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Robyn Crawford | |
---|---|
Born | Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | December 17, 1960
Spouse | Lisa Hintelmann |
Children | 2 |
Robyn Crawford (born December 17, 1960) is an American author, producer, and former assistant to and creative director for Whitney Houston. [1] [2] Her credits include The Bodyguard (1992), Waiting to Exhale (1995), In Between (1987), and Cinderella (1997). [3]
Crawford was born in Newark, New Jersey, but grew up as one of three siblings in East Orange, New Jersey. Crawford's mother left her father due to his abuse. [4] Both her mother, Janet Crawford, and her brother, Marty, were diagnosed with HIV, and both died of AIDS related illness in the ’90s. [5]
Crawford met Whitney Houston in 1980, when Crawford was 19 and Houston was 16, the pair having both been counselors at an East Orange summer camp. [6] [7]
Crawford claims in her book A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston, published in 2019, that she had a same-sex relationship with Houston that faded as they prioritized Houston's career. Crawford left school to aid Houston's career. [4] They lived together as a couple. [8] [2] Crawford was ostracised and sidelined by Houston's family and management as Houston's fame grew and her career progressed, and she married Bobby Brown. [8] [9]
Her book A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston became a New York Times Best Seller. [10]
Crawford lives in New Jersey with her wife Lisa Hintelmann, with whom she adopted twins. Lena Waithe has cited Crawford as an early inspiration. [4]
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1987 | In Between [3] | Script supervisor |
1992 | The Bodyguard [3] | Executive assistant to Whitney Houston |
1995 | Waiting to Exhale [3] | Executive assistant to Whitney Houston |
1997 | Cinderella [3] | Associate producer |
2017 | Kevyn Aucoin: Beauty & the Beast in Me [3] | Herself |
2017 | Whitney: Can I Be Me [3] | Herself (Archival Footage) |
2018 | Whitney [3] | Herself (Archival Footage) |
Date | Show | Episode | Role |
---|---|---|---|
Dec. 26, 2019 | NPR's 1A | "'She Had Me, I Had Her:' Robyn Crawford Opens Up" [12] | Guest |
Nov. 20, 2019 | LGBTQ&A [13] | "Robyn Crawford: My Life With Whitney Houston" | Guest |
Nov. 12, 2019 | Yes, Girl!, an Essence podcast | "Nobody Loved Whitney Like Robyn Crawford - The Interview You've Been Waiting For" | Guest |
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "the Voice", she is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold worldwide. In 2023, Rolling Stone named her the second-greatest singer of all time. Houston influenced many singers in popular music, and was known for her powerful, soulful vocals, vocal improvisation skills, and use of gospel singing techniques in pop music. She had 11 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and is the only artist to have seven consecutive number-one singles on the chart. Her accolades include eight Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, two Emmy Awards, and 28 Guinness World Records. Houston's inductions include the Grammy Hall of Fame (twice), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the New Jersey Hall of Fame, and the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.
Robert Barisford Brown Sr. is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Known as the "King of Stage" and the "Prince of Pop", Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started his career in the R&B and pop group New Edition, from its inception in 1978 until his exit from the group in December 1985.
The Bodyguard is a 1992 American romantic thriller drama film directed by Mick Jackson, written by Lawrence Kasdan, and starring Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston, Gary Kemp, Bill Cobbs, and Ralph Waite. The film follows a former United States Secret Service agent turned bodyguard who is hired to protect a famous actress and singer from an unknown stalker. Kasdan wrote the film in the mid-1970s, originally as a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross.
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"I'm Your Baby Tonight" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston from her third studio album of the same name (1990). Written and produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface, in Australia and most European countries it was released as the album's lead single by Arista Records on September 28, 1990; in the United States, the release date was October 2. Following the release of her second studio album Whitney (1987), Houston became the first woman ever to debut atop the Billboard 200; despite this, critics deemed it safe and formulaic. Additionally, she was booed at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards and accused of being "not black enough"; Houston decided she needed to change her sound if she wanted to recapture black audiences.
"I Have Nothing" is a song by American singer and actress Whitney Houston, released on February 20, 1993 as the third single from The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album (1992) by Arista Records. The song was written by David Foster and Linda Thompson, and produced by Foster.
Camara DaCosta Johnson, better known as Yaya DaCosta, is an American actress and model. She was the runner-up in Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model. DaCosta eventually went to star in ABC's daytime drama series All My Children (2008), ABC's comedy-drama Ugly Betty (2009), and NBC's medical drama Chicago Med (2015–2022). DaCosta starred in the Lifetime television film Whitney (2015) as singer Whitney Houston and received praise for her performance.
Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown was an American reality television personality and singer. She was the only child of singers Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston. Her parents' fame kept Brown in the public eye, as did her appearances on the reality show Being Bobby Brown.
I Look to You is the seventh and final studio album by American singer Whitney Houston. It was first released on August 28, 2009, through Sony Music in Europe, then August 31, 2009 with Arista Records in the United States before being released by RCA Records in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2009. The album was Houston's first non-holiday studio album since 2002's Just Whitney. It received favorable reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 66/100 from Metacritic and debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number one with sales of 305,000 beating her previous career best first-week sale of 205,137 units with Just Whitney (2002), and it was her first album to reach number one in the US since 1992's The Bodyguard. Additionally it became her fourth chart-topping album, thus extending her as the female artist with the most cumulative weeks at the number one position.
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Lena Waithe is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series The Chi (2018–present) and the BET comedy series Boomerang (2019–20) and Twenties (2020–2021). She also wrote and produced the crime film Queen & Slim (2019) and is the executive producer of the horror anthology series Them (2021–present).
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