Whitney Houston dies aged 48

American singer and actress Whitney Houston has died in Los Angeles at the age of 48.



Police said she died in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she had been staying as a guest.



Houston was one of the most celebrated female singers of all time, with hits including I Will Always Love You and Saving All My Love For You.



But her later career was overshadowed by substance abuse and her turbulent marriage to singer Bobby Brown.



Ms Houston died on the eve of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. She had been due to attend a pre-awards party in the Beverly Hilton Hotel organised by her long-time mentor and record industry executive Clive Davis on Saturday evening.



The hotel was already teeming with reporters and celebrities when police received an emergency call from hotel security at 15.43 local time (23:43 GMT), Beverly Hills police spokesman Mark Rosen told the press.


Police were despatched, but paramedics, already at the hotel because of the party, attempted to resuscitate her, without success. She was pronounced dead at 15:55.



Mr Rosen said Ms Houston's entourage - comprising family members, friends and co-workers - had taken over much of the fourth floor of the hotel.



"There were a number of people on scene who were able to positively identify Ms Houston for us," he said, adding that her next of kin have been informed of her death.



He said police investigators were at the scene trying to determine the cause of her death, but said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent".



Mr Davis went ahead with the party, holding a minute's silence and telling the audience he was "personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years".



The US celebrity website TMZ.com reported that Ms Houston had been partying heavily on both Thursday and Friday nights.



She briefly took the microphone and performed a song while out in Hollywood on Thursday, and was seen drinking and chatting loudly with friends in the hotel bar on Friday, according to TMZ.



'Finest voice'



Houston's background was steeped in soul and gospel music.



Her mother was gospel singer Cissy Houston, she was cousin to singer Dionne Warwick and goddaughter to Aretha Franklin.



"I just can't talk about it now," Ms Franklin said in a short statement. "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen."


The music industry, hours before this years Grammy Awards ceremony, can scarcely believe the news. Whitney Houston had been planning to attend a pre-Grammys party thrown by her mentor and close friend, Clive Davis.



Guests have begun to arrive for the party, but it is unclear whether the event will go ahead. The scene at the Beverly hotel is frenzied. As well as police and the authorities, fans and the world's media have begun to gather.



The cause of Houston's death is unclear, with the police saying investigations are ongoing. It may take days or even weeks for tests to return with conclusive answers.

Having grown up in New Jersey, Houston began singing in church and then in the night clubs of New York, and was a model before being signed by Arista Records.



At the height of her career in the 1980s and 90s she won many awards and enjoyed several number one singles and albums.



Artists from Mariah Carey to Christina Aguilera have tried to emulate her bravura performances, but none of them were as good as the original, music critic Paul Gambaccini told the BBC.



Houston also enjoyed success acting in blockbuster films such as The Bodyguard and Waiting to Exhale.



In recent years drug use took its toll on the star and her voice - once acknowledged as one of the finest in pop music - was badly damaged.



"She did have it all, but the record is there of the decline into drug use and the damage done from drug use," said Gambaccini.



Her marriage to Brown, with whom she had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, ended in divorce in 2007. The marriage had been a tempestuous one, with allegations of domestic abuse.





Houston was found on the fourth floor of the Beverly Hilton hotel "The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy,'' Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in a 2002 interview.



Correspondents say Houston's death will undoubtedly overshadow the music industry's Grammy Awards.



Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, which runs the awards, told Reuters news agency they were working on ways of paying tribute to the singer.



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Houston's career highlights

170m records sold worldwide

11 US number one hits

Won six Grammys, including three for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

Won 30 Billboard Awards and 22 American Music Awards

I Will Always Love You is the best selling single by a female artist of all time
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Civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton said that on the morning of the Grammys, "the world should pause and pray for the memory of a gifted songbird".



Country singer Dolly Parton - who wrote one one of her most memorable hits, I Will Always Love You - said in a statement: "Mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston."



"I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song, and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed'."