| Biography |
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| Born Aaliyah Dana Haughton, on January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York. Raised in Detroit, Michigan, the young singer competed unsuccessfully on the television program Star Search at age 11. Later that same year, she performed with R&B legend Gladys Knight, the former wife of her uncle and manager, Barry Hankerson, at a five-night stand in Las Vegas. In 1994, at the age of 15, Aaliyah catapulted onto the R&B charts herself with her debut album, Age Ain�t Nothing But a Number. Produced by the successful singer R. (Robert) Kelly, the album quickly sold a million copies and eventually earned platinum status based largely on the success of two hit singles, �Back and Forth� and �At Your Best (You Are Love).� Later that year, tabloid reports surfaced claiming that the sultry teen singer had married the 27-year-old Kelly, but Aaliyah denied the union and the marriage was reportedly annulled. While a student in the dance program at Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts (she graduated in 1997). Aaliyah released her sophomore album, One in a Million (1996). Helmed by the well-known pop producer Timbaland (Tim Mosely) and featuring rap performer Missy �Misdemeanor� Elliott, One in a Million portrayed the 17-year-old singer as a sultry hip-hop chanteuse with a self-confidence well beyond her years. The album garnered favorable reviews and sold two million copies. Aaliyah gained even more recognition in 1997 when she recorded �Journey to the Past,� the Academy Award-nominated theme song to the animated feature Anastasia. She also performed the song for the Oscar telecast in 1998. Her next soundtrack effort, �Are You That Somebody?" for 1998�s Dr. Dolittle, starring Eddie Murphy, went to No. 1 on the R&B charts, was a pop crossover hit, and earned Aaliyah her first Grammy Award nomination. In 2000, Aaliyah made her acting debut in the surprise action hit Romeo Must Die, starring opposite martial arts star Jet Li in a Romeo and Juliet-inspired story set in modern-day Los Angeles. She was also an executive producer of the movie's soundtrack and performed the hit single �Try Again,� which netted her a second Grammy nomination as well as two MTV Music Video Awards for Best Female Video and Best Video From a Film. Her third album, Aaliyah, was released in July 2001 and reached No. 2 on the Billboard album chart. Also in 2001, she played the title role in Queen of the Damned, based on the best-selling novel by Anne Rice and set for release in 2002. She scored a major casting coup when she signed to appear in two upcoming sequels to the blockbuster sci-fi thriller The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne. Tragically, Aaliyah was killed on August 25, 2001, when a small Cessna passenger plane carrying the singer and her video crew crashed and burst into flames shortly after takeoff from Abaco Island in the Bahamas, where they had just completed work on a video. The plane was headed for Miami, Florida. Aaliyah and seven other people, including the pilot, were believed to have died instantly, while a ninth passenger died later at a Bahamian hospital. Aaliyah was 22 years old at the time of her death. She is survived by her parents, Diane and Michael Haughton, and an older brother, Rashaad. |
| .: From Aaliyah2001.com :. Our beloved Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash on Saturday night along with our own Gina Smith, 29, of New Jersey, Aaliyah's product manager at Blackground Records; Blackground Records own Keith Wallace, 49, of Los Angeles; Douglas Kratz, 28, Virgin Records' director of video production; her bodyguard Scott Gallin, 41; Aaliyah's personal hair stylist Eric Forman, 29, of Los Angeles; hair stylist Anthony Dodd, 34, of Los Angeles; and makeup artist Christopher Maldonado, 32, of New York; as well as the plane's pilot, identified only as L. Maradel. The Cessna 402 was departing from the Marsh Harbour airport bound for Opa-locka, Florida, when it crashed shortly after takeoff at approximately 6:50pm, police say. The plane is said to have crashed approximately 200 feet from the end of the runway killing six people instantly. Three others died later due to their injuries. Aaliyah had just completed filming of her video for "Rock The Boat", directed by Hype Williams, in which she took time off of her promotional tour to shoot. The cause of the crash isn't known yet, but authorities suspect engine failure because the plane took off in good weather conditions. CNN is reporting that Gloria Knowles, who works for Abaco Air Ltd. at Marsh Harbour airport, said baggage handlers reported the plane was overloaded with suitcases, yet the plane was still allowed to depart at the insistance of the passengers. It was only two weeks ago that Aaliyah completed filming of her "More Than A Woman" video and she was also scheduled to be a presenter at the 2001 MTV awards on Thursday, September 6th in New York City. Aaliyah had already completed the initial shooting for the Matrix II in Los Angeles last month and was scheduled to fly to Australia after the New Year to finish up principal photography for The Matrix II & III. Our prayers go out to the families of all that were lost. They will be dearly missed. The Haughton Family Statement: Aaliyah's family is devastated at the loss of their loving daughter & sister. Their hearts go out to those families who also lost their loved ones in this tragic accident. The Blackground Records Statement: Blackground is devastated with the loss of our Queen. The example she showed young people will be sorely missed and we hope her short time on earth will be an inspiration to young people all over the world. We are equally distraught by the passing of our Blackground family members Gina Smith and Keith Wallace. Their hard work and dedication were an invaluable contribution to the success of Aaliyah and Blackground. Our prayers go out to all the families. The Virgin Records Statement: The worldwide Virgin family is devastated by the news of this terrible and tragic accident and our hearts and thoughts go out to all those families who lost loved ones. Aaliyah, one of the world's brightest and most talented stars, will be mourned by all who loved her and loved her music. Her depth and versatility as an artist was matched by the passion and devotion she had for her craft. We extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Virgin staff member Doug Kratz. Doug was an extremely dedicated and talented professional, whose enthusiasm, energy and spirit will be missed by everyone who worked alongside him everyday. |
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