Overview (5)

Mini Bio (2)

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 Dr. 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 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 Die Königin der Verdammten (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

Spouse (1)

Trade Mark (4)

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



Trivia (122)



Auditioned for a role on the television sitcom Alle unter einem Dach (1989) at age 9.

Chosen as one of Teen People Magazine's "21 Hottest Stars Under 21." [1999]



4 tattoos: The letter "A" on the side of her wrist, an Egyptian Ankh in her inner wrist, a music symbol on her ankle and a dove on her lower back.



Voted First Place by the readers of Black Men Magazine for "The 10 Sexiest Women of the Year." [2000]





Performed with Gladys Knight at age eleven in Las Vegas for five nights.

(July 17, 2001) Aaliyah's self-titled long awaited third album is released.



Got her dove tattoo as a tribute to her grandmother.



Graduated from the Detroit High School of the Performing Arts with a 4.0 GPA.





Got her big break on the television show Star Search (1983).

(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.



She got her middle name Dana from her grandmother.





At the time of her death, Aaliyah and her boyfriend, Roc-A-Fella co-CEO Damon Dash , had plans to wed.



Her parents are Michael and Diane Haughton. She has one older brother, Rashad Haughton , who was born August 6, 1977.

At the age of 5, she moved to Detroit, Michigan, where she grew up.



Posthumous single "More Than A Woman" reaches #1 in the UK. [January 2002]



The first female artist to have a posthumous number one single in the UK record charts. [January 2002]





In January 2002 she reached No. 1 in the UK with her single "More Than A Woman". She was knocked off the top spot a week later by another deceased artist - George Harrison

At her funeral, 22 white doves were released from the steps of the church. One dove for each year of her life.





Younger sister of Rashad Haughton



Auditioned for the Elton John produced Broadway show, "Aida".



Her mother Diane was once a promising solo singer but gave it up to raise her children Aaliyah and Rashad Haughton



She had a close friendship with producer/musical artist Missy Elliott



It was announced in November 2002 that good friend Missy Elliott is to produce a tribute album to Aaliyah which will include stars finishing off songs Aaliyah was working on before her death in August 2001. In the same month, it was announced that a posthumous Aaliyah album, entitled "I care 4 u", will be released.



Was considered for the role of Alex in 3 Engel für Charlie (2000), but casting directors deemed her too young and the part went to Lucy Liu



Was almost the voice of Leah in Osmosis Jones (2001), but could not accept due to schedule conflicts. The part was eventually voiced by Brandy Norwood

Her parents are African-American, and she was also said to have some Native American ancestry.





She was close friends with Nicole Richie and Beyoncé



Was originally cast in the title role in Honey (2003) but died before production began. Jessica Alba won the role after her death.



Best friend was Kidada Jones

Ranked #36 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists.



In Arabic, the name Aaliyah means "highest, most exalted one.".



Had a 4.0 voice - she was a "soubrette soprano".



Her song, "Try Again," was the most viewed music video of 2000-2001, averaging over 85,000 views daily over that period.



Was #7 On "America's Hottest 30 Song Birds" of 2001.



Her song "Rock the Boat," was the most viewed music video of 2002, averaging over 56,000 views daily over that period.



She had fifteen #1 Singles from three albums.



Ranked #12 On Hollywoods Hottest of 2000.





Married R. Kelly when she was only 15 years old. He was 27.

At the time of her death, she had planned concerts in more than 22 countries around the world to promote her last album.





Her most famous screen role was Die Königin der Verdammten (2002).



Originally cast as "Zee" in the two Matrix sequels, Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003). Aaliyah had filmed many of her scenes but had not completed them all before her unexpected death. The role of Zee was re-cast and re-shot with Nona Gaye in the role, and this was part of the reasons why "Reloaded" was released for summer 2003, instead of either summer or Christmas 2002. [2001]

Her most famous mega-hit songs were "Back and Forth," "One in a Million," "Try Again," "More Than a Woman," and "Are You That Somebody".



Recognized for her artistically well choreographed music videos.



The reason why her final album "Aaliyah" took so long was for several reasons. First, after "Are You That Somebody" became her biggest hit of her career, she wanted to prevent overexposure. Second, she wanted to develop her acting career in which why she starred in two films Romeo Must Die and Queen Of Damned. When production of the Queen Of Damned wrapped up in early 2001, in Australia, she was able to dedicate full time to finishing recording "Aaliyah". Production of the album took a full two years from 1999-2001. Recordings mainly were produced in both New York City and Australia.





Passed away on the same day as John L. Nelson , father of superstar singer Prince

Her maternal grandmother was of Native American (Oneida) heritage.





Took Kung-Fu as a young child with her brother Rashad Haughton

Attended Gesu Elementary School, a catholic school in Detroit, Michigan.





Had expressed she had always desired to work with Janet Jackson , whom she had drawn frequent comparison to over the course of her career.

Black Men Magazine's 50 Sexiest Women of the Year [2004] (Ranked: 35).



FHM-Netherlands' 100 Sexiest Women [2001] (Ranked: 82).



Google's Top 10 Women Searches [2001] (Ranked: 5).



AOL's Top 10 Celebrity Searches [2001] (Ranked: 6).



All Shades of Fine - 25 Hottest Women of the Past 25 Years [BET - October 2005] (Ranked: 4).



FHM-Germany's 100 Sexiest Women [2002] (Ranked: 32).



FHM-Germany's 100 Sexiest Women [2001] (Ranked: 51).





Her favorite author was Stephen King

BET's 25 Best Dancers Ever [November 2007] (Ranked: 18).



FHM's 100 Sexiest Women [2002] (Ranked: 82).



She was ranked #82 (2002) in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women.



FHM-Philippines' 100 Sexiest Woman [2001] (Ranked: 65).



FHM-Australia's 100 Sexiest Women [2001] (Ranked: 53).



She wore silver because she did not like gold.



She was ranked #28 (2001) in Stuff's 100 Sexiest Women.



FHM-France's 100 Sexiest Women [2002] (Ranked: 33).



Blender Magazine's 50 Sexiest Artists of All Time (Ranked: 43).



She labeled her music as 'street but sweet.'.



Google's Top 10 Musician Searches [Germany, 2002] (Ranked: 10).



Lycos' Top 20 Female Searches [2003] (Ranked: 16).



Lycos' Top 10 Female Searches [2002] (Ranked: 11).



Yahoo!'s Top 20 Music Artist Searches [2002] (Ranked: 12).



Rap-Up 50 Sexiest Women in Rap and R&B [2001] (Ranked: 7).



Maxim's 100 Sexiest Women [2000] (Ranked: 41).



Lycos' Top 10 Female Searches [2001] (Ranked: 12).



VH-1's 50 Greatest Women of the Video Era (Ranked: 35).



VH-1's Top 40 Music Video Performers [2003] (Ranked: 31).



Q Magazine's 100 Women Who Rock the World (Ranked: 92).



Lycos' Top 10 Musician Searches for the First Half of 2002 (Ranked: 5).



Stuff's 101 Sexiest Women [2001] (Ranked: 28).



Netscape's Top 10 Music Marvels [January 2002] (Ranked: 4).



Maxim's 100 Sexiest Women [2001] (Ranked: 14).





Before her death, she was signed to appear in several future films, including Honey (2003), a romantic film titled Some Kind of Blue, and a Whitney Houston -produced remake of the 1976 film Sparkle (2012).

The Aaliyah album was named the best album of 2001 by Slant Magazine and one of the ten best records of the year by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Time magazine. NME ranked it at number 39 on their year-end list. The album finished 73rd in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics published by The Village Voice. In 2005, the album was ranked number 66 on GQ's 2005 list of the "100 Coolest Albums in the World". Stylus Magazine ranked it 47 on their list of the "Top 50 Albums of 2000-2005"; the publication's David Drake ranked it eighth on his own list. Vibe included it as one of their "150 Essential Albums of the Vibe Era" in 2007. A few years later, Aaliyah was named by Slant Magazine as the 72nd best record of the 2000s decade.





Before her death, she was signed to appear in several future films, including Honey (2003), a romantic film titled Some Kind of Blue, and a Whitney Houston -produced remake of the 1976 film Sparkle (2012). Houston also voiced her belief that Aaliyah was more than qualified for the role and the film was shelved after she died, since Aaliyah had "gone to a better place". Studio officials of Warner Brothers stated that Aaliyah and her mother had both read the script for Sparkle. According to them, Aaliyah was passionate about playing the lead role of a young singer in a girl group. The film was released in 2012, eleven years after Aaliyah's death and her role was re-cast to Jordin Sparks Thomas

The One In A Million album was ranked number 90 on Rolling Stone's 100 greatest albums of the 90s list and was also listed as one of 33 Hip hop/R&B albums in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 1990s.



On August 24, 2017, MAC Cosmetics announced that an Aaliyah collection will be made available in the summer of 2018. The Aaliyah for Mac collection was released on June 20 online and June 21 in stores , along with the MAC collection, MAC and i-D Magazine partnered up to release a short film titled "A-Z of Aaliyah" which coincided with the launch. The short film highlighted and celebrated the legacy of Aaliyah with the help of select fans who were selected to be a part of the film through a casting call competition held by Mac and i-d magazine. The Aaliyah for Mac collectors box was sold at $250 and it sold out within minutes during the first day of its initial release.



She often wore black clothing, starting a trend for similar fashion among women in United States and Japan. Her fashionable style has been credited for being an influence on new fashion trends called "Health Goth" and "Ghetto Goth" also known as GHE20 GOTH1K.



Won the Billboard-AURN R&B/Hip-Hop Award for Top R&B/Hip-Hop Female Artist posthumously in 2003. From 2002-2003, she received eight nominations for Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artist , Top R&B/Hip-Hop Female Artist, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Artist, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Single, and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Single - Airplay, "Rock The Boat" and "Miss You".



Won the MOBO Award for Best Video, "More Than A Woman". [2002].



Won the World Music Award for World's Best Selling R&B Artist (2001) and received one nomination for World's Best Selling Female R&B Artist (2002).



Won posthumously for the Icon Israeli Musical Artist Award for Best Selling International Female Artist of the year. [2004].



Nominated posthumously for an Echo Award for Best Hip-Hop/R&B International. [2003].



Won the NME Award for Best R&B/Soul Act. [2002].



Nominated for two Billboard Music Video Awards for Maximum Vision Video and Best R&B Clip, "Try Again". [2000].



Nominated for the Source Award for R&B Artist of the Year, Female. [2003].



Won the Prestige Award for Entertainer of The Year. [2002].





Was considered for the role of Juliet in William Shakespeares Romeo & Julia (1996) opposite Leonardo DiCaprio . She turned down the role feeling it wasn't the right time for her to break into acting.

For her acting career, she was represented by The Creative Artist Agency.



Attended her high school prom with 5 friends in matching suits.





The first single that she bought was Karma Chameleon by Culture Club

Liked to collect stuffed animals and sunglasses.





Favorite music group was The Isley Brothers



Her toy orangutan that her grandmother gave her was in a scene in Romeo Must Die (2000).

Her most prized possessions were a pillow named Wilson that she took everywhere with her, and her toy orangutan named Lina that was given to her by her grandmother.



Loved to eat at the restaurant Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles.





Was managed by Raliyah Entertainment which consisted of her parents. "Raliyah" was named in honor of Aaliyah and her brother Rashad Haughton

She first realized she could sing at the age of 6 .



First heard herself on the radio while she was on her way to see the dentist.





Had her teeth, hair, and body airbrushed gray everyday during the shoot for Die Königin der Verdammten (2002) because she turned into stone and apparently it was a long process.



Had a Yorkshire terrier name Rico and a snake named Kermit, which her uncle Barry Hankerson had bought for her.

Auditioned for the school play of Annie at age 6.





Was a huge Stevie Wonder fan.



Loved to sing Donny Hathaway songs in the shower.

On August 22, 2019, Madame Tussauds honored Aaliyah with a wax figure at their Las Vegas location.



Personal Quotes (34)

[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.



Sensual is being in tune with your sensual self.



When I'm long gone, I want to be remembered not just as an actress or singer, but as a full-on entertainer.



[on her inspirations]: Sade. How beautiful is she? I chose her because I idolize her. I've always looked up to her. She and I have the same birthday which is January 16th so I feel like she is my soul sister. What I love about Sade is that she stays true to her style no matter what. She can leave us for 8 years and come back and be absolutely mind blowing. And you gotta respect that.



Being female, you're raised to be a good, sweet girl and not flip out. So I had to give myself permission to be mean and evil. It's tough. But I've always been drawn to the darker side of things.





[on Janet Jackson ] I admire her a great deal. She's a total performer ... I'd love to do a duet with Janet Jackson.

You have to love what you do to want to do it everyday.



I stay true to myself and my style, and I am always pushing myself to be aware of that and be original.



It's in how you carry yourself. I've always been a very mature person, and I've always known what I wanted. And I go after it no matter what.



I see myself as sexy. If you are comfortable with it, it can be very classy and appealing.



I go through the same problems all young people go through. Being in this business, I accept that there are positives and negatives but having a strong family base and a belief in God enables me to weather the storms.



I'm the interpreter. I'm the one who takes your words and brings them to life. I was trained to sing and dance and laugh, and that's what I want to do.



If at first you don't succeed/You can dust it off and try again/Dust yourself off and try again.



There is always a bit of pressure to do a good album - to do good work, period. I really put a lot of pressure on myself, more so than other people. But I try not to let that overwhelm me to the point where I can't even do good work. I just put it aside and do the best that I know that I can.



My parents just tell me, 'If you know what you want, you should stay determined and go for it. You can do anything.'



Whatever will be, will be.



There are times in my life when I just want to be by myself.



I wanted to be different and original but still have it be something my fans could get into. There also are some big, beautiful ballads. I told my producers that I wanted tracks that are going to blow up in the clubs, but I also wanted songs that were very melodic and with a lot of instrumentation.



Of course, the advantage is that, being in this business, you get to learn a lot, experience a lot of new things, and you can become real successful. The disadvantage is, of course the negative media. People may try to manipulate you and control you, and those are the things you have to avoid. But if you maintain strong family values and you believe in God, you can be successful. So, it's been tough, but I've gotten through it because I stuck with my family and my deep belief in God.



You have to enjoy your job; you should wake up every day and love what you do... I honestly do... From the bottom of my heart to the depths of my soul. I'm truly happy.



There are times I can't even figure myself out.



It's Friday and I'm ready to swing. Pick up my girls and hit the party scene.



I think it's important to take a break, you know, from the public eye for a while, and give people a chance to miss you. I want longevity. I don't want to get out there and run myself ragged and spread myself thin.



I know that people think I'm sexy and I am looked at as that. It is cool with me. It's wonderful to have sexy appeal. If you embrace it, it can be a very beautiful thing.



I'm a survivor and I can handle anything. I'm very confident about that.



[MTV interview, 2001] I don't have to go back to Australia until next year to finish shooting [the "Matrix" sequels]. It actually works out great, because I have the time needed to support the album and tour. ... It's kind of hard juggling both of them, because it's double the workload. But the way I look at is I just let it work itself out, let it flow. If I don't think about it, it won't drive me crazy.



I've always been mysterious. There are times when I don't understand myself...I think I'm a bit of a vampire in real life, and there are times when I just want to be myself.



[on her second album "One In A Million"] I was very involved. When I got with the producers, I told them I wanted an album with different moods, different flavors. I wanted to talk about relationships and have party songs.



[on her image] Well, I think that the image is a part of me. I wear the baggy pants , the hats, the whole nine. And you know, I may add a little for the excitement and the intrigue in the videos, but my family has told me that little air of mystery that surrounds me is for real.





[on her character Trish O'Day from Romeo Must Die (2000)] What I like about Trish is that she's tough. She's independent. She doesn't take anything off anybody. But at the same time, she loves her family. She's got a sweet side. So I felt I could play her, and people could get into her. It would be realistic to people, being that people know me as Aaliyah, the artist -- there is this image that I have. I wanted to make the right transition and have people understand where I was going, and I felt Trish embodied all of that.

Salary (2)