Aaliyah Biography (Deceased)

Aaliyah was a successful R&B singer and actress who died in a plane crash in 2001.

Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16th, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of five, she and her family moved to Detroit. She had an older brother, Rashad Haughton, who went on to become an actor. Her uncle was record executive Batty Hankerson, and her aunt was Gladys Knight, who encouraged Aaliyah’s early interest in singing and later performed on stage with her. Her mother, Diana Haughton, was also a singer, and it was she who encouraged Aaliyah, at the age of ten, to enter the Star Search talent contest.

Although she didn't win, Aaliyah made a big impression on viewers, and immediately secured the services of an agent. She attended the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts to hone her talents, majoring in dance, and at the age of seventeen she joined her uncle's record label, Blackground Records. Released a year later, her first album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, was a massive hit and soon went platinum.

At this stage in her career, Aaliyah was working closely with the R&B artist R Kelly, who wrote and produced several of her hit songs. Though both denied that they were having an affair, a marriage certificate featuring both of their signatures has surfaced. Because Aaliyah was only fifteen at the time, the certificate has been submitted as evidence in a court case against R Kelly, who is currently facing charges of producing child pornography.

Aaliyah switched to working with Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley and Missy Elliot on her second album, One in a Million, which also went platinum and attracted considerable critical acclaim. She went on to record “Journey to the Past” for the film Anastasia, garnering an Oscar nomination. Subsequently, she took “Are You that Somebody?” from the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack to #1 for eight weeks, solidifying her mainstream appeal.

Singing for soundtracks had given Aaliyah an interest in Hollywood, where she decided to go in order to showcase her talent. She enjoyed a leading role opposite Jet Li in Romeo Must Die, which also featured Isaiah Washington and Russell Wong. Aaliyah then went on to star in the Anne Rice adaptation Queen of the Damned with Stuart Townsend, Vincent Perez, Paul McGann, and Lena Olin. Though neither film was a commercial success, both achieved a degree of cult status. At the time of her death, Aaliyah was scheduled to appear in the Matrix sequels with Keanu Reeves and Carrie Anne Moss.

Besides music and film-making, Aaliyah worked as a model for Tommy Hilfiger and was a spokesperson for Clairol. She was featured in numerous magazines including Elle, Seventeen, and Cosmopolitan. In 2001, everything seemed to be going well for the star. She had been working with Ginuwine, Playa, and Outsiderz 4 Life, and was looking forward to a collaboration with Trent Reznor. Aaliyah also had plans to marry her boyfriend, Roc-A-Fella's Damon Dash. But on August 25, the Cessna in which she and seven friends were traveling to Miami, crashed in a field. All on board were killed. It later emerged that the pilot had obtained his license under false pretences and had been under the influence of alcohol and cocaine at the time of the crash.

Aaliyah was buried in the Rosewood Mausoleum at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. Twenty-two white doves were released at her funeral-- one for each year of her life-- and her family planted a memorial weeping willow for her in NYC's Central Park. Her final album, Aaliyah, gave her several posthumous #1 hits, and a greatest hits collection, I Care 4 You, also proved a success. This was supported by a video featuring tributes to the young star by Toni Braxton, Lil' Kim, Dallas Austin, Jamie Foxx, AJ, Free, Quddus, Tweet, and Rosario Dawson.

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