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60 free Whitney Houston trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
51 free Whitney Houston trivia questions with answers. Whitney Houston sold more than 220 million records, put seven consecutive singles at number one and turned a Dolly Parton song into the best-selling single ever by a woman. This quiz covers her whole story: the Newark church choir and her mother Cissy, the Seventeen cover, the night Clive Davis saw her at Sweetwaters, the debut album that spent 14 weeks at number one, the MTV breakthrough, the Super Bowl XXV anthem, The Bodyguard and its soundtrack, the Waiting to Exhale and Preacher's Wife years, Cinderella, The Princess Diaries, the $100 million Arista deal, the marriage to Bobby Brown, the 'crack is whack' interview, the comeback with I Look to You, and the Beverly Hilton in February 2012. Easy questions cover the hits and films everyone knows. Medium ones ask about chart records, awards and collaborators. Hard ones want the name of her production company, the song she sang at her first solo church performance, the airport where the marijuana was found, and which cousin sang opera. Every answer has been checked against a reference biography, and each question shows its explanation and citation once you have answered.
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Q 01In which New Jersey city was Whitney Houston born in 1963?
Newark
She was born at Presbyterian Hospital, joined the choir at New Hope Baptist Church at five, and her 2012 memorial service was held in that same church.
Q 02Whitney's mother, a Grammy-winning gospel and soul singer who founded The Sweet Inspirations, was who?
Cissy Houston
Cissy trained her daughter to sing through her teens and turned down early record deals until Whitney finished high school.
Q 03Which of these famous singers was Houston's cousin?
Dionne Warwick
Dee Dee Warwick and opera star Leontyne Price were cousins too, Aretha Franklin was an 'honorary aunt' and Darlene Love her godmother.
Q 04What nickname did Houston's father give her, later the name of her management company?
Nippy
Nippy Inc. was formed in late 1986 and run out of her Fort Lee apartment, with her father John presiding.
Q 05According to her mother, Houston was named after which actress?
Whitney Blake
Blake was best known for the sitcom Hazel; Houston's own daughter would later be named for her husband.
Q 06Houston made her solo singing debut in church at age 12 with which hymn?
Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah
It was November 1975 at New Hope Baptist; around the same time she told her mother she wanted a music career.
Q 07As a teen model in 1981, Houston became one of the first Black women on the cover of which magazine?
Seventeen
She was spotted at Carnegie Hall, signed with Click Models and then Wilhelmina, and also appeared in Glamour and Cosmopolitan spreads.
Q 08Which record executive signed Houston to Arista in April 1983 after seeing her at Sweetwaters?
Clive Davis
A&R man Gerry Griffith had seen her at Seventh Avenue South the night before and talked his boss into coming; she signed with her parents present.
Q 09Houston's first hit, the 1984 duet 'Hold Me', paired her with which soul singer?
Teddy Pendergrass
It reached the top ten of the R&B and adult contemporary charts and later landed on her debut album alongside two Jermaine Jackson duets.
Q 10Houston's self-titled debut album was released on which holiday in 1985?
Valentine's Day
It entered the Billboard 200 at number 166 and took more than a year to hit number one, where it stayed 14 weeks.
Q 11Which advice columnist put Houston's first single 'You Give Good Love' on a list of 'trashy' rock songs?
Ann Landers
Houston fired back in the Chicago Tribune; the song still peaked at number three and the next three singles all went to number one.
Q 12Houston's first Grammy came for which song, in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category?
Saving All My Love for You
Her performance of it at the ceremony also won her an Emmy; she was ruled ineligible for Best New Artist because of earlier recordings.
Q 13Which video made Houston the first Black female artist to get heavy rotation on MTV?
How Will I Know
Q 21Who played the title role opposite Houston in her 1992 film debut, The Bodyguard?
Kevin Costner
The film grossed over $410 million worldwide despite mixed reviews and a row over her face being left off the posters.
Q 22'I Will Always Love You' was written and originally recorded by which country star?
Dolly Parton
Houston's version spent a then-record 14 weeks at number one, sold 24 million copies worldwide and won Record of the Year.
Q 23How many weeks did the Bodyguard soundtrack spend at number one on the Billboard 200?
20
It was the first album by a woman to manage 20 weeks and the first album ever to sell over a million copies in a single week under SoundScan.
MTV had rejected 'You Give Good Love' as too R&B; the clip won her the 1986 VMA for Best Female Video.
Q 14In 1987 Houston's album Whitney made her the first woman ever to do what?
Debut at number one on the Billboard 200
Whitney also topped the US and UK charts simultaneously and reached number one in every country it charted.
Q 15How many consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number ones did Houston score, a record that still stands?
Seven
'Where Do Broken Hearts Go' completed the run in April 1988, beating the six held by the Beatles and the Bee Gees.
Q 16'One Moment in Time', a UK number one for Houston, was recorded as a theme for which event?
The 1988 Seoul Olympics
It won her a Sports Emmy and was a top five hit in the US.
Q 17Houston performed at a 1988 Wembley tribute concert marking the 70th birthday of which imprisoned activist?
Nelson Mandela
She had refused to work in South Africa under apartheid; six years later she played three concerts there for the newly elected president.
Q 18Which production duo gave Houston's third album, I'm Your Baby Tonight, its more urban sound?
L.A. Reid and Babyface
The title track gave the pair their first pop number one; it was also the first album on which Houston was executive producer.
Q 19Houston sang her celebrated 'Star-Spangled Banner' at which Super Bowl, in January 1991?
XXV
The vocals were pre-recorded, and a spokesman insisted 'This is not a Milli Vanilli thing'; the single hit the top 20 and returned to number 6 after 9/11.
Q 20Houston donated her proceeds from the national anthem single to which organisation?
The American Red Cross
She was named to the Red Cross Board of Governors and staged the Welcome Home Heroes concert for Gulf War troops at Naval Station Norfolk.
Q 24Houston's Grammy for The Bodyguard made her the first Black woman to win Album of the Year in what dual role?
As artist and producer
She had recorded six tracks for the soundtrack and produced two of them herself.
Q 25Houston is tied with Michael Jackson for most American Music Awards in one night. How many?
Eight
The 1994 haul came on top of eleven Billboard Music Awards for the Bodyguard soundtrack, itself a Guinness record at the time.
Q 26In the 1995 film Waiting to Exhale, Houston played a TV producer named what?
Savannah Jackson
Her single 'Exhale (Shoop Shoop)' became only the third song ever to debut at number one on the Hot 100.
Q 27Houston's 1996 Christmas comedy with Denzel Washington updated which 1948 movie?
The Bishop's Wife
She earned $10 million, then the most for a Black actress, and its soundtrack is the best-selling gospel album ever.
Q 28In the 1997 TV film Cinderella, which she also co-produced, Houston played which role?
The Fairy Godmother
Brandy took the title role; the multi-racial cast drew about 60 million viewers and gave ABC its best ratings in 16 years.
Q 29Houston's film production company, formed in 1996 with Debra Martin Chase, was called what?
BrownHouse Productions
Its aim was to bring untold aspects of African-American life to the screen; its first project was Cinderella.
Q 30'When You Believe', Houston's Oscar-winning duet from The Prince of Egypt, paired her with whom?
Mariah Carey
It led off My Love Is Your Love, her first studio album in eight years, which also featured Wyclef Jean and Missy Elliott.