

2002 Outstanding Talk Show, ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show''

2002 Outstanding Talk Show Host, Rosie O'Donnell

;Emmy Awards:

1999 Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special, ''52nd Annual Tony Awards''

;Kids' Choice Awards:

2000 Hall of Fame Award

;Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards: 2002 Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.

Footnotes

References

External links

Official site

Rosie O'Donnell's personal photo gallery on Flickr

Category:1962 births Category:Actors from New York City Category:American bloggers Category:American film actors Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American television personalities Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American television producers Category:American voice actors Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:Dickinson College alumni Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Gun control advocates Category:Lesbian actors Category:Living people Category:LGBT people from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:AIDS activists Category:LGBT parents Category:LGBT television personalities Category:People from Long Island Category:People from Queens Category:GLAAD Media Awards winners

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