Aaliyah was an actress and pop singer on the verge of superstardom when she was killed in a 2001 plane crash. She sang professionally as a child and released her first album, Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number (1994) when she was 14. In 1996 she released One in a Million, and by the end of the '90s she was working in the movies as an actress and composer. She co-starred with Jet Li in Romeo Must Die (2000), and her song from the movie, "Try Again," was a hit single. At the time of her death she had released three albums and had agreed to appear in two more films: Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned (2001) and the sequel to the 1999 Keanu Reeves film The Matrix.

Aaliyah said her name means "highest, most exalted one" in Swahili... Aaliyah was discovered by hip-hop producer R. Kelly; the two were allegedly married in secret around the same time. Aaliyah was one of nine people who died when their twin-engine crashed on takeoff in the Bahamas; the group was returning to the U.S. after filming a music video.

Public Name: Aaliyah
Birth Name: Aaliyah Haughton
Born: 16 January 1979
Birthplace: New York, USA
Died: 25 August 2001 (airplane crash)

Filmography

• Queen of the Damned (2002)
• Romeo Must Die (2000)
• 'Romeo Must Die' Movie Special (2000) (TV)

Awards

• American Music Award Soul/Rhythm & Blues Female Artist 2002
• American Music Award Soul/Rhythm & Blues Album "Aaliyah" 2002
• NAACP Image Award Outstanding Female Artist "Aaliyah" 2002
• MTV Music Video Award Best Female Video "Try Again" 2000
• MTV Video From a Film Best Video From a Film "Try Again" 2000