Claim: Aaliyah was born in America.

Aaliyah Dana Haughton -LRB- -LSB- ɑ : ˈliːə -RSB- January 16 , 1979 -- August 25 , 2001 -RRB- was an American singer , actress , and model . She was born in Brooklyn , New York , and raised in Detroit , Michigan . At the age of 10 , she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight . At age 12 , Aaliyah signed with Jive Records and her uncle Barry Hankerson 's Blackground Records . Hankerson introduced her to R. Kelly , who became her mentor , as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album , Age Ai n't Nothing but a Number . The album sold three million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America -LRB- RIAA -RRB- . After facing allegations of an illegal marriage with R. Kelly , Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed with Atlantic Records .   Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album , One in a Million , which sold 3 million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide . In 2000 , Aaliyah appeared in her first film , Romeo Must Die . She contributed to the film 's soundtrack , which spawned the single `` Try Again '' . The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 solely on airplay , making Aaliyah the first artist in Billboard history to achieve this goal . `` Try Again '' earned Aaliyah a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist . After completing Romeo Must Die , Aaliyah filmed her role in Queen of the Damned . She released her third and final album , Aaliyah , in July 2001 .   On August 25 , 2001 , Aaliyah and eight others were killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas after filming the music video for the single `` Rock the Boat '' . The pilot , Luis Morales III , was unlicensed at the time of the accident and toxicology tests revealed that he had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system . Aaliyah 's family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackhawk International Airways , which was settled out of court . Aaliyah 's music has continued to achieve commercial success with several posthumous releases . Aaliyah has sold an estimated 24 to 32 million albums worldwide . She has been credited for helping redefine contemporary R&B , pop and hip hop , earning her the nicknames `` Princess of R&B '' and `` Queen of Urban Pop '' . She is listed by Billboard as the tenth most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years and 27th most successful R&B artist in history .