Aaliyah (Jan. 16, 1979 – Aug. 25, 2001)
The award-winning singer and actress Aaliyah Dana Haughton became an overnight R&B sensation in the 1990s.
On August 25, 2001, at the height of her stardom, Aaliyah was killed when a small Cessna passenger plane carrying the singer and her video crew crashed and burst into flames shortly after takeoff from Abaco Islands in the Bahamas.
Aaliyah was 22 years old at the time and had just wrapped up filming of the Rock the Boat music video, hours earlier. She had also just scored a major casting gig when she signed to appear in the two sequels to the blockbuster sci-fi thriller The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne.
Her death also stalled the remake of singer-actress Whitney Houston and producer Debra Martin Chase’s remake of the film Sparkle. Aaliyah was originally cast for the lead role.
