Whitney Houston, once pop music's shining star, died at 48 after decades of battling drug addiction. Despite earning £76 million, her fortune was gone by the time of her death in 2012.
Her drug use escalated after marrying Bobby Brown in 1992. She admitted to Oprah Winfrey in 2009 that she spent seven months in pyjamas, getting high on crack cocaine. 'I didn't think about singing any more,' she said.
In February 2012, she arrived in Los Angeles for the Grammys, appearing 'dishevelled' and 'erratic'. On the morning of her death, she had breakfast with daughter Bobbi, then ordered more food and took Xanax. She later told her assistant she had a sore throat and was going to take a bath.
She ordered room service: a burger with fries, a turkey sandwich, jalapeno peppers, and a gravy boat of olive oil for the bath. Her bodyguards heard her singing, but at 3pm they realised she was quiet. They found her face down in the bathtub.
Toxicology reports found cocaine, cannabis, Xanax, Benadryl and Flexeril in her system. The cause of death was accidental drowning, contributed to by heart disease and cocaine use. Her daughter Bobbi Kristina died similarly in 2015.
