Brooklyn-born (January 16, 1979) and Detroit-raised R&B singer Aaliyah Dana Haughton hit the big time in her early teens with a spate of hit records before she embarked at 20 on a film-acting career. A losing appearance on Star Search at age 11 failed to hold back the young dynamo, who performed later that same year with Gladys Knight (former wife of her uncle/ manager Barry Hankerton), singing with the legend for a five-night Las Vegas engagement in 1990. Within four years, Aaliyah would have two gold singles to her credit and was a proven multitalented performer, starring in compelling music videos that showcased her dance moves as well as her songs.

As her debut album ‘Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number’ headed up the charts on the strength of the hits “Back and Forth” and “At Your Best (You Are Love)”, Aaliyah, whose sultry voice and adult image belied her tender age, found herself the target of some less-than-positive attention. It was reported the then 15-year-old had wed friend and producer R Kelly.

A marriage license issued in the state of Illinois with the pair’s name on it and Kelly’s refusal to comment only fuelled the fires of scandal and the two were unceremoniously booed at that year’s Soul Train Music Awards. Following this upheaval, Aaliyah changed record labels, hooked up with producers Jermaine Dupri and Missy ‘Misdemeanor’ Elliott and recorded her follow up, the successful and critically lauded ‘One in a Million’ (1996).

The album introduced the singer’s new, more mature sound and focused on her undeniable talent and range, fusing hip-hop beats with R&B grooves in a way that harkened back to a younger Mary J Blige. Although Aaliyah was managed by her parents, the teen singer’s videos and appearances were marked by a non-overt sexuality that she carried with confidence. In 1997, Aaliyah contributed her vocals to the animated feature ‘Anastasia’, singing the Oscar-nominated theme “Journey to the Past” over the end credits, and subsequently on the Academy Awards telecast in March 1998.

She scored with the Grammy-nominated “Are You That Somebody?” from the ‘Dr Dolittle’ soundtrack in 1998. Aaliyah’s next film project ‘Romeo Must Die’ (2000) not only featured her hit song “Try Again”, but marked the singer’s film acting debut.

She starred opposite Jet Li in this modern day multicultural crime world reworking of Shakespeare’s tragic romance, playing Trish O’Day, daughter of an African-American crime lord at odds with a rival Chinese gang whose allies include the vengeance-bent Jet Li. Soon Aaliyah and Jet Li’s characters fall in love, much to the disapproval of their warring families. Aaliyah brought a crucial toughness and quiet grace to her role, making an auspicious film debut.

Landing a starring role in the Anne Rice adaptation ‘The Queen of the Damned’ (2002) as the eponymous vampire royalty proved her acting career wasn’t just a fluke.

Aaliyah was subsequently cast in the back-to-back sequels ‘The Matrix Reloaded’ and ‘The Matrix 3’, set to have a small role in the former which would expand to a co-starring role in the latter and was also picked to head up the cast of the remake ‘Sparkle’.

The release of her long-awaited self-titled third album in 2001 spawned the hit “We Need a Resolution” and debuted at No 2 on Billboards album charts. Tragically, after filming the music video for the follow-up single “Rock the Boat” in the Bahamas on August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and eight others were killed when their plane crashed just moments after take off, cutting short a most promising film and music career.