{"id":261930,"date":"2024-10-07T20:51:44","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T20:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/07\/everything-to-know-her-mom-and-dad-hollywood-life\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:10:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:10:56","slug":"everything-to-know-her-mom-and-dad-hollywood-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/07\/everything-to-know-her-mom-and-dad-hollywood-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything to Know Her Mom and Dad \u2013 Hollywood Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d singer\u00a0Whitney Houston<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>was a successful singer and actress who tragically died<\/a> on Feb. 11, 2012. During her life, she became one of the bestselling recording artists of all time and even went on to win six Grammy Awards<\/a>. She also starred in hit movies like The Bodyguard, Sparkle, <\/em>and\u00a0Waiting To Exhale<\/em>. Despite being a successful songstress herself, Whitney was raised by her talented mother, Cissy Houston<\/strong><\/a>, who was also a singer. Unfortunately, Cissy died<\/a> at the age of 91 in October 2024. Keep reading to learn more about Whitney\u2019s parents, including her manager father, John Russell Houston<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Whitney & Cissy Houston at an awards ceremony. (Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cissy Houston<\/h2>\n

Whitney\u2019s mother, Cissy, was a successful singer herself. Born Emily \u201cCissy\u201d Houston in Newark, New Jersey, the 91-year-old was known for her songs \u201cThink It Over\u201d, \u201cTomorrow\u201d, \u201cNothing Can Stop Me\u201d, and more. The gospel singer began as a backup singer for many iconic artists including Roy Hamilton<\/strong>, Dionne Warwick<\/strong><\/a>, Elvis Presley<\/strong><\/a>, Aretha Franklin<\/strong><\/a>, and more. Later, Cissy pursued a solo career and became so successful that she went on to win a total of two Grammy Awards. The \u201cThis Empty Place\u201d songstress even collaborated with Whitney<\/a> on a few tracks including \u201cI Know Him So Well\u201d, \u201cAin\u2019t No Way\u201d, and \u201cYou Send Me.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2013, one year after Whitney\u2019s passing, Cissy released the book,\u00a0Remembering Whitney<\/em>, about her daughter. She opened up about the moment she found out her daughter had died during an interview<\/a> with\u00a0Oprah Winfrey<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0that same year. \u201cWell, my son called me, and he was screaming, \u2018Mom! Mom!’\u201d, she recalled at the time. \u201cI said, \u2018Is she dead?\u2019 and he said, \u2018yeah mommy she\u2019s dead\u2019, and I don\u2019t remember too much else after that.\u201d Cissy told Oprah that she was a \u201cwreck\u201d and \u201calone\u201d when she got the devastating news.<\/p>\n

John Russell Houston<\/h2>\n
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John was not only Whitney\u2019s father, but also was her talent manager for many years. The businessman sadly died<\/a> on Feb. 2, 2003, nearly 10 years before his daughter. Although he helped the \u201cI Have Nothing\u201d singer build her career, eventually their relationship turned tumultuous. One year before his death John\u2019s company, John Houston Entertainment, sued Whitney for \u201cbreach of contract,\u201d per\u00a0MTV News<\/em><\/a>. The lawsuit was for a total of $100 million, and when Whitney opened up about it on the The Oprah Winfrey Show<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>in 2009, she said she believed her dad was being \u201cinfluenced\u201d by other people.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad was being influenced by people that were lying to my father,\u201d Whitney shared at the time. \u201cMy father<\/a> was sick at the time, he was in the hospital. I was paying the bills, I mean I took care of my father.\u201d Despite their vicissitudes, Whitney told the\u00a0Own It\u00a0<\/em>author that she \u201cforgave\u201d John. \u201cAbsolutely, I love my dad,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I knew he was sick, he was in his 80s at that time, in the hospital constantly with heart problems.\u201d Whitney also revealed that there were a period of \u201cyears\u201d where they \u201cdidn\u2019t speak at all.\u201d However, when he became gravely ill, Whitney decided to put an end to the feud.<\/p>\n

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Whitney Houston was very close to her mom, Cissy. (Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Their Kids<\/h2>\n

Cissy and John were married from 1959 until their divorce<\/a> in 1990. During their marriage, they welcomed two kids, Whitney, and her brother,\u00a0Michael Houston<\/strong>. Cissy also welcomed her son,\u00a0Gary Garland<\/strong>, with her first husband, Freddie Garland<\/strong>, in 1957. Gary is a gospel singer, like his mother, and Michael also pursued a career as a singer, per\u00a0Distractify<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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