Image Credit: Alicia Gbur
Nobody wants to join the list of actors whose last movies were released after they died — but you’ve got to admit that the company is good. And as of today, that unfortunate club has another illustrious member: Whitney Houston, star of the Jordin Sparks vehicle Sparkle. (Not to be confused with Marian Carey’s Glitter, though both are lustrous tales of up-and-coming singers.)
EW’s Owen Gleiberman wasn’t a huge fan of Sparkle; he gave the film a B- in EW this week, calling it “an overheated mediocrity.” He does, however, praise Houston, applauding her “gravelly conviction” in his review. “This could have been the first step not merely in a comeback but in a major re-invention,” he continues. “She had the instincts of a superb character actress.”
So Whitney’s last movie isn’t exactly Oscar material — but could she still enter the pantheon of stars who gave especially memorable posthumous performances? Let’s take a look at some of her competition:
