Robyn Crawford (born December 17, 1960) is an American author, producer, and former assistant to and

creative director A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...

for

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

. Her credits include '' The Bodyguard'' (1992), ''

Waiting to Exhale ''Waiting to Exhale'' is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Forest Whitaker (in his feature film directorial debut) and starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett. The film was adapted from the 1992 novel of the same nam ...

'' (1995), ''

The Preacher's Wife ''The Preacher's Wife'' is a 1996 American Christmas fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall and starring Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston (in her last film released during her lifetime), and Courtney B. Vance. It is a remake of ...

'' (1996), '' In Between'' (1987), and ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' (1997).

Early life

Crawford was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, but grew up as one of three siblings in

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 69,612, an increase of 5,342 (+8.3%) from the 2010 United States ...

. Crawford's mother left her father due to his abuse. Both her mother, Janet Crawford, and her brother, Marty, were diagnosed with

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

, and both died of AIDS related illness in the ’90s.

Relationship with Whitney Houston

Crawford met Whitney Houston in 1980, when Crawford was 19 and Houston was 16. She and Houston met when they were counselors at an East Orange summer camp. Crawford claims in her 2019 book ''A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston'' that she had a

same-sex relationship A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

with Houston that faded as they prioritized Houston's career. Crawford left school to aid Houston's career. They lived together. Crawford says that she was ostracised and sidelined by Houston's family and management as Houston's fame grew and her career progressed, and when Houston married

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...

. ''A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston'' became a

New York Times Best Seller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

Personal life

Crawford lives in New Jersey with her wife Lisa Hintelmann, with whom she adopted twins.

Lena Waithe Lena Waithe (; born May 17, 1984) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series '' The Chi'' (2018–present) and the BET comedy series ''Boomerang'' (2019–20) and '' Twenties'' (2020–2 ...

has cited Crawford as an early inspiration.

Filmography

In print

*''Oprah Magazine'' *''The Advocate'' *''

Essence Essence () has various meanings and uses for different thinkers and in different contexts. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property (philosophy), property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity the ...

Podcasts

Autobiography

* ''A Song for You. My Life With Whitney Houston''. Dutton. 2019. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Robyn 1960 births American women memoirists American memoirists Writers from East Orange, New Jersey American LGBTQ writers LGBTQ people from New Jersey LGBTQ memoirists Living people 21st-century African-American women