The Associated Press is reporting that R&B great Whitney Houston is dead at 48. The singer's publicist, Karen Foster, confirmed to the wire service Saturday that Houston was dead. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that she was found in the Beverly Hilton Hotel, according to anonymous sources.
Houston was a beloved but embattled superstar whose substance-abuse problems have sometimes overshadowed her musical accomplishments — she's sold more than 55 million records in the U.S. alone. Most recently, Houston had filmed the upcoming remake of the movie Sparkle. Notables as varied as Mariah Carey and Cory Booker have taken to Twitter to express their shock and grief.
Read more at the Associated Press.
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Lauren is a former Deputy Editor of The Root.