Whitney Houston - A Life in Pictures

Child: Houston, pictured in 1965, was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin

Young star: Whitney Houston belts out a song during her segment of a benefit concert at Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, in May 1986

Smiles: Whitney Houston seen at a news conference in New York in July 1988. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists

Film: In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with 'The Bodyguard'. The story of a singer (Houston) guarded by a former Secret Service agent was a success

Prizes: Whitney Houston shows off the seven awards she won in February 1993 at the American Music Awards. At her peak, she was the golden girl of music

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