Singer Whitney Houston Dies at 48

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Singer and actress Whitney Houston, who rose to the top of the music charts in the 80s and 90s only to see her career tarnished by drug use, died Saturday, the Associated Press reported. She was 48.

Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, announced the death Saturday, but the cause and location of death were unknown, the Associated Press said.

Houston got her start singing with a gospel choir and had received inspiration and encouragement from successful singers in her own family, including Dionne Warwick, as well her godmother, Aretha Franklin.

News of her death reverberated on the eve of music's premier awards ceremony, the Grammys. (Houston won six of the coveted awards.)

AP In this Oct. 13, 1997 file photo, Whitney Houston looks over her shoulder as her husband Bobby Brown looks to her at the premiere of "The Wonderful World of Disney" movie Cinderella.

She was discovered by Arista Records chief Clive Davis and recorded a string of top hit singles.

She expanded into acting with 1992's The Bodyguard, which co-starred Kevin Costner. She also sang I Will Always Love You on the movie's soundtrack, and the song went on to become the top-selling single by a female artist in history.

She enjoyed roles in other films including Waiting to Exhale.

But Houston's soaring voice and hugely successful career were hurt by years of drug abuse -- including cocaine, marijuana and pills -- which she chronicled in various public interviews, as well as a topsy-turvy 14-year marriage to singer Bobby Brown that ended in 2007.