XCLUSIV FOTOS: Whitney Houston Over The Years!

Pop-music icon Whitney Houston shockingly and tragically passed away Saturday night February 11, 2012, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, on the eve of the 54th annual Grammy Awards. The 48-year-old singer was found underwater and unconscious on Saturday in a bath at a hotel in Beverly Hills, police said. Whitney Houston's body has been flown from California to her home state of New Jersey, ahead of a funeral expected later this week. Fans and artists alike are still paying tribute to the singer via Twitter and Facebook and other social media, and we at Peacefmonline.com have decided to celebrate the life of the music legend. Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 � February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time. Her awards include two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards in her lifetime. Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. Inspired by prominent soul singers in her family, including her mother Cissy Houston, cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, and her godmother Aretha Franklin, Houston began singing with her New Jersey church's junior gospel choir at age 11. After she began performing alongside her mother in night clubs in the New York City area, she was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis. Houston released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston's first acting role was as the star of the feature film �The Bodyguard� (1992). The film's original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single "I Will Always Love You� became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. With the album, Houston became the first act (solo or group, male or female) to sell more than a million copies of an album within a single week period. The album makes her the only female act in the top 10 list of the best-selling albums of all time, at number four. Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to their soundtracks, including the films Waiting to Exhale (1995) and �The Preacher's Wife� (1996). �The Preacher's Wife� soundtrack became the best-selling gospel album in history. Three years after the release of her fourth studio album My Love Is Your Love (1998), she renewed her recording contract with Arista Records. She released her fifth studio album Just Whitney in 2002, and the Christmas-themed �One Wish�: �The Holiday� Album in 2003. In 2009, Houston released her seventh studio album �I Look to You�.