Have you subscribed to theGrio’s “Dear Culture” podcast? Download our newest episodes now! To this day, her family, with the exception of her uncle and former record label owner Barry Hankerson, denies there was ever a relationship between Kelly and the late R&B singer. He says he could not tell how old Aaliyah was at the time of the wedding because her hair was covering her face.Īaliyah’s parents had the marriage annulled in 1996. He also claimed he was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement, but refused. Norman Edmond, the minister who officiated the illegal ceremony also testified, saying he did so as a favor to a mutual friend but was unaware of who Aaliyah and R. The ID listed Aaliyah’s age as 18, though a birthdate was missing. Smith admitted to helping orchestrate the illegal union by bribing an Illinois government employee $500 for a fake ID. Kelly’s former road manager Demetrius Smith testified that Kelly married Aaliyah to avoid jail time because he believed Aaliyah was pregnant with his baby, theGrio previously reported. At the time, Aaliyah was 15-years-old and Kelly was 27. Kelly and Aaliyah were illegally married in August 1994. “Whoever this woman is, I have never seen her before anywhere on planet earth, until now.” “My husband and I were always on tour with and at interviews and every place she went throughout her entire career,” the statement read in part. It’s assumed that Cunningham is the witness known as “Angela” who testified, but there’s no official confirmation.Īfter the docuseries aired, Aaliyah’s mother released a statement refuting Cunningham’s claims. Kelly, Kelly’s former backup singer/dancer Jovante Cunningham told producers that she walked in on Kelly and Aaliyah on the back of a tour bus. During the Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. This isn’t the first time someone who worked in Kelly’s camp during that time claimed they walked in on Kelly and Aaliyah. Per her testimony, Kelly’s sexual relationship with Aaliyah began when Aaliyah was just 13-years-old. Aaliyah was underaged at the time of the alleged incident.Īdditionally, Angela says she too began a sexual relationship with Kelly when she was just 14-years-old. I Did It Again” video and Christina Aguilera’s “What a Girl Wants” to win best female video at the MTV video awards in 2000, another sign she was poised for super stardom.According to Angela, Kelly’s head was between Aaliyah’s legs while he was on his knees. She had roles in the movies “Romeo Must Die” and “Queen of the Damned” and was set to act in the “Matrix” sequels before she died.Īaliyah’s “Try Again” beat out Britney Spears’ ““Oops!. Her signature style of a crop top or bandeau top paired with baggy jeans, with long hair partially covering her left eye, is emblematic of her “sweet but street” style and still emulated today.
Meanwhile, she was making her mark in the fashion and movie industries. She teamed with then-unknowns Timbaland and Missy Elliot for her second record “One in a Million,” which has sold 8 million copies worldwide. The scandal led to Aaliyah becoming extremely private in ensuing years, but she kept recording hit records. She was portrayed as a teen seductress rather than one of the first of R.
Kelly, who is currently on trial for sex trafficking charges stemming more than two decades. Her parents discovered this and quickly annulled the marriage.īut the scandal tarnished Aaliyah’s reputation more than R. Kelly and the two were secretly married when Aaliyah was just 15. Kelly to make her first record “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number.” She became involved with R. With a silky smooth voice, Aaliyah Haughton was signed for a record deal with her uncle in Detroit when she was just 12. But 20 years after her death, a sense of Aaliyah’s personality still remains elusive. The book traces Aaliyah’s musical development and collaboration with many different R&B producers and artists, her burgeoning film career, and indelible imprint on fashion. “Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah,” by veteran music journalist Kathy Iandoli, aims to fill in the story between those two events, for Aaliyah fans new and old. Kelly as a teen, and the tragic plane crash that ended her life at age 22, just days before 9/11. R&B singer Aaliyah is best known for two events that bookended her career: becoming involved with infamous singer R. “Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah,” by Kathy Iandoli (Atria Books)