The daughter of Cissy Houston and a cousin of Dionne Warwick, singer Whitney Houston burst on the music scene with her inaugural album in 1985, becoming the first woman performer to debut at the number one slot in the Billboard charts. Houston could have remained merely a fabulously successful songstress, but in 1992 she decided to make her film debut in The Bodyguard. Playing an ill-tempered rock star, Houston was paired with Kevin Costner, who portrayed an ex-cop hired to protect her from a stalking fan. Written years earlier by Lawrence Kasdan as a vehicle for Steve McQueen, The Bodyguard made a pile at the box office, providing Whitney Houston with yet another vocal hit: a new version of the Dolly Parton standard "I Will Always Love You", which became the biggest-selling single in the history of pop music. Houston was married to oft-arrested funk singer Bobby Brown from 1992-2007, with whom she had a daughter, Bobbi.
by Hal Erickson
biography
