Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer, actress, and film producer. Known as "the Voice", she is one of the most awarded entertainers and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 220 million records worldwide. Houston's crossover appeal on popular music charts and her performances influenced the breaking down of gender and racial barriers, as well as popular culture. Known for her vocal delivery and live concerts, Houston was ranked second by Rolling Stone on its 2023 list of the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time". Her life and career have been the subject of multiple documentaries and television specials.
Robert Barisford Brown Sr. is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. 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.
Angela Evelyn Bassett is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television since the 1980s, she has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards. In 2023, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and she received an Academy Honorary Award.
Emily Drinkard, known professionally as Cissy Houston, was an American soul and gospel singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Houston began singing with three of her siblings in the family gospel group, The Drinkard Singers. By the early 1960s, Houston began a career as a session vocalist for several secular musicians in the rhythm and blues, soul, rock and roll, pop and rock genres. After initially joining her nieces' group the Gospelaires for a session with Ronnie Hawkins in 1961, Houston gradually took control of the group, which revamped into "The Group" with Houston, niece Sylvia Shemwell, Myrna Smith and teenager Estelle Brown. She eventually founded the girl group The Sweet Inspirations with Shemwell, Smith and Brown in 1967 and that year signed a contract with Atlantic Records where, with Houston as lead singer, they would record four albums before Houston departed for a solo career in 1970. Her best known solo singles include the top 20 R&B chart single, "I'll Be There" and the top 5 dance single, "Think It Over". Her solo career culminated with two Grammy Award wins, both in the Traditional Gospel Album category.
Deborah Cox is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before becoming a professional backing vocalist for Celine Dion. In 1994, Cox relocated to the United States and was signed to Arista Records by Clive Davis, releasing her self-titled debut album the following year. Her second studio album, One Wish (1998), was certified platinum in the United States. It was marked by the commercial success of the pop crossover single "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here", which would become her most successful entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number two and remaining there for eight consecutive weeks. Cox signed with J Records for her third studio album The Morning After (2002), which saw moderate commercial success.
Waiting to Exhale is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Forest Whitaker and starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett. The film was adapted from the 1992 novel of the same name by Terry McMillan. Lela Rochon, Loretta Devine, Dennis Haysbert, Michael Beach, Gregory Hines, Donald Faison, and Mykelti Williamson rounded out the rest of the cast. The original music score was composed by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. The story centers on four women living in the Phoenix metropolitan area and their relationships with men and one another.
Camara DaCosta Johnson, 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 on 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).
Bobbi Kristina Brown was an American reality television personality and singer. She was the only child of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. Her parents' fame kept Brown in the public eye, as did her appearances on the reality show Being Bobby Brown.
The Bodyguard World Tour is the fifth concert tour by American recording artist, Whitney Houston. The tour was in support of her multi-platinum soundtrack album, The Bodyguard, and also of the movie of the same name. Following the success of the album and worldwide hit singles "I Will Always Love You", "I Have Nothing" and "I'm Every Woman", Houston started the extensive world tour that lasted through the fall of 1994.
Arlen Alexander Escarpeta is a Belizean-born American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Friday the 13th, Brotherhood, Final Destination 5, Into the Storm (2014), and most notably, his portrayal of Bobby Brown in the 2015 film Whitney.
The Pacific Rim Tour was a concert tour of arenas and stadiums by American Pop/R&B singer Whitney Houston. The tour included 10 concert dates in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia and the United States in 1997. The tour was in support of her 1996 multi-platinum album, The Preacher's Wife.
The 1989 Soul Train Music Awards was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California and aired live in select cities on April 13, 1989, honoring the best in R&B, soul, rap, jazz, and gospel music from the previous year. The show was hosted by Patti LaBelle, Ahmad Rashad and Dionne Warwick.
Gary Joseph Garland Houston is an American musician and former professional basketball player.
Yolonda Ross is an American actress, writer and director.
The 26th NAACP Image Awards ceremony, presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), honored the best in film, television, music of 1993 and took place on January 5, 1994 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. It was the 8th year that the event was taped and recorded on NBC.
Deborah Joy Imani Winans is an American actress and singer, and member of the musical Winans family. She starred as Charity Greenleaf-Satterlee in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, Greenleaf.
Whitney: Can I Be Me is a 2017 British-American documentary film that was written, co-produced by Nick Broomfield and directed by Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal. The film's subject is the life and career of singer Whitney Houston.
American entertainer Whitney Houston worked in nine feature films, three television films, and seven television episodes, and appeared in seventeen commercials.
Robyn Crawford is an American author, producer, and former assistant to and creative director for Whitney Houston. Her credits include The Bodyguard (1992), Waiting to Exhale (1995), The Preacher's Wife (1996), In Between (1987), and Cinderella (1997).
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a 2022 American biographical musical drama film directed by Kasi Lemmons, from a screenplay by Anthony McCarten, based on the life and career of American pop icon and actress Whitney Houston. The film stars Naomi Ackie as Houston with Stanley Tucci, Ashton Sanders, Tamara Tunie, Nafessa Williams, and Clarke Peters in supporting roles.
