A police spokesman says that attempts were made to resuscitate Whitney Houston, after she was found unresponsive in her suite on the fourth floor of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.
The singer was found dead at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, where she was most likely due to attend the annual Clive Davis Grammy party being held at the hotel.
According to celebrity website TMZ the singer was found in a bath tub and prescription drugs were in the room. An autopsy will establish whether she drowned, whether drugs were involved, or whether there was another cause.
"They found her unresponsive. They attempted life-saving resuscitation measures, unfortunately they were not successful and at approximately 3:55pm (23:55 GMT) Whitney Houston was pronounced dead at the Beverly Hilton Hotel," said Lieutenant Mark Rosen, spokesman for the Beverly Hills Police Department.
"We'll conclude our investigation, I don't know how long that will take and we'll take possession of Miss Houston's body and they will also conduct their own investigation."
From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, Houston was one of the world's bestselling artists.
She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen. ...READ MORE
Sources tell TMZ, Whitney Houston "partied heavily" last night at the Beverly HIlton hotel where she was staying, drinking and chatting loudly with friends in the bar -- but Cissy Houston and Dionne Warwickclaim the singer sounded fine just hours before her death.
We're told Bobby Brown is distraught over Whitney's death -- going "in and out of crying fits." His band New Edition tells us, they are "shocked and saddened."
Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party -- which Whitney was supposed to open -- is going on as scheduledthis evening, though Clive will not be in attendance.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, police are currently seeking a search warrant to investigate the hotel room where Whitney was found dead. One item they'll be looking out for -- drugs.
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
