When it comes to icons in music, very few could hold a candle to the late great Whitney Houston!

Hailing from Newark, New Jersey, Houston began singing as a child in church. She eventually became a background vocalist in high school. After becoming a teen model in 1981, she became one of the youngest Black women ever to grace the cover of Seventeen. Houston signed to Arista Records at the age of 19 and her career immediately took off.

Both of her first two studio albums, Whitney Houston (1985) and Whitney (1987), peaked at number one of the Billboard 200. Both albums are also among the best-selling albums of all time. During the span of 1985 through 1988, she had seven consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard 100. She is the only artist in history to accomplish this feat. After the successes of her first two albums, she returned in 1990 with her third offering, I’m Your Baby Tonight. This album gave her two more number-one Billboard 100 singles, ‘I’m Your Baby Tonight’ and ‘All the Man That I Need.’

After conquering the music world, Whitney set her sights on a different lane. She made her acting debut in 1992 with the romantic film The Bodyguard. She recorded six songs for the film’s soundtrack including ‘I Will Always Love You.’ The song went on to win a Grammy Award for Record of the Year and became best-selling physical single by a woman in music history. The Bodyguard’s soundtrack won a Grammy for Album of the Year and remains the best-selling soundtrack album of all time. After striking gold with her first film and its’ soundtrack, Houston decided that one wasn’t enough. She went on to star in and record soundtracks for Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher’s Wife (1996), the second of which she also produced. It became the best-selling gospel album of all time. She also starred in and produced Cinderella in 1997.

Due to her powerful, soulful vocals and vocal improvisation skills, ‘The Voice’ ended up becoming one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. The multitalented queen has an extensive list of accolades which include: two Emmys, six Grammys, 16 Billboard Music Awards and countless others. She’s also an inductee into the Grammy, Rhythm and Blues Music and Rock and Roll hall of fames. She is considered one of the most influential artists of her generation and we surely do miss her on what would have been her 60th birthday. To celebrate a legend, enjoy a gallery of some of our favorite photos of Nippy!