---
name: "Whitney Houston"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/whitney-houston"
fi1m_id: "whitney-houston"
imdb_id: "nm0001365"
tmdb_id: 8851
wikidata_id: "Q34389"
roles: ["Theme song performance"]
born: "9 August 1963"
died: "11 February 2012"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_over: 0
updated: "2026-09-24T03:47:15.196496+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Whitney Houston

## Identity

Whitney Houston

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/whitney-houston
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** whitney-houston
- **IMDb ID:** nm0001365
- **TMDB ID:** 8851
- **Wikidata ID:** Q34389
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Houston, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q34389, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001365/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8851

Theme song performance. Born 9 August 1963 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. Died 11 February 2012.

## Details

- **Work:** Theme song performance
- **Born:** 9 August 1963, Newark, New Jersey, USA
- **Died:** 11 February 2012
- **Also known as:**  Whitney Elizabeth Houston, The Prom Queen of Soul, Nippy
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 2: 1 acting, 1 other
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Houston, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q34389, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001365/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8851

## Streaming the US now

- **Paramount+:** [*The Bodyguard*](https://film.one/film/the-bodyguard.md) (63)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Whitney Houston

> Whitney Houston is most persuasive on screen when a song gives her something definite to say. We value the directness of her singing and her unforced presence, without mistaking either for a cure for thin writing.

In ‘Queen of the Night’, Whitney Houston makes Rachel Marron's celebrity convincing through the force of her singing. Her acting debut, *The Bodyguard* (1992), is worth considering chiefly for her, though its romance and suspense both need better writing. We were moved when she sang of lasting love: she sounds as though she needs to say it. She conveys longing plainly; the spoken exchanges elsewhere in the film can make it sound like hard work.

Mick Jackson gives her an appealing partner in Kevin Costner's watchful, uncommunicative Frank Farmer, but the restraint that suits a bodyguard is less helpful to a romance. Houston supplies much of their warmth and energy, while Costner sometimes leaves the attraction for us to assume. Lawrence Kasdan's screenplay also asks that attraction to sustain a thriller whose danger never feels convincing. Alan Silvestri's score provides useful romantic emphasis when the writing has not earned the feeling. Too often, we find ourselves waiting for Houston to sing again instead of wanting the lovers to continue their conversation.

The move to Forest Whitaker's ensemble drama *Waiting to Exhale* (1995) put her among other women, away from the pairing of singer and protector. In *The Preacher's Wife* (1996), she played Julia Biggs opposite Denzel Washington, with a gospel soundtrack keeping her singing central to the appeal. The Fairy Godmother in the television musical *Cinderella* (1997) made direct use of her authority as a singer, while *Sparkle* (2012) supplied her final acting role, as Emma Anderson. She was also executive producer on both musical films, taking responsibility beyond her own performance.

Some early reviews questioned what Houston could do beyond playing a star. The reservations are understandable, but the weak writing in *The Bodyguard* leaves us wary of treating its stiff exchanges as proof of her limitations. Houston herself distinguished interpreting a song from acting a role, finding the former easier. Try *The Bodyguard* for her, but be prepared to wait through some unconvincing suspense.

## Biography

Whitney Houston was an American actress. She made her screen acting debut as Rachel Marron in the film *The Bodyguard* (1992). She later starred as Savannah in *Waiting to Exhale* (1995), as Julia Biggs in *The Preacher's Wife* (1996), as the Fairy Godmother in the television film *Cinderella* (1997), and as Emma in *Sparkle* (2012).

Houston also served as a producer on *The Princess Diaries* (2001) and *The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement* (2004). She was born in Newark, New Jersey, and died in 2012.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (2)

### Performed in (1)

- *The Bodyguard* (1992), Fi1m 63, as Rachel Marron — [page](https://film.one/film/the-bodyguard.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *The Prince of Egypt* (1998), Fi1m 74, as The Balladeer (voice) (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/the-prince-of-egypt.md)

## Complete filmography (18)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Sparkle* (2012), as Emma
- *Glee* (2009), series, In Memory Of — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/tv/glee.md)
- *The Cheetah Girls 2* (2006), Executive Producer
- *The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement* (2004), Producer
- *Nora's Hair Salon* (2004), as Whitney Houston
- *The Cheetah Girls* (2003), Executive Producer
- *The Princess Diaries* (2001), Producer
- *Heartbreak Hotel* (1999), as Whitney Houston
- *The Prince of Egypt* (1998), as The Balladeer (voice) (uncredited) — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/the-prince-of-egypt.md)
- *Cinderella* (1997), as Fairy Godmother · Presenter, Executive Producer
- *Classic Whitney: Live from Washington, D.C.* (1997), Executive Producer
- *The Wonderful World of Disney* (1997), series, Executive Producer
- *The Preacher's Wife* (1996), as Julia Biggs
- *E! True Hollywood Story* (1996), series, Actor
- *Waiting to Exhale* (1995), as Savannah
- *Whitney Houston Live à Brunei* (1995), Director
- *The Bodyguard* (1992), as Rachel Marron, Theme Song Performance — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/the-bodyguard.md)
- *An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.* (1986), Actor

## Gallery

- ![Whitney Houston](https://film.one/media/person/677495/gallery-335e8833cd9f.jpg) Whitney Houston — PH2 Mark Kettenhofen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Whitney_Houston_%28cropped3%29.JPEG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Vinyl records of Poland.](https://film.one/media/person/677495/gallery-ef55a6ee1116.jpg) Vinyl records of Poland. — Silar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/02024_1054_Vinyl_records_in_Bielsko-Bia%C5%82a.jpg/1280px-02024_1054_Vinyl_records_in_Bielsko-Bia%C5%82a.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Front entrance to Whitney Houston's Mendham, N.J., home. (2013)](https://film.one/media/person/677495/gallery-9a790a56196c.jpg) Front entrance to Whitney Houston's Mendham, N.J., home. (2013) — Cteevan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/22_North_Gate_Road.jpg/1280px-22_North_Gate_Road.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![concerto whitney in corso! (2010)](https://film.one/media/person/677495/gallery-4d1341121afa.jpg) concerto whitney in corso! (2010) — Luca Viscardi from milano, italy, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Concerto_whitney_in_corso%21_%284575485593%29.jpg/1280px-Concerto_whitney_in_corso%21_%284575485593%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Whitney Houston](https://film.one/media/person/677495/gallery-e90aad2bfb54.jpg) Whitney Houston — Image via TMDB
- ![Whitney Houston](https://film.one/media/person/677495/gallery-48585d030f4b.jpg) Whitney Houston — Image via TMDB
- ![Whitney Houston](https://film.one/media/person/677495/gallery-a8430fa1b6c6.jpg) Whitney Houston — Image via TMDB
- ![forum di assago, whitney Houston in arrivo!! (2010)](https://film.one/media/person/677495/gallery-3e74fd589f06.jpg) forum di assago, whitney Houston in arrivo!! (2010) — Luca Viscardi from milano, italy, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Forum_di_assago%2C_whitney_Houston_in_arrivo%21%21_%284576117368%29.jpg/1280px-Forum_di_assago%2C_whitney_Houston_in_arrivo%21%21_%284576117368%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Moscow trolleybus ZiU-9 2498 on Spartakovskaya Street, Moscow Line 25](https://film.one/media/person/677495/gallery-90367bc01eae.jpg) Moscow trolleybus ZiU-9 2498 on Spartakovskaya Street, Moscow Line 25 — Artyom Svetlov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Moscow_trolleybus_ZiU-9_2498_2004-02_1075737997.jpg/1280px-Moscow_trolleybus_ZiU-9_2498_2004-02_1075737997.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Whitney Houston](https://film.one/media/person/677495/gallery-14b432be27a8.jpg) Whitney Houston — Image via TMDB
- ![Whitney Houston](https://film.one/media/person/677495/gallery-459b9c246723.jpg) Whitney Houston — Image via TMDB
- ![Whitney Houston](https://film.one/media/person/677495/gallery-740b36290a31.jpg) Whitney Houston — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 3 won

- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2020: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (won)
- New Jersey Hall of Fame 2013: New Jersey Hall of Fame (won)
- NRJ Music Award for International Album of the Year 2000: NRJ Music Award for International Album of the Year (won), for *My Love Is Your Love*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/whitney-houston