Notable for recording several hit records, including seven number one R&B hits, one number one pop hit, and seven top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, Aaliyah sold over 25 million records worldwide during her career. The singer also modeled for Tommy Hilfiger and starred in two motion pictures before her untimely death in a plane crash in 2001 at the age of 22.

Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 16, 1979 to Michael and Diane Haughton, and was raised in Detroit. Her name means the highest most exalted one, the best in Arabic.

Aaliyah experienced a charmed childhood alongside her older brother Rashad Haughton who shared a beautiful relationship with his sister and many books about her life illustrate her happy childhood. Rashad would remain a protective figure throughout Aaliyah's life. Both Aaliyah and Rashad shared a love of the Arts, Aaliyah loved to enchant an audience with her performances in school plays and at the family home and Rashad expressed an interest in film studies and media.

Aaliyah's family is a wonderful close family unit with strong entertainment roots. Her mother Diane Haughton, also a gifted vocalist, encouraged and fostered Aaliyah's talent and love for the stage. Her uncle, Barry Hankerson, is a prominent individual in the music industry and Aaliyah's Aunt, through marriage to Hankerson, is Gladys Knight, a legendary soul singer.

Aaliyah would always hear her mother sing the song My Funny Valentine and when Aaliyah had the opportunity to take part in the talent competition Star Search this was the perfect choice of song for the young aspiring singer. Aaliyah was not yet a teenager but already she appeared on the national stage. Although Aaliyah did not win the competition she showcased her astonishingly mature and mesmerising stage presence. This was the initial point when ten year old Aaliyah worked with an agent in New York and began to attend auditions for TV Shows including Family Matters.

Following her stint on Star Search Aaliyah perfomred on stage in Las Vegas with Gladys Knight who left a lasting impression on Aaliyah. In a later MTV interview Aaliyah reflected on the experience and explained that this happening helped her to develop as an entertainer. "The first night I stood on one spot and sang my song, but then I really learned how to work an audience" Aaliyah said when recalling this experience.

In her early teens Aaliyah attended the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts. The prestigious school allowed Aaliyah to follow a structured academic school curriculum and to explore her love of dance. Aaliyah was originally a vocal major but transferred to a dance major as this was an area that would be incorporated in her career as a singer. Aaliyah graduated as a dance major with a 4.0 grade point average and was described as the "pride and joy" of the school by the principal teacher according to a press statement from the school. Aaliyah continued her studies as she began work on her debut album. Aaliyah would mention in her interviews to promote her debut album that she considered school to be one of her priorities thus reinforcing her position as a role model to all young fans.

Aaliyah signed with her uncle Barry Hankerson's Blackground Records label in 1993 at the age of 14 years old. She released her debut album, titled Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, in 1994 at the age of 15. R. Kelly acted as Aaliyah's mentor and he was a leading songwriter and producer on her debut album. The album displayed her smooth and velvety vocals and the production work was said to be original and innovative the album went platinum within months. The album featured the gold-selling singles "Back and Forth" (#1 U.S. R&B, 3 weeks), "At Your Best" (#2 U.S. R&B), a cover of The Isley Brothers' 1976 song, the album-titled single "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" (#75 Hot 100 and #25 US R&B, 2 weeks), and "Down with the Clique" (#12 R&B Airplay, 3 weeks). Also around June 1995, Aaliyah released another single called "No One Knows How to Love Me Quite Like You Do" it was only for radio-play but many tribute videos were made for it after she died.

One in a Million, Aaliyah's sophomore album, was chiefly written and produced by then unknowns Missy Elliott and Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley and released on August 27, 1996. The album was a landmark in Aaliyah's career, garnering her mass critical acclaim and introducing Aaliyah's more mature side. It embarked the newfound chemistry of Aaliyah and Timbaland. The album was certified double-platinum within a year, making Aaliyah a major R&B star and igniting the successful careers of Missy Elliott and Timbaland. One in a Million featured the international smash hit "If Your Girl Only Knew" (number one U.S. R&B, 2 weeks), "One in a Million," (#1 U.S. R&B airplay, six weeks), the top 10 U.S. R&B single "The One I Gave My Heart To," a ballad written by Diane Warren, "4-Page Letter" (#1 U.S. R&B Airplay, three weeks), "Hot Like Fire" (two versions) (#16 Radio-Play), and "Got To Give It Up" (#6 Hot 100).

Tommy Hilfiger took notice of Aaliyah's "street but sweet" image and gave Aaliyah her first endorsement deal. He immediately signed Aaliyah onto print campaigns, runway shows, and a commercial. During this period, Aaliyah would also make guest appearances on albums by artists such as Missy Elliott, Timbaland & Magoo, Ginuwine and Playa. Timbaland and Playa's frontman Steve "Static" Garrett would remain Aaliyah's principal collaborators for the duration of her career. To date, One in a Million has sold over 2 million copies in the U.S. and seven million worldwide.

1997, Aaliyah appeared on the soundtrack album for the Fox Animation Studios animated feature Anastasia, singing the pop version of "Journey to the Past". The song was nominated for an Academy Award, and Aaliyah performed the song at the 1997 Academy Awards ceremony, making history. Aaliyah became the youngest female recording artist to perform at the ceremony.

Aaliyah had a huge hit in 1998 with "Are You that Somebody" (number one U.S. R&B airplay, eight weeks), the main single from the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack. Its video was the third most-played on MTV that year, and the song's success helped make Aaliyah a household name. The single was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart.

In 2000, she co-starred with Jet Li in the martial-arts film Romeo Must Die, which debuted at number two at the box office. Aaliyah and Timbaland executive produced the film's soundtrack album and Aaliyah contributed four songs: "Are you Feelin' Me?," "I Don't Wanna," "Back in One Piece," a duet with DMX, and the international number one hit "Try Again." Aaliyah made history once again with her hit single "Try Again." It became the first song in history to ever reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 based solely on the strength of its radio airplay, without any single sales factored. After the huge success of "Try Again" at radio, a 12" maxi single was released for consumer purchase. The radio-only single, "I Don't Wanna", (which was also featured on the soundtrack for the film Next Friday,) peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number five on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks chart.

In 2001, Aaliyah went to Australia to co-star with Stuart Townsend in the film Queen of the Damned, an adaptation of the Anne Rice novel of the same name. Aaliyah also recorded most of her third studio album, Aaliyah.

Aaliyah was also originally cast in the role of "Zee" , for the sequels to The Matrix but died shortly after filming began. The directors initially tried to find a way to incorprate her footage into the movies but decided against it due to lack of material available. The role was recast with Nona Gaye playing the character.

Aaliyah in the video for the 2001 single "We Need a Resolution""We Need a Resolution," the first single from Aaliyah's highly-anticipated third studio album, was released in April 24th of 2001. The self-titled Aaliyah was released three months later on July 17, 2001. The album was an instant critical success but sales were initially lower than expected, although they increased considerably after her death. Aaliyah introduced a darker and edgier side to Aaliyah's music and was noted as having showcased her growth as an artist. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, selling nearly 190,000 copies in its first week, and was certified gold (500,000 copies sold) within four weeks, before her death. The week after the plane crash it climbed to number one.

In the summer of 2001, Aaliyah filmed the video for Aaliyah's intended second single, "More than a Woman". The video was to be released but "Rock The Boat" began receiving huge amounts of radio-play, so she was immediately sent to the Bahamas to shoot the video. The "Rock The Boat" music video was put in the 106 and Park hall of fame, making the countdown over 65 times. "More than a Woman" made the number-one spot after "Rock the Boat" was shelved. The album went double-platinum in five months for sales of 2.5 million copies.

Also in 2001, Aaliyah worked with Virginia boy band Outsiderz 4 Life [1] on a duet "Ain't Never". The song never took due to her untimely death.

On August 25, 2001, at 6:45 pm, just after filming of the "Rock the Boat" video was completed, Aaliyah and 7 friends boarded a twin engine Cessna 402B (N8097W) piloted by Luis Morales III. It is believed that this aircraft was headed to to Opa-Locka Airport near Miami, Florida, when the ill fated flight suddenly crashed shortly after takeoff. The pilot and all eight passengers were killed.

The singer is interred in a private room in the Rosewood Mausoleum at Ferncliff Cemetery, located in Hartsdale, New York.

Reports have shown that the pilot, Luis Morales III, lacked the skill level needed to safely operate this aircraft. Morales falsely obtained his license from Black Hawk Airways by showing hundreds of hours never flown, suggesting he was not qualified to pilot the plane in the first place. Additionally, an autopsy performed on Morales revealed cocaine and alcohol in his blood.

Further investigations determined the plane was over its total gross weight by several hundred pounds. Although witnesses claimed that the passengers had been asked to leave some luggage behind, it was later discovered that the passengers, including Aaliyah, had not been informed of the excess weight.

Eddie Golson, president of Pro Freight Cargo Services at Opa Locka Airport, said workers carted "a pickup truck of freight" from the crash site Monday. "That's absurd to think that this pilot got in this airplane with eight other people and a truck full of freight and expected this thing to fly," Golson said. "What the hell was going on?" A baggage handler was reported to have said the passengers were in a hurry to get back to the states to catch a connecting flight and no one weighed the passengers or baggage.

The day of the crash was Mr. Morales' first official day with Blackhawk International Airways. He had been employed with Golden Airlines in which he was fired 4 hours before the fatal crash. Blackhawk International Airways was authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration as a part 135 single pilot operation. In addition, Luis Morales III was not registered with the FAA to fly for Blackhawk. As a result of the accident, a wrongful death law suit was filed by Aaliyah’s parents, and was later settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

Barry & Sons, Inc., a corporation formed in 1992 to develop, promote and capitalize on the musical talents of Aaliyah and to oversee the production and distribution of her records, tapes and music videos, brought an unsuccessful lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against Instinct Productions LLC, (a company hired by Barry & Sons, Inc. in August, 2001 to produce the "Rock the Boat" music video). The case was dismissed since New York State's wrongful death statute only permits certain people to recover damages for wrongful death.

"Rock the Boat" went on to become a posthumous hit on radio (reaching number two on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles charts and number 14 on the Hot 100) and video channels, and the news of Aaliyah's death gave her album a notable sales boost, pushing it to number one on the Billboard 200. The album's two subsequent singles, "More than A Woman" reached number one on Billboard's Hot R&B singles chart and number 25 on Hot 100. "I Care 4 U" reached number three on Billboard's Hot R&B singles chart and number 16 on the Hot 100, the latter attaining success even without the promotional push of a music video. The Aaliyah album went on to reach 2X platinum status, with sales of 2.4 million in the U.S. and six million worldwide.

Queen of the Damned was released in early 2002. Before its release, Aaliyah's brother Rashad was called upon to re-dub several of his sister's lines during the post-production ADR process. Upon its release, the film debuted at number one.

In 2002, a posthumous greatest hits collection, I Care 4 You, was released in Aaliyah's name. In addition to well-known hits, it also included six previously unreleased songs from the Blackground vaults Aaliyah had recorded over the course of her career, including "Miss You," which became the album's lead single. Its video features Missy Elliott, Toni Braxton, Lil' Kim, Dallas Austin, MTV presenter and close friend Ananda Lewis, actor Jamie Foxx, AJ, Free, Quddus, Tweet, U-God (of the Wu-Tang Clan) and DMX, Rosario Dawson, among others, paying tribute to Aaliyah.

Aaliyah was to have had a supporting role as the wife of Harold Perrineau Jr.'s character, Link, in the two sequels to The Matrix; her role was ultimately filled by Nona Gaye. Other films in which Aaliyah was signed to star in were Honey (which instead was filmed with Jessica Alba as the star), and a Whitney Houston-produced remake of the 1976 film Sparkle (now going to be portrayed by Raven-Symone). In addition, Aaliyah and one of her agents had pitched and inked a deal with Fox Searchlight Pictures for her to star in a film based upon a true story about interracial love.

Since her death she has been mentioned in many songs in recent years by other rappers and singers, such as Yolanda Adams, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliot, D12, Jadakiss,and T.I. In Jadakiss' 2004 single, "Why", he mentions Aaliyah's fateful plane crash by rapping the line "...why Aaliyah had ta take dat flight..." In Brandy's song "Turn It Up" from her 2004 Afrodisiac album, she refers to Aaliyah when she sings "Get Babygirl's attention, she's more than a woman and we sure do miss her." And in her song "Should I Go", she says "this industry was more like a different world, when it was just me, Monica, and baby girl (Aaliyah), I never got to tell you how much you meant/I wish you and me both was sittin' here workin with Tim".Also, in T.I.s smash hit "Rubberband Man" he says" throw your lighters up for my cousin Toot, Aaliyah, Left Eye, and Jam Master Jay." In a song about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks - which occurred weeks after Aaliyah's death - the rap group D12 mentions Aaliyah in a song called 9-11. The line states that "we lost Aaliyah, lost our families, it takes no tenges. You don't need us to see the world is (messed) up, God can see it."