Aaliyah Dana Haughton, popularly known as Aaliyah, was an American singer, dancer, actor and model. In 1994, she married R Kelly, who was recently sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking and racketeering. The duo parted ways in 1995. 

Aaliyah was born on January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York, to Diane and Michael Haughton. She began taking music lessons at a young age, and would often perform at weddings, charity events and at the local church. At the age of five, she moved with her family to Detroit, Michigan, where she attended Gesu Elementary.

Aaliyah auditioned for several television shows and commercials as a child artist. At the age of 10, she appeared on ‘Star Search’.

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When she was 12, she signed contracts with music labels Jive Records and Barry Hankerson’s Blackground Records. Hankerson, who was her uncle, introduced her to R&B icon R Kelly, who she ended up marrying at the age of 15, briefly after the release of their hit track ‘Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number’.

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According to Vibe magazine, the pair tied the knot on August 31, 1994, in Rosemont’s Sheraton Gateway Suites. A marriage certificate obtained by the magazine falsely stated that Aaliyah was 18 at the time. In February 1995, Aaliyah’s parents, who were unaware that their daughter got married on August 31 to a 27-year-old man, annulled the marriage. According to the New York Times, Kelly had bribed a government employee to get a fake ID for Aaliyah.

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After allegations of an illegal marriage began circulating, Aaliyah ended her Jive contract and joined Atlantic Records.

She shot to fame for hit tracks such as ‘Try Again’, ‘Are You That Somebody’, ‘One in a Million’, and ‘You are Love’.

She also starred in the 2000 film ‘Romeo Must Die’.

On August 25, 2001, 22-year-old Aaliyah died in a plane crash in the Bahamas, shortly after the plane took off. The accident killed all nine passengers onboard. It was later revealed that the flight’s pilot had traces of alcohol and cocaine in his body and was underqualified to fly the aircraft.