It’s been decades since Aaliyah died in a tragic plane crash, and many want to know what her parents are doing now to remember their child.
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop, and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the “Princess of R&B” and “Queen of Urban Pop”.
She was born on January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York, United States but sadly passed away on August 25, 2001.
The late singer was killed in an airplane accident in the Bahamas at the age of 22 along with eight other passengers when the overloaded aircraft she was traveling in crashed shortly after takeoff.
Decades have passed since singer Aaliyah’s tragic death at a young age. Fans are looking back on the legacy she left behind and uncovering new details about her life that they didn’t know before. One of the facets of Aaliyah’s life that many fans are interested in now is her relationship with her parents and where her parents are now that she’s been gone for so many years.
Who are Aaliyah’s parents?
Aaliyah was born Aaliyah Dana Houghton in 1979 in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents were Diane Houghton and Michael “Miguel” Houghton. She had an older brother named Rashad whom she was close to throughout her life. Michael worked in the warehouse business, and Diane was a vocalist and stay-at-home mom. She was apparently supportive of Aaliyah’s career choice from the beginning.
SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES
Where are Aaliyah’s parents now?
Many fans are wondering what Aaliyah’s family has been up to in the years since she died. Unfortunately, Michael died from cancer in 2012, 11 years after his daughter. Diane is still alive, and she’s even weighed in on coverage of her daughter, especially as it relates to the many allegations that have been made against R. Kelly, who was instrumental in the early part of Aaliyah’s career and may also have had a sexual relationship with her when she was underage.
Around the time that Surviving R. Kelly, a documentary that publicized a variety of horrifying accusations against the singer, was airing, Diane issued a response to Jovante Cunningham, one of R. Kelly’s backup singers who claimed to have seen the singer having sex with Aaliyah while she was underage. In response, Diane said that isn’t possible because she and Michael were always with their daughter on tour.
“The woman and so-called backup singer in the forthcoming Surviving… documentary that describes seeing, meeting, or ever breathing the same air as my daughter, Aaliyah, is lying and a liar,” Diane’s statement read. “My husband and I were always on tour with her and at interviews and every place she went throughout her entire career.”
“Whoever this woman is, I have never seen her before anywhere on planet Earth, until now,” the statement continued. “These lies and fabrications cannot be tolerated and allowed to be spewed from the forked tongues of saboteurs of Aaliyah’s legacy.”
For years, rumors have circulated that there was an inappropriate relationship between R. Kelly and Aaliyah, and some have even claimed that the two were married.
R. Kelly has insisted instead that the two were “best friends” and repeatedly denied the allegation that they were ever married.
Aaliyah has a legacy that should exist entirely separate from the allegations involving R. Kelly. Unfortunately, the rest of her career is often ignored in part because of her complex, possibly abusive relationship with R. Kelly. Clearly, it seems that her mother would rather focus on other parts of her legacy.
Source: Getty Images
Where is Aaliyah’s brother and only sibling?
Rashad (real name: Rashad Hasan Haughton) is the brother of singer Aaliyah. Born on August 6, 1977, he was 2 years older than the late singer. They share the same mother and father and were born in the same place. Rashad is an Arabic name meaning “good judgement”.
Rashad was featured in the music video for Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number and most notably known for his role as Kunta Kinte in the 1976 slavery miniseries, “Roots”. He and his mother along with the rest of Aaliyah’s family were adamant in not supporting the television film made in 2014, Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B.
In 1984, Rashad’s family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he was enrolled in Gesu Elementary, A private Catholic school, where he received his education from 2nd to 8th grade, from this he attended Aquinas High School from September 1991 to June 1995, when he graduated. In September, Rashad began attending Hofstra University in Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, where he graduated in the class of 2000.
When Aaliyah died in 2001, Rashad was only 24 and had celebrated his birthday mere weeks before, Rashad was in Australia at the time, his mother, Diane, was in recovery from laser eye surgery and Michael was taking care of his wife.
Rashad is now 46 years old, and per his profile on Fandom, is not married and has no children. He currently lives in Japan. There isn’t a lot of information on what Rashad is doing now, career-wise.