- Born
- Died
- Birth nameAaliyah Dana Haughton
- Nicknames
- Liyah
- BabyGirl
- Wonder Woman
- Lee
- Li Li
- Queen of R&B
- Princess of Soul
- Queen of Urban Pop
- Princess of R&B
- Height5′ 7½″ (1.71 m)
- Talented. Beautiful. Modest. These three words described R&B singer-turned-actress Aaliyah perfectly.
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Diane (Hankerson) and Michael Haughton. Her uncle was music manager Barry Hankerson and her brother is director Rashad Haughton. Aaliyah was raised in Detroit. She got her first major exposure appearing on the syndicated television series Star Search (1983), where she awed the audience with her amazing voice and talent, singing "My Funny Valentine", a song which her mother had sung years earlier. At age 11, she sang with Gladys Knight in a five-night stint in Las Vegas. Withdrawing from the celebrity scene for a few years, Aaliyah lived the life of a normal teenage girl, attending Detroit's Performing Arts High School, where she majored in dance. It was around this same time that Aaliyah met singer/composer R. Kelly. Kelly assisted Aaliyah with the production of her debut album "Age Ain't Nothing But A number", which scored several number hits, specifically "Back and Forth." The album's title was a brief reference to her short-lived marriage to R. Kelly (she was 15 years of age at the time, and he was in his 20s). Thir marriage was annulled due to her status as a minor.
During her senior year, Aaliyah went on to record "One In A Million", which featured the songwriting talents of major R&B producers/writers Missy Elliott and Timbaland. The album was a major success and sealed Aaliyah's fame forever.
Aaliyah recorded the single 'Journey to the past' for the Anastasia (1997) soundtrack. After seeing her at an awards show and in the video for her hit song "Are You that Somebody?" (from the Eddie Murphy film Doctor Dolittle (1998)), film producer Joel Silver (producer of The Matrix (1999) and other major actor films) asked Aaliyah to audition for a role in an romance/action film, Romeo Must Die (2000). With her determination and sex appeal, Aaliyah won Silver over and was cast in her first major film role. Romeo Must Die (2000) was a hit at the box office. This film led to her being cast as one of the stars of the film based on Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned (2002), and in the two sequels to the major box office hit, The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003).
During the busy schedule of her film career, Aaliyah took time to record her third album, the self-titled "Aaliyah". July 2001 was a busy time for Aaliyah. After the success of her song "Try Again", for which she was nominated for a Grammy Award and won several MTV Video Awards, Aaliyah finally released her "Aaliyah" album. Debuting at number two on the Billboard charts, "Aaliyah" was a sales success, despite some lackluster reviews.
In August 2001, Aaliyah took time off from her busy album promotional tour to fly to the Bahamas to film a video for the song "Rock the Boat". The video, filmed on Abaco Island, was directed by Hype Williams, a major music video director known for his style and wit.
On August 25, 2001, after filming the video, Aaliyah and about 9-11 of her entourage took off from Marsh Harbour airport at 6:50pm EDT in a small Cessna 404 en route to Opa-Locka, Florida. A few minutes after take-off, the plane crashed about 200 feet from the runaway, killing Aaliyah and many others instantly. Four passengers were pulled alive from the wreckage, and one later died at a hospital in Nassau. Aaliyah was only 22 years old. Her funeral was held on Friday August 31st in New York, and 22 white doves were flown to celebrate each year of her life. Soon after her death, the hit singles 'More Than a woman' and 'Rock The Boat' were released, from her third album. In 2002, the film Queen of the Damned (2002) was released, in which Aaliyah played Queen Akasha. She was nominated for best Villain at the MTV Movie Awards 2002.
Aaliyah's short-lived, but brilliant career, was a true success story for a young African-American woman who went against all odds to be herself in an industry where originality is scarce. Truly missed by her family, friends, and fans, her music and film contributions will live forever. It's no wonder that her name means 'Highest, most ex-halted one; the best' in Hebrew. She had achieved so much in her twenty-two years.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Luis32789@aol.com - On January 16, 1979, the world was blessed with the birth of Aaliyah Dana Haughton in Brooklyn, New York. Aaliyah was raised by her father, mother and brother Rashad Haughton in Detroit, Michigan. At age 10 she appeared on Star Search (1983), the TV program and sang "My Funny Valentine", a song which her mother had sung years earlier. At age 11, she sang with Gladys Knight in a five-night stint in Las Vegas. In 1993, she began to work on her debut album with the help of singer R. Kelly. The album, "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number" was released in 1994 and received heavy praise. Aaliyah came under attack shortly after when reports suggested she was married to R. Kelly. At the time, she was 15, he was 27. The marriage was apparently annulled. In 1995, she began to work on her 2nd album, alongside Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland, Slick Rick and Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliott'. The album, titled 'One In A Million' was released on August 27, 1996. In 1998, she released the single, 'Are You That Somebody?' from the Doctor Dolittle (1998) soundtrack, it was produced by her friends Timbaland. Later that year she released the single 'Journey to the Past', from the Anastasia (1997) soundtrack. In 2000, she made her film acting debut and starred as Trish O'Day in the film, Romeo Must Die (2000) alongside Jet Li. The producer was so impressed by her performance she got roles in The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003). She made numerous records for the soundtrack and released 'Try Again', for which she was nominated with 'Best female video' and 'Best Video in a film' with MTV. In 2001 she was nominated with 2 awards for MTV, the 'Breakthrough female' and 'best performing female'. In July 2001, she released her third album, the self-titled, 'Aaliyah'. In early August of the same year, she filmed the video for the single 'More Than A Woman', taken off the album and on August 23, 2001, she started filming for 'Rock The Boat', on Abaco Island, in the Bahamas. On August 25, 2001, filming was completed and her and eight of her crew members including her hair stylist and bodyguard boarded a small plane. Shortly after takeoff, the plane crashed and exploded, Aaliyah and all on board, were killed. Aaliyah's funeral was held on August 31, 2001 in New York, and 22 white doves were flown to celebrate each year of her life. Soon after her death, the hit singles 'More Than A Woman' and 'Rock The Boat' were released from her third album. In 2002, the film Queen of the Damned (2002) by Anne Rice was released in which Aaliyah played the lead, Queen Akasha. She was nominated for best Villain at the MTV movie awards 2002. Looking back at her biography, it's no wonder her name means 'Highest, most exhalted one; the best', she had achieved so much in her short life of 22 years.- IMDb Mini Biography By: James Bryant
- SpouseR. Kelly(August 30, 1994 - February 7, 1995) (annulled)
- ChildrenNo Children
- ParentsMichael HaughtonDiane Haughton
- RelativesBarry Hankerson(Aunt or Uncle)Rashad Haughton(Sibling)Jomo Hankerson(Cousin)
- Usually covered her left eye with her hair
- Often wore sunglasses in front of the covered left eye
- Usually wore black leather, or white clothing in her music videos
- Had on black nail polish in nearly all of her music videos
- Was originally cast in the title role in Honey (2003) but died before production began. Jessica Alba won the role after her death.
- In Arabic, the name Aaliyah means "highest, most exalted one.".
- (August 25, 2001) Aaliyah and eight other people died in a plane crash on the return trip from shooting a music video in the Bahamas. The crash, which happened about 200 yards from Marsh Harbour Airport on Abaco Island in the Bahamas, was determined to have been caused by the plane being overweight by more than 700 pounds, and with one more person than the plane was rated for.
- At the time of her death, she had planned concerts in more than 22 countries around the world to promote her last album.
- Had a 4.0 voice - she was a "soubrette soprano".
- [interview in July 2001 with Germany's "Die Zeit" newspaper that eerily predicts her death] It is dark in my favorite dream. Someone is following me. I don't know why. I'm scared. Then suddenly I lift off. Far away. How do I feel? As if I am swimming in the air. Free. Weightless. Nobody can reach me. Nobody can touch me. It's a wonderful feeling.
- [from "MTV Diary: Aaliyah"] want people to remember me as a full-on entertainer and a good person.
- It's hard to say what I want my legacy to be when I'm long gone.
- [her advice for aspiring artists) Keep working hard and you can get anything that you want. If God gave you the talent, you should go for it. But don't think it's going to be easy. It's hard!
- Everything is worth it. The hard work, the times when you're tired, the times where you're a bit sad . . . In the end, it's all worth it because it really makes me happy. There's nothing better than loving what you do.
- Queen of the Damned (2002) - $5,000,000
- Romeo Must Die (2000) - $1,500,000
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