39 Things You Didn't Know About Aaliyah

1. Aaliyah married R Kelly when she was just 15-years-old.

When she was just 15-years-old rumours spread that Aaliyah had married her mentor R. Kelly, who was 27-years-old at the time. Later on documents confirmed what most already knew. According to The Chicago Sun-Times, the couple met when she was just 12 years-old! Aaliyah was the niece of his manager Barry Hankerson. However the couple got an annulment and parted ways personally and professionally not long after. Picture: PA

2. At Aaliyah's funeral 22 white doves were released to symbolise each year of Aaliyah's life.

Diane Haughton, mother of R&B star Aaliyah, releases doves in front of the St. Ignatius Loyola Church in New York following the funeral services. Picture: Getty

3. Aaliyah was paid $1.5 million for Romeo Must Die & $5 million for her role in Queen of the Damned.

Picture: PA

4. Aaliyah was originally cast as Jessica Alba's 'Honey', but passed away before filming began.

5. Aaliyah often had her left eye covered, under the advice of her mother.

Aaliyah took her mum's advice to cover her left eye when she changed her hairstyle, the idea was inspired by her favourite film star Veronica Lake. They believed it added to the mystique of Aaliyah's personality. Picture: Getty

6. Aaliyah Facts: At age nine Aaliyah competed on the TV show 'Star Search' - but lost and cried.

Host of the show Ed McMahon said "There's a thing that you see when somebody walks out on the stage, I call it the fire… And that's what I saw with Aaliyah"

7. Aaliyah had a full time body guard that attended her classes with her at school.

Picture: Getty

8. Aaliyah kept 'Rock The Boat' for 2 years before release, as her label thought it was too sexual.

9. Aaliyah was in the 1996 Tommy Hillfiger Jeans advertising campaign.

10. First movie role was in the film 'Romeo Must Die', released in 2000.

Picture: Getty

11. The video message Aaliyah sent her friend's grandparents when she asked her to miss their party.

Aaliyah's choreographer Fatima missed her grandparents 50th wedding anniversary to be on the video shoot for 'Rock The Boat' in the Bahamas. To make up for it Aaliyah sent them a recorded message where she said; "I'm sorry I had to steal your granddaughter away from you on this special day, but I needed her, and I hope you have more great years together." Little did Fatima know, it would be the last moments she spent with Aaliyah. Picture: Getty

12. When she auditioned for school at 14 she sung Ave Maria in Italian

Picture: Getty

13. Aaliyah had her mum, dad or brother on every video shoot apart from on the 'Rock The Boat.'

It was on the way back from filming the video for 'Rock The Boat' that Aaliyah's plane crashed and she tragically died. In October 2001, her brother Rashad stated: "It really boggles everyone [that] from day one, every single video she ever shot there's always been myself or my mother or my father there. You ask yourself maybe we could have stopped it. But you can't really answer the question." . Picture: Getty

14. Aaliyah was a big fan of J.K Rowling's Harry Potter books.

In an interview with Vibe that took place at a bowling alley just months before she died, Aaliyah said that after the interview she would be going home to read her Harry Potter book. Picture: PA

15. Aaliyah graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA.

Picture: Getty

16. Aaliyah was named after a Swahili word meaning "most exalted one."

17. Aaliyah spent five nights in Las Vegas when she was 11-years-old performing alongside Gladys Knight.

Aaliyah's uncle, Barry Hankerson was a manager and entertainment lawyer who was married to Gladys Knight. Picture: PA

18. When someone called Missy Elliott to tell her Aaliyah had passed, she thought they were joking.

Aaliyah's good friend Missy Elliott said after Aaliyah passed away: "It's like losing a family member. It's not like Aaliyah the superstar, the celebrity. It's like my little sister. You feel empty, you feel in shock, you feel angry. That's a feeling I can’t even really explain."

19. Aaliyah and Damon Dash once played a brilliant practical joke on their friends.

"I remember this one time when her and Damon [Dash] were dating and she played a joke on me" her hair stylist Eric Ferrell said. "They were in the other room having what we thought was a heated argument, and it got so bad. Things sounded like they were breaking, and Eric and I were looking at each other like, Should we go in there? Should we call the cops? All of a sudden I see the two of them peek around the corner and burst out laughing" Picture: PA

20. Atlantic Records wanted to remix 'One In A Million,' but Aaliyah hid the tape so they couldn't.

The record label thought the song wouldn't be a success unless it was made more radio friendly. "We grabbed the two-inch reels and all the tapes so nobody could do any unauthorized remixes and we stuck to our guns on that version of the record" said Jomo Hankerson, Aaliyah's cousin and the then manager of Blackground Records. Picture: Getty

21. Damon Dash and Aaliyah had plans to get married.

Damon Dash, Aaliyah's boyfriend at the time of her death, said after she passed; "As soon as she had time, we were getting married, like after The Matrix sequels". Aaliyah never filmed The Matrix Sequels, nor did she marry Dash. Picture: Getty

22. Aaliyah was considered for the role of Alex in 'Charlie's Angels'.

The casting directors deemed her too young and gave the part to Lucy Liu instead. Picture: PA

23. Aaliyah had a bet with Missy Elliott about who would wear a dress first as neither of them ever did.

As you can see, Aaliyah lost. Picture: Getty

24. Aaliyah was very quick at recording songs in the studio.

"I'd leave the studio for a minute and come back and she would have completed the whole song" Missy Elliot, who worked with Aaliyah more than any producer, told Vibe. "She worked really hard that way."

25. If someone was 'irking' Aaliyah, she bent the tip of her index finger to let her team know.

Aaliyah tipped her finger in her familys eyesight when she was stuck with an overzealous production assistant on the set of 'Romeo Must Die' and they couldn't stop laughing. Picture: Getty

26. Aaliyah was known for her extremely mysterious aura. She never gave anything away.

"I've always been mysterious" Aaliyah told Vibe. My mother and father always used to ask me. 'What are you thinking, what's going on?' There are times when I don't understand myself."

27. Timbaland & Missy thought they'd need to convince Aaliyah to record 'One In A Million'.

Missy Elliott and Timbaland, who at the time hadn't produced for anyone of Aaliyah's calibre, presented her with 'One In A Million' prepared to convince her it could be a hit - but as Missy recalls, she didn't need convincing. as "We didn’t have to convince her, she was like, I’m telling you, this is hot. I knew then there was a chemistry. She wasn’t close-minded. She was an artist that got it" Missy told Fader. Picture: Getty

28. Aaliyah once prank called Quincy Jones pretending to be Christina Aguilera.

Kidada Jones, Quincy's daughter, recalled joking around with her friend: "Once we pranked my dad [Quincy Jones] and she acted like she was Christina Aguilera. She was asking my dad to do something on her record and she was just singing, and he totally believed it was her." Picture: Getty

29. Aaliyah was known for her cool temperament, apparently, she never showed anger.

The story goes that when Aaliyah lost out on an award for her 'One In A Million' album, Missy Elliot (the producer) was visibly unhappy. But in her own words; "I never seen Aaliyah get mad." Apparently Aaliyah reacted by saying 'It's cool… I'm just happy to be nominated.' "I never seen her go out of character" Missy said. Picture: PA

30. Aaliyah had four tattoos.

1) The letter 'A' on the side of her wrist. 2) An Egyptian Ankh in her inner wrist 3) A music symbol on her ankle 4) A dove on her lower back, which she got as a tribute to her grandmother. Picture: PA

31. Aaliyah was the first female artist to have a posthumous number one in the UK.

Aaliyah's 'More Than A Woman' hit the chart topping spot in January 2002. Picture: PA

32. 'Try Again' topped the Billboard Hot 100 solely on airplay.

Aaliyah was the first artist in Billboard history to achieve this feat. Picture: PA

33. The week after Aaliyah's death her third studio album rose from no. 19 to no. 1 on the Billboard 200

Picture: Getty

34. It was Aaliyah's mother's idea for her to drop her surname.

Picture: Getty

35. In 1998, at age 19, Aaliyah became the youngest singer to perform at the Academy Awards.

Aaliyah at The Forum, USA, Picture: Getty

36. Aaliyah's 'Are You That Somebody' featured on the 'Dr Dolittle' soundtrack in 1998.

37. This year Lifetime will be releasing a biopic of Aaliyah called 'Aaliyah: The Princess Of R&B'.

38. Aaliyah's nicknames included 'Baby Girl' and 'Princess Of R&B'.

Picture: Getty

39. Aaliyah met her best friend Kidada Jones while they were modelling for Tommy Hilfiger.

Kidada described the moment the two girls bonded: "You know when the dogs are at the dog park and they run up to each other and their tails wag and they smell each other ? It was just easy. As soon as we met we just started talking and that was it." Picture: Getty