Editing Whitney Houston (section)

== Personal life ==
===Religion===
Houston was a [[Christianity|Christian]], and she made it a point to sing gospel songs when on tour.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/whitney-houstons-private-faith-focused-funeral/story?id=15599887|title=Whitney Houston's Private, Faith-Focused Funeral|website=ABC News|date=February 14, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/03/27/whitney-houston-gospel-album-faith/11539821002/|title=Whitney Houston's gospel album is a testament to her faith: 'She served her purpose here in life'|first=Patrick|last=Ryan|website=USA TODAY|date=March 27, 2023}}</ref> During her childhood, she regularly attended [[New Hope Baptist Church (Newark, New Jersey)|New Hope Baptist Church]] where she joined the children's choir and later performed solos on a regular basis there. Houston was also influenced by [[Pentecostalism in the United States|Pentecostalism]] after she began attending a Pentecostal church not too far from New Hope. Houston's mother [[Cissy Houston|Cissy]] wrote that while at New Hope, Houston "got saved" and she later told her that she "accepted the Savior into her life" at around 12 years old.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Houston |first1=Cissy |title=Remembering Whitney |date=2013 |page=75 |quote=But it was at New Hope that Nippy got saved. I wasn't with her at the time but she told me later that she'd cried and accepted the Savior into her life and heart. And she never let go of that faith, even through all the turmoil and hard times to come.}}</ref> Houston's recording of "[[Do You Hear What I Hear#Whitney Houston version|Do You Hear What I Hear]]", from the Christmas [[compilation album]], ''[[A Very Special Christmas]]'' (1987), has constantly appeared on the ''Billboard'' gospel charts since 2011. In 1997, Houston was given a special honor from the [[GMA Dove Award|Dove Awards]] for helping to bring [[gospel music]] to the attention of the mainstream. Two of Houston's final recordings — "[[His Eye Is on the Sparrow#Whitney Houston version|His Eye Is on the Sparrow]]" and "[[Celebrate (Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks song)|Celebrate]]", from the 2012 film, ''[[Sparkle (2012 film)|Sparkle]]'' — posthumously made the ''Billboard'' gospel charts. Her last public performance prior to her death was an impromptu duet of "[[Jesus Loves Me]]" with friend and former collaborator [[Kelly Price]] at the Tru nightclub in Hollywood.<ref name="lastperformance">{{cite web |url=https://www.smoothradio.com/artists/whitney-houston/last-performance-final-days-death/ |title=Inside Whitney Houston's last ever performance and troubled final days |work=[[Smooth Radio (2014)|Smooth Radio]] |date=15 July 2022 |accessdate=March 18, 2025}}</ref>

===Relationships, marriage, and family===
[[File:Flickr Whitney Houston performing on GMA 2009 5.jpg|thumb|left|Houston and her daughter [[Bobbi Kristina Brown]] in 2009]]
Houston first met [[Robyn Crawford]] when Crawford was 19 and Houston was 16; the two were summer camp counselors. According to Crawford, the two were romantically involved for a few years until Houston began seeking a [[recording contract]].<ref name="auto1"/><ref>{{Cite web |url= https://people.com/music/robyn-crawford-breaks-silence-whitney-houston-love-affair-memoir/ |title= Whitney Houston's Best Friend Robyn Crawford Breaks Her Silence on Their Love Affair in New Memoir |website=People |date=November 6, 2019 |access-date=November 19, 2024 |first=Liz |last=McNeil}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.npr.org/2019/12/25/791296728/she-had-me-i-had-her-robyn-crawford-opens-up |title= 'She Had Me, I Had Her:' Robyn Crawford Opens Up |website=NPR|date=December 26, 2019|access-date=November 19, 2024 |first=Joshua |last=Johnson}}</ref> Crawford and Houston continued their professional relationship and platonic friendship until Crawford left Houston's employ in 2000.<ref name="Dansby-20000607" />

In the 1980s, Houston was romantically linked to musician [[Jermaine Jackson]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/whitney-houston-jermaine-jackson-love-affair-report-article-1.1032864|title=Whitney Houston and Jermaine Jackson had year-long love affair early in their careers: report|last1=Connor|first1=Tracy|date=March 5, 2012|work=Daily News|location=New York}}</ref> [[American football]] star [[Randall Cunningham]], and actor [[Eddie Murphy]].<ref name="Norment-1991" />

Houston met R&B singer [[Bobby Brown]] at the [[1989 Soul Train Music Awards]]. After a three-year courtship, the two were married on July 18, 1992.<ref name="Company1999">{{cite magazine |title=Whitney Houston Sets The Record Straight About Rumors Of Her Troubled Marriage To Bobby Brown |magazine=Jet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IzsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA60 |date=April 26, 1999 |page=60 |issn=0021-5996 |access-date=September 7, 2021}}</ref> The two singers occasionally collaborated on songs, including the hit record, "[[Something in Common]]".<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/10/brown.charged/index.html|title=Bobby Brown charged with battery|date=December 10, 2003|access-date=December 19, 2017|publisher=CNN}}</ref> The following year, Houston gave birth to their daughter [[Bobbi Kristina Brown]] (March 4, 1993 – July 26, 2015),<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Speidel|first1=Maria|date=March 22, 1993|title=Passages|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20110013,00.html|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202164534/http://www.people.com/people/article/0%2C%2C20110013%2C00.html|archive-date=February 2, 2014|access-date=July 10, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> the couple's only child.

During their marriage, Brown had several run-ins with the law for [[Driving under the influence|drunken driving]], drug possession and [[Battery (crime)|battery]], including some jail time.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 16, 2003 |title=Warrant issued for Bobby Brown |url=https://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/01/15/bobby.brown.warrant/ |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Chris |date=February 12, 2012 |title=Inside Whitney Houston's Violent Marriage to Bobby Brown |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-whitney-houstons-violent-marriage-to-bobby-brown |newspaper=Daily Beast}}</ref> In December 2003, Brown was charged with battery following an altercation during which he threatened to beat Houston and then assaulted her. Police reported that Houston had visible injuries to her face.<ref name=":0" />

Starting in April of the following year, the reality show ''[[Being Bobby Brown]]'' was taped and later premiered on ''[[Bravo (American TV network)|Bravo]]'', in June 2005. The show drew criticism for what critics perceived to be unflattering moments from the couple,<ref>Barry Garron, [https://www.today.com/popculture/being-bobby-brown-disgusting-wbna8409211 "'Being Bobby Brown' Is Disgusting"], MSNBC, June 29, 2005.</ref> but still achieved high ratings. However, the show was not renewed for a second season after Houston declined further participation.<ref>Steve Rogers, [https://www.realitytvworld.com/news/report-bravo-being-bobby-brown-coming-back-for-second-season-3794.php "Report: Bravo's 'Being Bobby Brown' coming back for second season"], RealityTV World, October 31, 2005.</ref><ref>[https://blog.sfgate.com/dailydish/2007/01/10/brown-reality-show-cancelled/ "Brown Reality Show Cancelled"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924145216/https://blog.sfgate.com/dailydish/2007/01/10/brown-reality-show-cancelled/ |date=September 24, 2018 }}, ''SFGate'', The Daily Dish, January 10, 2007.</ref> In September 2006, a year after ''Being Bobby Brown'' aired, Houston filed for legal separation from Brown, later filing for divorce the following month, citing [[irreconcilable differences]].<ref name="Legal Separation">{{cite news |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/whitney-houston-bobby-brown-separate-1C9431376 |title=Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown separate |work=[[Today (American TV program)|Today]] |date=September 13, 2006 |accessdate=May 17, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Divorce">{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/whitney-houston-files-divorce-brown-139777/ |title=Whitney Houston files for divorce from Brown - The Hollywood Reporter |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=October 18, 2006 |accessdate=May 17, 2023}}</ref> The divorce was granted on April 24, 2007.<ref name="Divorce2">{{cite news |url=https://people.com/celebrity/whitney-houston-wins-custody-in-divorce-from-bobby-brown/ |title=Whitney Houston Wins Custody in Divorce from Bobby Brown |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=April 4, 2007 |accessdate=May 17, 2023}}</ref>

===Legal issues===
On April 19, 1991, at the start of her ''[[I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour]]'', Houston and her brother Michael got involved in an altercation against three men at a hotel in [[Lexington, Kentucky]] after the men reportedly sought her for an autograph while they were trying to watch a [[Evander Holyfield vs. George Foreman|heavyweight boxing championship match]].<ref name="kentucky1">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-25-ca-648-story.html |title=POP/ROCK - April 25, 1991 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 25, 1991 |author=Beth Kleid |accessdate=March 29, 2025}}</ref> After seeing the men attack her brother, Houston reportedly jumped on one of the men, Ransom Brotherton, and punched him off her brother before Houston and her entourage fled from the hotel. Brotherton reported the incident, which led to him having to go to the hospital to receive "12 stitches over his left eye".<ref name="kentucky1"/> Houston was charged with fourth degree assault for attacking Brotherton and "[[Terroristic threat|threatening to kill him]]", while her brother was charged with assaulting another man involved in the melee, Kevin Owens.<ref name="kentucky1"/> 

Charges were dropped against the Houstons in May due to "contradictory evidence" and due to the prosecution struggling to "prove them guilty".<ref name="kentucky2">{{cite web |url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19910509-01.2.26&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |work=The Lantern |title=Pop star sings to freedom; Houston's case dismissed |date=May 9, 1991 |accessdate=March 29, 2025}}</ref><ref name="kentucky3">{{cite news |url=https://www.deseret.com/1991/5/9/18919574/whitney-houston-won-t-face-charges/ |title=WHITNEY HOUSTON WON'T FACE CHARGES |work=[[Deseret News]] |date=May 9, 1991 |accessdate=March 29, 2025}}</ref> It was later revealed that the altercation began after the three men yelled [[racial slur]]s at Houston.<ref name="kentucky4">{{cite web |url=https://blackamericaweb.com/2017/09/05/book-details-whitney-houstons-racial-fist-fight-with-three-kentucky-males/ |title=Book Details Whitney Houston's Racial Fist Fight with Three Kentucky Males |work=BlackAmericaWeb |date=September 5, 2017 |accessdate=March 29, 2025}}</ref>

On January 11, 2000, while Houston was traveling with her husband [[Bobby Brown]], airport security guards discovered half an ounce of [[Cannabis (drug)|marijuana]] in her handbag at [[Kona International Airport|Keahole-Kona International Airport]] in Hawaii. She departed before authorities could arrive.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/620501/whitney-houston-reportedly-escapes-drug-arrest-in-hawaii/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226035210/http://www.mtv.com/news/620501/whitney-houston-reportedly-escapes-drug-arrest-in-hawaii/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 26, 2014|title=Whitney Houston reportedly Escapes Drug Arrest in Hawaii|last1=Vanhorn|first1=Teri|date=January 17, 2000|publisher=MTV News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/whitney-houston-faces-charges/|title=Whitney Houston Faces Charges|date=September 29, 2000|publisher=CBS News|language=en-US}}</ref> Houston was initially charged with a misdemeanor drug charge that carried a 30-day sentence and a $1,000 fine.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=115175&page=1 |title=Whitney Houston Charged with Pot Possession |date=September 29, 2000 |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |accessdate=April 9, 2025}}</ref> The charges, however, were dropped in March 2001 after prosecutors received a [[substance abuse]] assessment from a counselor in New Jersey that stated the singer didn't need treatment for substance abuse.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=TCM Breaking News |url=http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2001/09/11/story23275.asp |title=Fears for Whitney Houston Grow |date=September 11, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090924054858/http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2001/09/11/story23275.asp |archive-date=September 24, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=108622&page=1 |title=Whitney Houston Drug Charges Dropped |work=ABC News |date=March 8, 2001 |accessdate=April 9, 2025}}</ref>

In 2002, Houston became embroiled in a legal dispute with John Houston Enterprise, a company started by her father. The company, run by Kevin Skinner, sued her for $100 million, claiming unpaid compensation. Houston's father died in February 2003, and the lawsuit was dismissed in April 2004, with no compensation awarded.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Jennifer|last1=Vineyard|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1458015/whitney-houston-sued-for-100-million-by-dads-company/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617002825/http://www.mtv.com/news/1458015/whitney-houston-sued-for-100-million-by-dads-company/|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 17, 2015|title=Whitney Houston Sued For $100 Million By Dad's Company|access-date=July 27, 2019|publisher=MTV|date=October 8, 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Friedman|first= Roger |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/whitney-and-bobby-no-shows-at-dads-funeral |title=Whitney and Bobby No-Shows at Dad's Funeral |publisher=Fox News |date=February 10, 2003 |access-date=July 27, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3628169.stm|title=Judge throws out Houston lawsuit|access-date=January 15, 2008|work=BBC News|date=April 15, 2004}}</ref>

===Health===
During her marriage, Houston suffered several miscarriages, including one during the filming of ''The Bodyguard,''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bologna |first1=Caroline |date=October 19, 2017 |title=50 Celebrities Who Opened Up About Their Miscarriages |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/50-celebrities-who-opened-up-about-their-miscarriages_us_59de72a2e4b0fdad73b1b117 |access-date=February 3, 2018 |work=HuffPost}}</ref> another in July 1994,<ref name="Miscarriage">{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/249945be2439cac559c52391c2f3d867 |title=Whitney Houston Suffers Miscarriage |work=[[The Associated Press]] |date=July 13, 1994 |accessdate=May 17, 2023}}</ref> and another in December 1996.<ref name="third">{{cite web |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/whitney-miscarries-time-article-1.749097 |title=Whitney Miscarries Third Time |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |location=New York |last1=Lewittes |first1=Michael |date=December 21, 1996 |access-date=March 3, 2018 |archive-date=March 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304172355/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/whitney-miscarries-time-article-1.749097 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''Rolling Stone'' published a story in June 2000 stating that Cissy Houston and others had held a July 1999 intervention in which they unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Whitney to obtain drug treatment.<ref name="Dansby-20000607" />

In her 2019 memoirs, ''A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston'', Houston's longtime executive assistant and friend, [[Robyn Crawford]], said she departed from Houston's management company after Houston declined to seek help for her drug dependency; however, Houston claimed in an interview that the two friends parted ways over Houston's husband, Bobby Brown.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite news |last1=Caramanica |first1=Jon |date=November 7, 2019 |title=Whitney Houston's Confidante Robyn Crawford Breaks Her Silence |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/07/books/review/whitney-houston-robyn-crawford-book.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108003117/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/07/books/review/whitney-houston-robyn-crawford-book.html |archive-date=November 8, 2019 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://people.com/music/whitney-houston-tried-cocaine-14-years-old-robyn-crawford-memoir/ |title=Whitney Houston First Tried Cocaine at 14 Years Old Says Best Friend Robyn Crawford in New Memoir |website=People |date=November 7, 2019 |access-date=September 7, 2021 |first=Liz |last=McNeil}}</ref><ref name="Sawyer-Houston-Interview-2002"/>

In September 2001, Houston's extremely thin appearance led to rumors about her health. Her publicist stated, "Whitney has been under stress due to family matters and when she is under stress she doesn't eat."<ref name="abcnews"/> In 2009, Houston acknowledged that drug use had been the reason for her weight loss in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|last=Winfrey|first= Oprah|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW_ytgwzkFQ|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401113329/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW_ytgwzkFQ&gl=US&hl=en|archive-date=April 1, 2020|url-status=live|title=Remembering Whitney: The Oprah Winfrey Interview|publisher=Oprah Winfrey Network|access-date=December 25, 2017|format=video|date=September 2009}}</ref> 

In 2002, Houston gave an interview with [[Diane Sawyer]] to promote her upcoming album. During the interview, she addressed rumors of drug use, famously saying, "crack is wack". She admitted to using various substances but denied having an eating disorder.<ref name="Sawyer-Houston-Interview-2002"/>

In September 2009, Houston was interviewed by [[Oprah Winfrey]]. In the interview, she admitted to using drugs with Brown during their marriage and described her struggles with addiction.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/whitney-tells-oprah-about-cocaine-pot-use-1c9403092|title=Whitney tells Oprah about cocaine, pot use|date=September 14, 2009|website=TODAY.com}}</ref> She told Winfrey that before ''[[The Bodyguard (1992 film)|The Bodyguard]]'' her drug use was light, that she used drugs more heavily after the film's success and the birth of her daughter and that by 1996 "[doing drugs] was an everyday thing ... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself."<ref>{{cite news|first1=Nekesa Mumbi |last1=Moody|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/whitney-houston-pop-superstar-dies-at-48/article2335334/ |title=Whitney Houston, pop superstar, dies in Beverly Hills hotel|work=The Globe and Mail|date=February 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215072814/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/whitney-houston-pop-superstar-dies-at-48/article2335334/|archive-date=February 15, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Houston told Oprah that she had attended a 30-day rehabilitation program.<ref>{{cite web|last=Winfrey|first=Oprah|title=Remembering Whitney: The Oprah Winfrey Interview|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyApXLqzCCw|publisher=Oprah Winfrey Network|accessdate=December 25, 2017|format=video|date=September 2009|quote="I did my stint. You do your 30 days. I went to one where I could take my child with me. Everywhere I just had to have her with me. I wanted her to understand. I didn't lie to her. I couldn't."}}</ref> Houston also acknowledged to Oprah that her drug use had continued after rehabilitation, and that at one point, her mother obtained a court order and the assistance of law enforcement to press her into receiving further drug treatment.<ref>{{cite web|last=Winfrey|first=Oprah|title=Remembering Whitney: The Oprah Winfrey Interview|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyApXLqzCCw|publisher=Oprah Winfrey Network|accessdate=April 21, 2010|page=40:02 minutes|format=video|date=September 2009|quote="I see the love and the passion that my mother had for me and she walks in with these sheriffs and she says 'I have a court junction [sic] here. Either you do it my way or we're just not going to do this at all. We're going to go on TV and you're going to retire and say you're going to give this up. Because this is not worth it. It's not worth it. And if you move, Bobby [Brown], [these officers are] going to take you down. Don't you make one move. Let's go. Let's do this. I'm not losing you to the world. I'm not losing you to Satan. I want my daughter back. I'm not doing this. I want my daughter back. I want you back. I want to see that glow in your eyes, that light in your eyes. I want to see the child I raised. You weren't raised like this. And I'm not having it.'"}}</ref> Houston's mother recalled the incident in her 2013 book, ''Remembering Whitney: My Story of Love, Loss, and the Night the Music Stopped'', in which she came to visit her daughter's Alpharetta residence in 2005 discussing seeing the walls were "spray-painted" with "big glaring eyes and strange faces. Evil eyes, staring out like a threat", as well as noticing most of her daughter's head cut out of a big framed photo of the singer; Houston herself explained it in her Oprah interview.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/whitney-mom-recounts-singer-drug-article-1.1248861|author=Ginger Adams Otis|title=Cissy Houston details daughter Whitney's decline in new book|newspaper = Daily News|date=January 26, 2013|accessdate=December 25, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Houston |first1=Cissy |title=Remembering Whitney |date=2013 |page=232 |quote=Somebody had spray-painted the walls and door with big glaring eyes and strange faces. Evil eyes, staring out like a threat ... In another room there was a big framed photo of [Whitney] — but someone had cut [her] head out. It was beyond disturbing, seeing my daughter's face cut out like that.}}</ref> When Winfrey asked Houston if she was drug-free, Houston responded, "'Yes, ma’am. I mean, you know, don’t think I don’t have desires for it.'"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://parade.com/41668/parade/whitney-houston-staying-sober-one-day-at-a-time/|title=Whitney Houston Staying Sober 'One Day at a Time'|last=Parade|date=September 16, 2009|website=Parade}}</ref>

In May 2011, Houston enrolled in rehabilitation again due to drug and alcohol problems, which she stated was part of her "longstanding recovery process".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2011/05/whitney-houston-rehab-alcohol-drugs.html|title=Whitney Houston in outpatient rehab for alcohol, drugs|last=D'Zurilla|first=Christie|work=Los Angeles Times|date=May 9, 2011|access-date=May 11, 2011}}</ref>