Singer and actress Whitney Houston has died, according to her publicist. She was 48 years old.

Beverly Hills police Lt. Mark Rosen told reporters outside the Beverly Hilton that Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. in her room on the fourth floor of the hotel.

"There were no obvious signs of any criminal intent at this time," Rosen said.

However, the cause of the singer's death is still being investigated.

Word of Houston's death comes on the night before the music industry's biggest celebration -- Sunday's Grammy Awards.

Houston was born into a family of musical talent. Her mother was legendary gospel singer Cissy Houston, and her cousin is acclaimed soul singer Dionne Warwick. She was even the goddaughter of soul legend Aretha Franklin.

Over the years, Houston amassed an incredible collection of hits, both musically and on the big screen.

Her best known song, I Will Always Love You from her film The Bodyguard shot to the top of the charts, quickly becoming the best-selling single by a female artist in music history and winning numerous awards.

In all, Houston has sold more than 170 million albums and singles, in addition to winning six Grammys and two Emmy Awards.

Many blame Houston’s 1992 marriage to New Edition singer Bobby Brown for the start of her battle with drug addiction.

“The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy,” Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview, with Brown by her side.

The pair, who were constantly the subject of tabloid headlines for their many court appearances, divorced in 2007.

Houston made two trips to rehab before declaring she was clean and sober in 2010.

She leaves behind a daughter.

In the wake of the singer's death, fans and celebrities alike took to Twitter to share their condolences and comments. The window below is a live feed tracking "Whitney Houston" on Twitter:


With files from The Associated Press.