Houston, Whitney (1963– )

US soul ballad singer. She has had a string of consecutive number-one hits in the USA and the UK. They include ‘Saving All My Love for You’ (1985), ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’ (1987), ‘Where Do Broken Hearts Go’ (1988), ‘I Will Always Love You’ (1992), and ‘When You Believe’ (1998; with Mariah Carey). Her album My Love Is Your Love (1999) sold 5 million copies worldwide by mid-1999, 3 million of those outside the USA. Her later albums Just Whitney… (2002) and One Wish: The Holiday Album (2003) were less well received.

Houston made her acting debut in the film The Bodyguard (1992). Four songs recorded by her were taken from the phenomenally successful soundtrack album – cover versions of Dolly Parton's ‘I Will Always Love You’, which topped the US chart for 14 weeks and the UK charts for 9; Chaka Khan's ‘I'm Every Woman’, and ‘I Have Nothing’ and ‘Run To You’.