Aaliyah as Queen Akasha
"Queen of the Damned," based on Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, stars Stuart Townsend as Lestat, in the role played last time by Tom Cruise. The world got to be too much for him, Lestat explains, and so he withdrew from it and went to sleep 200 years ago. But then "the world didn't sound like the place I had left--but something different, better." Cut to a montage of musical groups, and Lestat pushes back the stone lid of his crypt and materializes during a rehearsal of a rock band. When they ask who he is, he smiles and casts centuries of tradition to the winds: "I am ... the Vampire Lestat!" Soon he's a rock god, the lead singer of a goth band. Other characters emerge. We meet Jesse (Marguerite Moreau), researcher for a London vampire study institute. She likes to play with danger, and even cruises a vampire bar Lestat told her about. We meet the fey Marius (Vincent Perez), the older vampire who turned Lestat on, or out. And Maharet (Lena Olin), who is supposed to be a good vampire, or at least one who wishes the others would follow the rules. Along the way we are given vampire feeding lessons: "You must never take the last drop, or it will draw you in, and you die." Most noticeably we meet Queen Akasha, she appears first as a statue in a phantasmagorical Egyptian crypt-like shrine, where Lestat plays his violin so fiercely that parts of her stone body seem to glow back into life. She "drank the world dry when she ruled Egypt," Marius tells Lestat. Soon Akasha is alive all over, and is making plans about she and Lestat will rule the world.
Biography for Aaliyah
Birth name
Aaliyah Dana Haughton
16 January 1979
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Date of death
25 August 2001
Marsh Harbour, Abaco Island, Bahamas.
Talented. Beautiful. Modest. These three words described R&B singer-turned-actress Aaliyah perfectly. Born in Brooklyn, New York but raised in Detroit, Aaliyah got her first major exposure appearing on the syndicated television series "Star Search," where she awed the audience with her amazing voice and talent. Withdrawing from the celebrity scene for a few years, Aaliyah lived the life of a normal teenage girl, attending Detroit's Performing Arts High School where she majored in dance. It was around this same time that Aaliyah met singer/composer R. Kelly. Kelly assisted Aaliyah with the production of her debut album "Age Ain't Nothing But A number" which scored several number hits, specifically "Back and Forth." The album's title was a brief reference to her short-lived marriage to R. Kelly (she was 15 years of age at the time, and he was in his 20s). Thir marriage was annulled due to her status as a minor. During her senior year, Aaliyah went on to record "One In A Million" which featured the songwriting talents of major R&B producers/writers Missy Elliot and Timbaland. That album was a major success and sealed Aaliyah's fame forever. After seeing her at an awards show and in the video for her hit song "Are You that Somebody?" (from the Eddie Murphy film Dr. Dolitte (1998)), film producer Joel Silver (producer of Matrix, The (1999) and other major actor films) asked Aaliyah to audition for a role in an upcoming romance/action film called Romeo Must Die (2000). With her determination and sex appeal, Aaliyah won Silver over and was cast in her first major film role. "Romeo Must Die" was a hit at the box office. This film led to her being cast as one of the stars of the film based on Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned, The (2002) and in the two sequels to the major box office hit, the Matrix. During the busy schedule of her film career, Aaliyah took time to record her third album, the self-titled "Aaliyah". July 2001 was a busy time for Aaliyah. After the sucess of her song "Try Again" for which she was nominated for a Grammy Award and won several MTV Video Awards, Aaliyah finally released her "Aaliyah" album. Debuting at number two on the Billboard charts, "Aaliyah" was a sales success despite many lack-lustre reviews it received. In August 2001, Aaliyah took time off from her busy album promotional tour to fly to the Bahamas to film a video for the song "Rock the Boat". The video, filmed on Abaco Island, was directed by Hype Williams, a major music video director known for his style and wit. On August 25, 2001, after filming the video, Aaliyah and about 9-11 of her entourage took off from Marsh Harbour airport at 6:50pm EDT in a small Cessna 404 en route to Opa-Locka, Florida. A few minutes after take-off, the plane crashed about 200 feet from the runaway killing Aaliyah and many others instantly. Four passnegers were pulled alive from the wreckage, and one later died at a hospital in Nassau. Aaliyah was only 22 years old. Truly missed by her family, friends, and fans, her music and film contributions will live forever. Aaliyah's funeral was held on Friday August 31st in New York, and 22 white doves were flown to celebrate each year of her life. Soon after her death, the hit singles 'More Than a woman' and 'Rock The Boat' were released from her third album. In 2002, the film 'Queen Of The Damned' by Anne Rice was released in which Aaliyah played the lead, Queen Akasha. She was nominated for best Villain at the MTV movie awards 2002. Looking back at her biography, its no wonder her name means 'Highest, most exhalted one; the best', she had achieved so much in her short life of 22 years.
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Trivia
Auditioned for the Elton John Broadway Show AIDA.
Auditioned for a role on the television sitcom "Family Matters" (1989).
(1999) Chosen as one of Teen People Magazine's "21 Hottest Stars Under 21."
Aaliyah is Arabic for "highest, most exalted one"
3 tattoos: her initial and a star on her hand, a music symbol on her ankle and a dove on her lower back.
(2000) Voted First Place by the readers of Black Men Magazine for "The 10 Sexiest Women of the Year."
Performed with Gladys Knight at age eleven in Las Vegas.
(July 17, 2001) Aaliyah's self-titled long awaited third album is released.
Got her dove tattoo as a tribute to her grandmother.
Graduated from the Detroit High School of the Performing Arts with a 4.0 GPA.
Her uncle, Barry Hankerson, was formerly married to singer Gladys Knight.
Got her big break on the television show "Star Search."
She got her middle name 'Dani' from her grandmother.
In January 2002 Aaliyah reached No.1 in the UK with her single "More Than A Woman". She was knocked off the top spot a week later by another deceased artist - George Harrison.
Aaliyah had a close friendship with producer/musical artist Missy Elliot.
Aaliyah's mother Diane was once a promising solo singer but gave it up to raise her children Aaliyah and Rashad.
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Personal quotes
"It is dark in my favorite dream. Someone is following me. I don't know why. I'm scared. Then suddenly I lift off. Far away. How do I feel? As if I am swimming in the air. Free. Weightless. Nobody can reach me. Nobody can touch me. It's a wonderful feeling." (interview in July 2001 with Germany's "Die Zeit" newspaper that eerily predicts Aaliyah's death)
"I want people to remember me as a full on entertainer and a good person." -From MTV Diary: Aaliyah
"Everything is worth it. The hard work, the times when you're tired, the times where you're a bit sad... In the end, it's all worth it because it really makes me happy. There's nothing better than loving what you do."
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Links:
Queen of the Damned, The (2002) .... Queen Akasha
MTV Icon: Janet Jackson (2001) (TV) .... Herself
2000 MTV Movie Awards (2000) (TV) .... Presenter
Making of 'Romeo Must Die', The (2000) (V) .... Herself/Trish O'Day
MTV Video Music Awards 2000 (2000) (TV) .... Herself
Romeo Must Die (2000) .... Trish O'Day
