1979
Born to a musical family (her mother was gospel singer Cissy Houston, pictured here with her daughter in 1983; Aretha Franklin was Whitney's godmother, and Dionne Warwick a cousin), she sings backup at age 15 for her mother on Chaka Kahn's hit ''I'm Every Woman.'' Some 13 years later, Whitney would make her own version of the song a chart hit once again.