Whitney Houston Dead 2012 at 48 years old, cause of death, and reaction of celebrity

Whitney Houston Dead 2012 at 48 years old, cause of death, and reaction of celebrity
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Whitney Houston died this afternoon ... a rep for the singer announced. She was 48.

Our sources tell us a member of Whitney's entourage found her in her 4th-floor room at the Beverly Hilton hotel ... and called hotel security -- who then dialed 911. When paramedics arrived Houston was found unresponsive.

We're told police arrived to the scene within minutes and fire was already there on an unrelated call. According to our sources, paramedics performed CPR but it did not work and she was pronounced dead at 3:55 PM.

Our sources say there were no obvious signs of foul play, but BH PD detectives have begun a full investigation. We're told she was ID'ed by family and friends.

L.A. County Coroner Ed Winter told our photog at 7:09 PM that it is too early in the investigation to tell what happened (see below).

Whitney Houston was found dead in her Beverly Hilton Hotel room on Saturday (February 11, 2012), aged 48. The American singer and actress was cited by the Guinness World Records as the most 'awarded' female singer of all time.

Police and paramedics were dispatched to the hotel at around 15.43pm local time, with medical staff attempting to resuscitate the singer in her room, without success. Whitney was pronounced dead at around 15.55pm. According to BBC News, Beverly Hills spokesman Mark Rosen said Ms Houston's entourage had taken over much of the fourth floor of the hotel for the evening. He said, "There were a number of people on scene who were able to positively identify Ms Houston for us". Although it is too early to determine the exact cause of death, Mr Rosen said there was "no obvious signs of criminal intent". Houston's background was steeped mainly in soul and gospel music, and she became recognized as the voice of her generation after a string of multi-million selling albums. In 1992, she covered the Dolly Parton song 'I Will Always Love You' for the soundtrack of The Bodyguard - the version was a huge success and appeared at No. 68 on Billboard's "Greatest Songs of All Time". In recent years, drug use slowly took its toll on the star and her vocals in particular, music critic PAUL GAMBACCINI explained, "She did have it all, but the record is there of the decline into drug use and the damage done from drug use".

Part of a famous family, Whitney's mother was gospel singer Cissy Houston, her cousin Dionne Warwick and her godmother, Aretha Franklin. In a short statement, Aretha said, "I just can't talk about it now.It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen".

"First of all, I want to tell you that I love you all. Second, I would like to say, I love you Whitney. The hardest thing for me to do is to come on this stage." -- Houston's ex-husband Bobby Brown, performing a show in Southaven, Miss., hours after her death.    RESOURCES