smile and be happy

Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001), better known as Aaliyah (pronounced /əˈliːə/), was a Grammy-nominated American singer, dancer, actress, model, teen idol. Introduced to audiences by R&B/pop singer R. Kelly, Aaliyah became famous during the mid-1990s with several hit records from the songwriting/production team of Missy Elliott and Timbaland. She found success with her first album "Age Ain't Nothin But A Number", while introducing a "street but sweet" look which would become her trademark throughout her career.

Despite her short career, she sold 32 million records worldwide In addition to her commercial success, her collaborations with Timbaland helped shape the sound of R&B in the latter half of the 1990s. She also modeled for Tommy Hilfiger and starred in two motion pictures, Romeo Must Die, and Queen of the Damned, before being killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas on August 25, 2001. Since then, Aaliyah has received much commercial success with hit singles like Miss You, and I Care 4 U.\

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Death

On August 25, 2001, at 6:50 pm (EST), just after finishing filming of the music video to "Rock the Boat", Aaliyah and various members of her record company boarded a twin engine Cessna 402B (N8097W) at Marsh Harbour, Abaco Island, Bahamas to travel to Opa-locka Airport near Miami, Florida. The crew had a flight scheduled the next day, but the video wrapped early. Aaliyah and her entourage were eager to return to the US and took their heavy equipment from the shoot on the plane rather than leave it behind which resulted in the aircraft being well beyond the standard weight and balance tolerance provided by Cessna.

The plane crashed shortly after takeoff about 200 feet (70 m) from the runway. Aaliyah, pilot Luis Morales III and the seven other passengers, including her hair stylist Eric Foreman, Anthony Dodd, her security guard Scott Gallin, Douglas Kratz (a director of video production for Virgin Records), stylist Christopher Maldonado, Keith Wallace and Gina Smith (both employees of the Blackground label) were killed.

According to findings from an inquest conducted by the coroner's office in the Bahamas, Aaliyah suffered from "severe burns and a blow to the head", in addition to severe shock. The coroner theorized that, even if Aaliyah had survived the crash, her recovery would have been virtually impossible given the severity of her injuries.

Aaliyah's funeral was held on August 31, 2001 at Saint Ignatius Loyola Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan, New York City. She was interred at the Rosewood Mausoleum in Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York.