Last week, 9th August 2013, would have marked Whitney Houston's 50th birthday had she still been alive. Instead, the occasion has been used by her many fans to remember one of the world's most talented singers who died on 11th February 2012.

Whitney Houston
Fans Remember Singer Whitney Houston Over A Year After Her Death.

Fans were dealt a shocking blow on the singer's unexpected death, which coinciding with the 2012 Grammy Awards. It was reported that the 48 year-old popstar had drown in the bathtub in Beverley Hills' Beverley Hilton Hotel as a result of heart disease and cocaine use. In her consistently successful performing career that saw her begin as a backing singer in the mid-70s to artists like Chaka Khan then rise to stratospheric fame, she sold over 200 million records. Her legacy includes 31 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, seven Grammys, two Emmys and many other awards and nominations.

Relive Whitney Houston Performing 'One Moment In Time At The 1991 Grammy Awards:

Having initially been scouted as a model whilst singing with her mother, Cissy Houston, she was featured on the cover of Glamour and Cosmopolitan whilst she made sure that her singing talents weren't put to waste. In the early eighties, Houston featured frequently on other artists' albums and was eventually offered record contracts to produce work under her own name. However, although her mother was a singer too, Whitney was instructed to finish high school before she signed anything. Eventually, in 1983 she signed a worldwide recording contract and her popularity never stopped growing.

Whitney Houston
Talented Performer Whitney Houston Will Be Remembered Long After Her Death.

Houston went on to produce six studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums; in one of which she acted. The Bodyguard in 1992 marked her foray into acting and she starred alongside Kevin Costner. The film's romantic lead track 'I Will Always Love You' showcasing Houston's incredible vocal range and ability to evoke emotion in her songs sold 45 million copies worldwide and became the biggest selling soundtrack song ever.

Whitney Houston
Whitney Was A World-Class Performer.

She became one of the biggest selling acts of all time and in 2009 was ranked as the most awarded female artists ever. Her drug problems and troubled personal life would overshadow her later years in the run up to her 2012 death but she was, and will always be, one of the brightest shining stars the music industry has ever produced.