Cissy Houston dies at 91: Grammy-winning gospel singer was mother of Whitney Houston

Cissy was a founding member of R&B group The Sweet Inspirations and performed alongside some of the greatest artists in the industry, including Elvis Presley

Cissy Houston, a renowned gospel singer and the mother of pop icon Whitney Houston has died at 91. She breathed her last on Monday morning in her New Jersey home while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease, her daughter-in-law Pat Houston confirmed.

Whitney Houston's mother Cissy dies at 91

FILE - Singers Cissy Houston, left, and her daughter Whitney Houston appear at the "Keep A Child Alive Black Ball" in New York on Sept. 30, 2010. Cissy Houston, a two-time Grammy winner who performed alongside superstar musicians like Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, died Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in her New Jersey home She was 91. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File) (AP)

“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family,” Pat Houston said in a statement, according to Associated Press. She said that her mother-in-law’s contributions to popular music and culture are “unparalleled.”

The two-time Grammy winner was a founding member of the R&B group The Sweet Inspirations and performed alongside some of the greatest artists in the industry, including Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Roy Hamilton, and Dionne Warwick.

“Mother Cissy has been a strong and towering figure in our lives. A woman of deep faith and conviction, who cared greatly about family, ministry, and community. Her more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts,” Pat added.

Tributes pour in for Cissy Houston following her death

“I’m so sad about Cissy Houston’s passing. Feels like the little bit of Whitney we had left, officially left us. Hope they’re together now,” wrote a second, while a third said, “Lawd. Not Cissy Houston! But 91 years is a lived well lived. She’s at eternal rest with Whitney and Bobbi Kristina. My condolences are with the entire Houston/Warwick/Drinkard/Moss families.”