Celebrity Graveland

August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012

Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1963. 48 years later, she died in a bathtub in Beverly Hills. Everything that happened in between was a wild, at times spectacular ride.

One of the most successful and awarded female singers of all time, Whitney was at the top of her game immediately. Her 13x(!) Platinum self-titled debut album in 1985 and her 9x Platinum 1987 follow up generated SEVEN straight #1 hits. Each bigger than the last and every one incredibly popular with R&B AND Pop audiences. She was an instant – and formidable – superstar.

Whitney’s star continued to rise. She released album after album and hit after hit. She got into acting – famously starring opposite Kevin Costner in 1992’s The Bodyguard. Her remake of the Dolly Parton classic “I Will Always Love You” for the movie’s soundtrack would be her career-defining peak. It remains the best selling single by a female artist of all time.

The same year that The Bodyguard came out, Whitney married R&B singer, Bobby Brown, whom she had been dating for 3 years. Their tumultuous relationship was a tabloid staple from the start.  She continued to churn out hits and expand her acting credits, but by 2000, her behavior started to become noticeably erratic. Rumors of drug use abounded. No-shows and legal issues were common. Though her creativity never suffered, Whitney’s life was slowly unraveling.

In 2004, Houston and Brown starred in an unfiltered and oftentimes unflattering reality TV series about Bobby’s day-to-day life. The show only ran for 11 episodes, but it laid bare the issues they were struggling with and inflicting upon each other. In 2007, Houston divorced Brown, but continued to deal with her substance abuse issues. Despite handling various film and music projects seemingly well, Whitney’s struggles only worsened. In February of 2012, she was preparing for the Grammy awards in Beverly Hills. The day before the awards show, Whitney was found unresponsive in her hotel bathtub. Officials reported that she accidentally drowned as a result of a heart condition and drug use. The music world turned on its heels to pay tribute to her at the Grammys broadcast the next night all while wondering how one of the world’s biggest stars could be gone just like that.

Burial

Fairview Cemetery – Westfield, NJ

Specific Location

East Ridge Section; From the main gate on East Broad St., take the first left onto Hillside Ave. Keep turning left as you go up the hill until you reach Lawn Ave. Turn left on Lawn Ave. and follow it straight to the back of the cemetery. When you reach the last intersection (Memorial Dr.) you will find a series of gardens separated by hedges. Whitney is buried in the 7th garden to the right (south) of this intersection, on the right side as you enter, toward the back.

This entry was posted on October 19, 2020 at 8:20 am and is filed under Fairview Cemetery with tags Fairview Cemetery, Singers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.