Whitney Houston Has Died At Age 48

By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 12, 2012 2:48AM

Houston in 1987 (via LIFE)

Whitney Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, has confirmed that the singer died today at the age of 48, though it's unclear what the cause of death was, or where she was when she died. Most recently, rumors spread that Houston was broke and would be homeless if it weren't for her friends, though her rep denied it.

Houston was discovered in a New York City nightclub, singing alongside her mother Cissy Houston, in the early 1980s. Sadly, by the end of her life her voice had become ravaged from years of drug use.

UPDATE: TMZ reports that Houston died at the Beverly Hilton hotel, and a police crime lab vehicle was photographed outside "moments ago." CNN reports that she was supposed to attend a pre-Grammys party tonight hosted by Clive Davis, who discovered her (the party is going on but without Davis). A police spokesman says that she was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. (6:55 p.m. ET) despite resuscitation efforts, and that her bodyguard found her body (though earlier reports said that Ray-J, who she had been dating, found her).

Here's Houston singing at a celebration for the Statue of Liberty in 1986:

And another early hit, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," which she got a Grammy for:

Her isolated vocal track from "How Will I Know" is worth listening to, which you can do right here. Houston is survived by her daughter (with former husband Bobby Brown) Bobbi Kristina Brown.

Here is Houston's final public performance, which took place at a party on Thursday night: