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

creative director A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...

for

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

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

Waiting to Exhale ''Waiting to Exhale'' is a 1995 American romance 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 name by Terry McMill ...

'' (1995), '' In Between'' (1987), and ''

The Wonderful World of Disney The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...

'' (1995).

Early life

Crawford was born in Newark, New Jersey, but grew up as one of three siblings in East Orange, New Jersey. 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 immune ...

. They 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, the pair having both been counselors at an East Orange summer camp. Crawford claims in her book ''A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston'', published in 2019, that she had a same-sex relationship with Houston that faded as they prioritized Houston's career. Crawford left school to aid Houston's career. They lived together as a couple. Crawford was ostracised and sidelined by Houston's family and management as Houston's fame grew and her career progressed, and she married

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

. Her book ''A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston'' became a New York Times Best Seller.

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–pres ...

has cited Crawford as an early inspiration.

Filmography

In print

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

Podcasts

Bibliography

* ''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 LGBT writers LGBT people from New Jersey LGBT memoirists Living people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American women