Plot
In 1983, 19-year-old Whitney Houston is coached by her demanding professional singer mother Cissy for a church choir. Her close friendship with Robyn Crawford turns romantic, leading to cohabitation and upsetting Cissy. At the Sweetwaters nightclub, Cissy spots producer Clive Davis in the audience and feigns sickness, forcing Whitney to open with "The Greatest Love of All", which becomes her big break, as he immediately signs her to Arista Records.
Whitney's first major live performance on The Merv Griffin Show with "Home" that June triggers the immense success of her self-titled debut album in 1985. She proposes Robyn be her personal assistant, but John, her overbearing father and self-appointed manager, objects and suggests dating men. After she records a love song with Jermaine Jackson, they start a sexual relationship, angering Robyn. Whitney ends her romantic relationship with her, although they remain close. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", the lead single from her 1987 sophomore album, cements her crossover success but attracts criticism for selling out and not sounding "black enough". John sets up their own production company, Nippy Inc., and continually asks Whitney to cut ties with Robyn. At the 1988 Soul Train Music Awards, Whitney faces hostility both on the red carpet and when announced as a nominee for Best Music Video. However, she meets singer Bobby Brown, and they soon become engaged.
By the early 1990s Whitney hits her peak period, performing "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in 1991 and marking her acting debut in The Bodyguard. She marries Bobby in July 1992, giving birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina the following March. While on tour to promote the film's soundtrack album, she performs "I Will Always Love You" in South Africa for newly-inaugurated President Nelson Mandela in 1994. After learning that John has withheld her financial and material assets, she returns home and finds Bobby missing. Upon Bobby's return, Whitney accuses him of spending her money on other women, ejects him from their house and consumes heavy amounts of cocaine. Inspired by their tumultuous relationship, she records the ballad "Why Does It Hurt So Bad".
In 1998, Clive pressures Whitney to release her first new studio album in eight years, although she has already released seven major singles from the soundtrack albums to her three films. She confronts John after discovering he mismanaged most of her fortune, forcing her into a $100 million contract with Arista that includes a world tour. Dealing with insomnia and stress, she asks Clive to provide potential songs. Upon finding one she likes, she releases a new studio album, igniting a potential comeback. However, the following tour proves exhausting, and her addiction resumes upon reuniting with Bobby.
Near the tour's end, Robyn implores Whitney to conclude the tour early and return home, but Bobby pushes her to continue; Robyn permanently parts ways with her after revealing John has been hospitalized. While visiting him, Whitney explains that her sister-in-law Pat is her new management. She then proceeds to disown him, even refusing to attend his funeral in 2003. Cissy discovers her in a drug-induced haze and arranges for her arrest to force her into rehab. After a 4-month program, she sobers up, reconnects with her daughter, and divorces Bobby in 2007.
Releasing a new album in 2009 to attempt a second comeback, she performs "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Despite this, her subsequent world tour underperforms when she proves unable to showcase her famed vocal range. On February 11, 2012, at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles to perform "Home" at Clive's pre-Grammy party, her bassist Rickey Minor suggests calling the performance off to rest, but she refuses. In her room, she tearfully runs a bath while preparing drugs she had secretly bought earlier, and softly sings "Home" to herself while reminiscing about Robyn and Bobbi Kristina along with her life and career. She unexpectedly perishes soon after.
A flashback to the 1994 American Music Awards portrays her receiving a standing ovation following a medley of "I Loves You, Porgy", "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", and "I Have Nothing".
