It's been nearly 17 years since the world lost Aaliyah [1] at the age of 22 in a plane crash that claimed the lives of all nine people on board. While Aaliyah [2] may be gone, her music, films, and iconic fashion statements have continued to inspire her fans to this day. Aaliyah's talent, beauty, and style were one in a million, even inspiring an upcoming makeup collection from MAC [3]. Though her time was cut short just as her star was on the rise, these facts about her life and career are just a few of the reasons she will never be forgotten.
- 01/16/1979: Her date of birth. [4]
- 1: The number of tattoos Drake [5] has of her. There's an image of her face on his back.
- 2: The number of MTV Video Music Awards [6] she won in 2000 for "Try Again," beating out Toni Braxton, Britney Spears [7], Macy Gray, and Christina Aguilera [8] for best female video.
- 2: The number of Harry Potter books [9] she read. She told MTV she was "obsessed" with the series.
- 2: The number of movies she starred in: Romeo Must Die and Queen of the Damned.
- 2: The number of years between Aaliyah [10] and her older brother, Rashad. Aaliyah [11] and Rashad were extremely close and she even brought him onstage when she accepted her VMA.
- 3: The number of nicknames [12] she got from friends and family: Baby Girl, Li-Li, and La-La.
- 4: The number of known [13] tattoos she had.
- 4.0: Her GPA [14] when she from graduated Detroit High School for the Performing Arts.
- 5: How old she was when her family moved [15] from her birthplace, Brooklyn, to Detroit.
- 5: The number of Grammy [16] nominations she received.
- 10: Her age when she performed "My Funny Valentine" [17] on Star Search.
- 11: Her age when she opened up for her aunt, the legendary Gladys Knight [18], in Las Vegas.
- 12: Her age when she signed her first record deal [19] with Blackground Music.
- 14: Her age when she released her first album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number [20].
- 22: The number of white doves released at her funeral [21] to symbolize her 22 years of life.
- 70: She performed "Journey to the Past," off the Anastasia soundtrack at the 70th Annual Academy Awards [22] in 1998.
- 1985: The year her favorite Sade song, [23] "Is It a Crime," was released.
- 1991: The year her favorite movie [24], The Silence of the Lambs, was released.
- 1996: The year her iconic Tommy Hilfiger campaign [25] debuted.
- 2000: The year she got her first and only No. 1 song [26] with "Try Again."
- $91,036,760: Worldwide box office [27] for her first film, Romeo Must Die.