People Remembering Whitney Houston: A Tribute

Hers was a skyrocket of a life a tale of beauty soaring talent and the risks of stardom. Whitney Houston was born to sing: Her mom Cissy Houston is a noted gospel singer; Dionne Warwick was her cousin soul great Aretha Franklin her aunt. And she was beautiful: Before she ever had a big radio hit a teenage Whitney was booking modeling gigs in major magazines. Legendary talent guru Clive Davis heard her sing in a club and signed her at 19; her first album Whitney Houston spawned three No. 1 hits and made her a staple on MTV. Seven years later The Bodyguard made her a movie star. But at the height of an almost-unprecedented arc something went wrong. Marriage to singer Bobby Brown coincided with a slip from the pinnacle; soon Houston was missing shows behaving erratically and eventually admitting to drug problems. A comeback had started to gain traction-until the night before the 2012 Grammy Awards the 48-year-old star was found dead of unspecified causes in her Beverly Hills hotel room. Packed with photos and insight People: Remembering Whitney Houston looks back on wonder and drama of a remarkable life.