The singer Aaliyah's full name was Aaliyah Dana Haughton. She was born on January 16, 1979 in the borough of Brooklyn, New York.
Her mother Diane was a singer but stayed at home with her and her older brother Rashad after Aaliyah was born. In addition, Aaliyah's uncle Barry Hankerson, an entertainment lawyer, was married to singer Gladys Knight. As a child, Aaliyah traveled the USA with Hankerson and took part in castings. During her school days she took lessons in singing, dancing and acting.
She signed her first record deal when she was 14 years old. During the recording of her first album she was supported by the singer R. Kelly. Meanwhile, the two fell in love and married on August 31, 1994. The problem, however, was that Aaliyah was only 15 at the time and therefore a minor. So Aaliyah's parents arranged for the marriage to be annulled a few months after it was formed.
In mid-August 2001, Aaliyah shot the music video for her song 'Rock the Boat' in Los Angeles. On August 21, the singer and film crew flew to the island of Abaco in the Bahamas to continue filming. Filming continued there for two days and finally ended.
On August 25th, Aaliyah and seven members of her entourage boarded a plane bound for Miami. However, the Cessna 402B crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all eight passengers and the pilot instantly. When investigating the crash, it turned out that the plane was loaded with an overweight of 320 kilograms. The pilot had also consumed alcohol and cocaine before the flight. Aaliyah's body was flown to New Jersey from Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, on August 28. Three days later, the funeral service took place in Manhattan in a private setting. Aaliyah was then buried in Ferncliff Cemetary in the New York suburb of Hartsdale.
