Aaliyah Dana Houghton, born January 16, 1979 in Brooklyn, New York. This beautiful & talented R & B singer /actress had her life chopped short on August 25, 2001 in an airplane crash at Marsh Harbour, Abaco Island, Bahamas.

Although Aaliyah was born in Brooklyn, New York, this 5'71/2" talent was raised in Detroit. Aaliyah got her first real exposure appearing on the television series "Star Search," where her fabulous talent did not go unnoticed. The celebrity scene did not turn her head. She returned to the normal life of a teenager attending Detroit's Performing Arts High School majoring in dance. During this period in her life Aaliyah met singer/composer R. Kelly Kelly aided Aaliyah with the production of her debut album "Age Ain't Nothing But A number". The album had a number of hits, but "Back and Forth" was the most notable. The album's title could be compared to the duration of her short-lived marriage to R. Kelly Their marriage was annulled as Aaliyah was only 15 and Kelly was in his 20's. Aaliyah went on to record "One In A Million" which featured the songwriting talents of major R&B producers/writers Missy Elliot and Timbaland The album proved to be extremely successful, notching her a place in the famous category.

Film producer Joel Silver, asked Aaliyah to audition for a role in an upcoming romance/action film called Romeo Must Die (2000). Aaliyah had made an impression on Silver with her video of her hit song "Are You That Somebody?" This proved to be a good choice by Silver as "Romeo Must Die" was a box office hit. Her success led to her role in "Queen of the Damned". Although her film career was hectic, Aaliyah took time to record her third album, simply titled "AALIYAH". She did not release this album until after her song "Try Again" got her a Grammy nomination and several MTV Video awards. Despite mediocre reviews "AALIYAH" debuted second on the billboard charts & had very lucrative sales.

In August 2001, Aaliyah flew to Abaco Island in the Bahamas to film a video for the song "Rock the Boat". On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and some of her entourage departed from Marsh Harbour airport at 6:50pm EDT in a small Cessna 402 en route to Opa-Locka, Florida. Almost immediately after take-off the plane crashed, killing Aaliyah instantly. Six died in the wreckage, two died later. The 22 year old Aaliyah was taken from this world, but her short lived career was a true success story. She gave hope to all young African-American women, to be themselves in an industry where originality is scarce. Aaliyah will live on in her family, friends, fans, her music and film contributions forever.