Los Angeles: Iconic American singer Whitney Houston has died at the age of 48, her publicist said.
Houston’s publicist Kristen Foster confirmed the singer’s death.
The cause of her death was not immediately known. Six police cars were spotted in front of the Beverly Hilton hotel, where Houston was staying, the ABC News reported.
TMZ reports that paramedics were called there Saturday afternoon and found Houston unresponsive in her hotel room.
According to TMZ, paramedics’ attempts at CPR failed and Houston was pronounced dead at 3.55 p.m.
She was last seen publicly Thursday, when she appeared disheveled and disoriented in front of a Hollywood nightclub.
Houston returned to rehab in May of last year seeking treatment for drug and alcohol dependence. “Whitney voluntarily entered the program to support her long-standing recovery process,” her publicist said at the time.
Whitney Houston was an award-winning singer, actress, producer and a former model.
She was the most awarded female artist of all time, garnering a total of 415 awards during her lifetime, according to Guiness World Records.
She is also one of the best-selling music artists in the world, having sold more than 170 million albums and singles before her death.
At her peak in the 1990s, Houston was a force to be reckoned with in the music industry. Her greatest hits included “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” “How Will I Know,” and “I Will Always Love You.”
The six-time Grammy winner staged a comeback in 2009, but was dogged by rumors that she was using drugs again.
In August 2009, Houston released “I Look to You,” her first studio album in seven years. It sold 304,000 copies in its first seven days on the market, according to ABC News.
In 2010, Houston launched her “Nothing but Love” world tour.
Meanwhile, Houston’s ex-husband Bobby Brown and her on-off boyfriend Ray J were left devastated by the singer’s death.
The ‘How Will I Know’ hitmaker’s body was discovered by her minder in her suite at the Beverly Hilton hotel, where she was preparing for mentor Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy Awards party.
Insiders close to Brown, who Houston divorced in 2007 after 15 years of marriage, said that he was “in and out of crying fits” upon hearing the news on Saturday, prior to a New Edition reunion concert in Mississippi.
Houston was found dead at the Beverly Hilton at 4pm, a few hours ahead of the traditional pre-Grammys dinner in the same hotel.
Singer-actress Jennifer Hudson will pay a fitting tribute to Whitney Houston at the Grammys on Sunday night.
Grammy executive producer Ken Ehrlich announced that Hudson will be a part of the dedication that will air during the show on Sunday night, the Hollywood Reporter said.
“Our plan at this point, I’ve asked Jennifer Hudson to come. We’re really, at this point talking about what she’s going to do, but it will be something respectful,” Ehrlich said. He added that he had already gone through the script for the telecast and made some changes.(Agencies)