How Did Whitney Houston Influence The American Culture

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During an English class we were asked to do a research project about an influential, American citizen who has changed the American culture in some way. It was hard figuring out who I would write my paper about, because there are so many different people that have contributed to the American culture in some way. Then I was thinking about big pop stars that have done something important in their lives, and I thought about the unforgettable Whitney Houston. Finally, I decided to do my project on her to learn about Whitney's life, what she has done, and why is she influential to the American culture.
Whitney was born August 9, 1963 in New Jersey. She comes from an afro family; her parents were Cissy Houston and John Russell Houston, and Aretha Flanking was her godmother (Hampton 1). She started singing "in her family's church choir" (Wenner 1). Whitney performed "in her mother's nightclub act" (Wenner 1). The star attended a Catholic high school and while there she "signed with a modeling agency and posed for magazines including Glamour and Vogue" (Wenner 1). Houston was released in 1985 and was a big hit. From there new singles came, duets with great artists, and even recorded the theme song for the Summer Olympics in

1988. She started her acting career on the movie The Bodyguard which was a big hit. In 1992 she married Bobby Brown and had their first child Bobbi Kristina in 1993. (Wenner 1).
Houston's career just kept growing, she won an Oscar singing a duet with Mariah Carey. "Houston moved to the small screen in 1997, producing and playing the Fairy Godmother to Brandy's Cinderella in a Wonderful World of Disney remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" says Jann S. Wenner. She now had a famous model...

... middle of paper ...

...ingers like Beyoncé and Hudson, who are able to move successfully from music to movies in the same way Houston did, owe a debt to Whitney. “It’s fairly rare historically for someone who is successful in one arena to get accepted by critics and the public in another,” said Recording Academy CEO/President Neil Portnow. Whitney proved that "America is the land of opportunity" (Kaufman 1). "You can do anything you put your heart and mind to,” Portnow said of Houston’s legacy. (Kaufman 1).
In brief, this paper was based on Whitney Houston's life, what she did, and why was she so influential to American culture. Whitney was a great pop star that had a great talent and throughout her career she won many awards. She is an example to many stars, and she proved

that this really is the land of opportunities and that you can reach your goals if you put your heart into it.

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