As the young vocalist came of age, Aaliyah’s sultry voice and ethereal beauty began to nab her movie roles, including parts in the 2000 action flick Romeo Must Die (Jet Li, DMX) and 2001 thriller Queen of the Damned. The young singer/actress’s life was cut tragically short, however, when she perished in a plane crash just off of the coast of the Bahamas in 2001, right after wrapping filming for the music video of Rock The Boat. Her untimely death shocked the music industry, and she is still widely praised by contemporaries in the music scene- most notably friends Mary J. Blige and Missy Elliott - to this day.

From Discogs:

Born 16 January 1979, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.Died 25 August 2001, in a plane crash.Aaliyah Dana Haughton was an American recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At an early age, she appeared on Star Search and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At age 12, Aaliyah was signed to Jive Records and Blackground Records by her uncle, Barry Hankerson. He introduced her to R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album. Age Ain't Nothing But a Number sold two million copies in the United States and was certified double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After facing allegations of an illegal marriage with Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed to Atlantic Records. Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One in a Million, which sold two million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah appeared in her first major film, Romeo Must Die. She also contributed to the film's soundtrack, where "Try Again" was released as a single. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 solely on radio airplay, making Aaliyah the first artist in Billboard history to achieve this feat. "Try Again" earned Aaliyah a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist. After filming Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah filmed her part in Queen of the Damned. She released her third and final album, Aaliyah, in 2001. On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and eight others were killed in an airplane crash in The Bahamas after filming the music video for the single "Rock the Boat". The pilot, Luis Morales III, was unlicensed at the time of the accident and had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system. Aaliyah's family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackhawk International Airways, which was settled out of court. Since then, Aaliyah has achieved commercial success with several posthumous releases. Selling over 24 million albums worldwide, she has been credited for helping redefine R&B and hip hop and has been named the "Queen of Urban Pop".

From Lastfm:

Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 - August 25, 2001) was an American R&B singer, dancer, fashion model and actress. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she was raised in Detroit, Michigan, where she attended Detroit School of Performing Arts. The 22 year old singer's life was tragically cut short in a 2001 plane crash after filming her video for "Rock The Boat" in The Bahamas.

Introduced to audiences by R&B singer R. Kelly, Aaliyah became famous in her own right during the mid-1990s with several hit records from the songwriting/production team of Missy Elliott and Timbaland, and their associate Steve "Static" Garrett. Notable for recording several hit records, Aaliyah has sold over 32 million records worldwide. She also modeled for Tommy Hilfiger and starred in two motion pictures (Romeo Must Die & Queen of The Damned) before her untimely death.

http://www.aaliyah.com

http://myspace.com/aaliyah

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From Wikipedia:

Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 ? August 25, 2001), who performed under the mononym Aaliyah (pronounced /??li??/), was an American recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At an early age, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At age 12, Aaliyah signed with Jive Records and Blackground Records by her uncle, Barry Hankerson. He introduced her to R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. The album sold three million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After facing allegations of an illegal marriage with Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed to Atlantic Records.

Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One in a Million; it sold three million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah appeared in her first major film, Romeo Must Die. She contributed to the film's soundtrack, which spawned the single "Try Again". The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 solely on airplay, making Aaliyah the first artist in Billboard history to achieve this feat. "Try Again" earned Aaliyah a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist.

After completing Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah filmed her part in Queen of the Damned. She released her third and final album, Aaliyah, in 2001. On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and eight others were killed in an airplane crash in The Bahamas after filming the music video for the single "Rock the Boat". The pilot, Luis Morales III, was unlicensed at the time of the accident and had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system. Aaliyah's family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackhawk International Airways, which was settled out of court. Since then, Aaliyah's music has achieved commercial success with several posthumous releases. With album sales estimated to be between 24 to 32 million copies worldwide, Aaliyah has been credited for helping redefine R&B and hip hop, earning her the nickname "Princess of R&B".