Died On This Date (August 25, 2001) Aaliyah / American Pop Star
Aaliyah Haughton
January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001
Aaliyah Haughton was a Brooklyn-born star on the rise when her life was tragically cut short. Raised in Detroit, she caught the singing bug early in life, leading her to perform on Star Search as as child and score a recording contract with famed Jive Records at just 12 years old. Her debut album, Age Aint Nothing But A Number sold an astonishing 2 million units. Her follow-up, One In A Million sold over 8 million world wide. Haughton was also getting started as an actress, appearing in 2000’s Romeo Must Die which lead to her title role in Queen Of The Damned. She released her third album, Aaliyah in 2001, and her career was on a serious roll when she found herself in the Bahamas to film the first video for the first single, “Rock The Boat.” On August 25th, after filming of the video was complete, Haughton and 8 other crew and passengers boarded a small plane to fly back home. The plane, loaded with heavy equipment and gear had trouble on take-off, crashing about 200 feet past the runway. All nine on the flight were killed. Aaliyah Haughton was just 22 years old.