Whitney Houston Dead

Whitney Houston is dead at the age of 48. According to TMZ, the L.A. county coroner recently informed the family (according to “family sources”) that Houston died from an overdose due to a combination of Xanax and other prescription drugs mixed with alcohol. Houston was found in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel. Sources say her aunt, Mary Jones, tried to admister CPR to no avail. Coroner officials said that Whitney did not drown in the tub as previously thought, since there was not enough water in her lungs when they examined her. (source: TMZ)

LA Times Blog reported that it was paramedics who found Whitney Houston unresponsive at a room at the Beverly Hilton hotel. They performed CPR for 20 minutes, then declared her dead at 4pm. Houston was in town for a musical tribute to Clive Davis and was going to attend his pre-Grammy party on Saturday at the hotel. Investigators are still looking into the events surrounding Houston’s death. The autopsy has been performed but the toxicology tests are expected to take weeks to complete. Therefore, the TMZ report should be taken with a grain of salt until other reports confirm it.

Whitney’s History of Drug Use

Towards the end of her career, Whitney Houston had fallen into drug use and was making disturbing public appearances. Her addiction to cocaine and marijuana was affecting her live performances.

In January, 2000, security guards found marijuana in Houston and hubby Bobby Brown’s luggage at an airport in Hawaii. She started cancelling performances. She was losing her voice.

She was interviewed in 2002 by Diane Sawyer, husband Bobby Brown at her side, talking about her problems with drugs.

In a 2010 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Houston said

“[drugs] was an everyday thing. I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. … I wasn’t happy by that point in time. I was losing myself.”

Her marriage to Bobby Brown dissolved, and the couple divorced in 2007.

Infamous photo of Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston from the movie The Bodyguard (1992)

One of the last photos of Whitney Houston, taken a day ago.