The life of Whitney Houston in pictures

Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, died on Saturday. She was aged 48. MailOnline looks back at the life of the star singer who was pronounced dead in her room of the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, California

Houston, pictured in 1965, was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin

Whitney Houston belts out a song during her segment of a benefit concert at Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, in May 1986

Whitney Houston seen at a news conference in New York in July 1988. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists

In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with 'The Bodyguard'. The story of a singer (Houston) guarded by a former Secret Service agent was a success

Whitney Houston shows off the seven awards she won in February 1993 at the American Music Awards. At her peak, she was the golden girl of music

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown with their daughter Bobbi at Bobby's 25th birthday at Tavern On The Green in New York City in February 1984

South African President Nelson Mandela and Whitney Houston smile for photographers in Johannesburg, South Africa, in November 1994

Actress and singer Whitney Houston and her husband Bobby Brown pose for photographers in New York City in October 1997. They divorced in 2007

Houston performs during the Billboard Awards at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, in December 1998. She sold more than 55 million records in the U.S.

In this January 1998 photo, singer Houston, left, celebrates her win at the American Music Awards with her mother, Cissy, and brother, Gary, in Los Angeles

Houston performs before winning the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 42nd annual Grammy Awards, in this photo taken in February 2000

Houston emerges from the waters of the River Jordan near the Sea of Galilee during a Holy Land pilgrimage, in May 2003

Houston, centre, poses with her former husband, singer Bobby Brown, right, and their daughter Bobbi, left, at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, in August 2004

Houston gestures at the Clive Davis pre-Grammy party in Beverly Hills, California, in this photo taken in February 2008

Houston looks on while appearing on the German TV game show 'Wetten Dass' (Bet it...?) in Freiburg, in this photo taken in October 2009

Houston performs at the Pre-Grammy Gala & Salute to Industry Icons in this file photo taken in Beverly Hills in February 2011

Houston looked worse for wear as she left Tru Hollywood nightclub this week, just a few days before she was found dead in a hotel room on Saturday