Whitney Houston has been found dead in a hotel room in LA at the age of 48.

The star was attended to by emergency services in her room on the fourth floor of the Beverly Hilton hotel, where she was staying in order to attend a pre-Grammy party.

Attempts to save her life were unsuccessful and she was pronounced dead at 3.55pm local time on Saturday.

The cause of death is not yet known.

"She has been positively identified by friends and family that were with her at the hotel, and next of kin have already been notified," police spokesperson Mark Rosen said.

Whitney was one of the most successful female artists of all time, with a string of number one hits in the 80s and 90s, including I Will Always Love You - the biggest-selling commercial single in history. Movie success came with a starring role in The Bodyguard and Waiting To Exhale.

She was the only singer to chart seven consecutive multi-platinum albums, but her life later became marred by personal difficulties including a tempestuous relationship with Bobby Brown, which ended in divorce in 2007.

Whitney came from a background of famous singers; her mother was Cissy Houston and she was the cousin of Dee Dee Warwick and Dionne Warwick.

Her death has shocked Hollywood, which is in the midst of preparing for the annual Grammy awards tonight.

"I just can't talk about it now," Whitney's godmother Aretha Franklin said in a short statement. "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen."

Country singer Dolly Parton - who wrote I Will Always Love You - said in a statement: "Mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston."

"I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song, and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.'"

Come remember Whitney with a performance of her most famous and best-loved hit from the movie The Bodyguard, below...

Whitney Houston found dead