Aaliyah (48)

Aaliyah
1979-2001
R&B princess
Cause of Death: Plane crash

One in a Million: Talked-up as her generation's answer to Diana Ross before her death, Aaliyah has since achieved a kind of sainthood, destined to be remembered for her "Beautiful smile, long hair and the voice of a hummingbird," as Missy Elliott put it on her 2002 tribute, "Can You Hear Me."
The Final Cut: Unlike those made legends by their demise, Aaliyah remains a superstar-in-waiting. Despite her string of Timbaland-produced hits, only her final album, Aaliyah, topped the charts, and there was always a feeling she was about to step up another level. Hollywood, for one, was calling--she was the best thing in Queen of the Damned and had three movies in production when the plane she was traveling in crashed just after takeoff.
Peer Plaudits: Her family, who settled a negligence suit with the aircraft's operators out of court, established the Aaliyah Memorial Fund and announced that a portion of the profits from her music would be donated to charities. Posthumous compilation I Care 4 U went platinum, but there's little unreleased material left for future releases--and her planned collaboration with Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor will sadly remain forever unrealized.