American pop star Whitney Houston dies at 48
Sunday, February 12, 2012
American pop star Whitney Houston was found dead Saturday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel according to the Beverly Hills Police Department. She was 48 years old. Houston's most famous songs included How Will I Know, I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) and I Will Always Love You. She was known for her tumultuous marriage to fellow singer Bobby Brown and her public battles with drug and alcohol abuse.
Paramedics and police responded to a 9-1-1 call and came to Houston's room at the Beverly Hilton. She was found unresponsive and unconscious. They attempted to perform CPR but were unable to revive her. She was pronounced dead at 3:55 pm local time (2355 UTC). There were no immediate signs that foul play was involved.
Houston's substance abuse problems came into public view after a 2002 interview with ABC News reporter Diane Sawyer. After a recent arrest at a Hawaiian airport, Houston went into detail about her drugs of choice. However, she said that she drew the line at crack cocaine saying, "Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. OK? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is wack."
Houston is survived by her only daughter Bobbi Kristina.
Sources
- Daoud Tyler-Ameen. "Whitney Houston Has Died" — NPR, February 11, 2012
- Andrew Blankstein and Randy Lewis. "Whitney Houston dead at 48; celebs react on Twitter" — Los Angeles Times, February 11, 2012
- Sheila Marikar. "Whitney Houston, Iconic Pop Star, Dies at 48" — ABC News, February 11, 2012