LOS ANGELES - Grammy-winning pop legend and actress Whitney Houston who dominated the U.S. music scene in the 1980s and '90s was found dead Saturday in a Beverly Hills hotel, police said. She was 48.

"At 3:55 p.m., Whitney Houston was pronounced dead at the Beverly Hilton hotel," said Mark Rosen, a police spokesman.

Rosen said police received an emergency call from someone in her entourage and found Houston on the floor of her room on the hotel's fourth floor as attempts were being made to resuscitate her.

"There were no obvious signs of criminal intent at this time, and it is being investigated by the Beverly Hills police department," the police spokesman added.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

Condolences poured in on Twitter from shocked fans and from the famous, as sadness over the news spread through the entertainment world.

"She was a legend. These people don't come around often," British television host and producer Simon Cowell, of American Idol and Britain's Got Talent fame, told CNN television. "No one could sell a song like Whitney."

She was a trailblazer who proved that a female artist could dominate the pop market, Cowell said.

With a ferociously powerful voice and a dazzling range, Houston achieved stardom as a pop-soul singer known as the Voice and the Queen of Pop. She also appeared in hit movies like Waiting to Exhale and The Bodyguard.

From a musical family that included mother Cissy Houston, a gospel star, and Dionne Warwick, her cousin, Whitney Houston started out as a teen model and then made a dazzling segue to music.

Her hits included How Will I Know, Saving all My Love for You, and I Will Always Love You.

Houston's trove of six Grammy awards included one for record of the year — for a soaring cover of Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You, and another for album of the year for The Bodyguard.

Houston, who grew up in New Jersey, was also a supporter of the anti-apartheid movement and South Africa's Nelson Mandela, on whose behalf she campaigned during his imprisonment.

As a performer, Houston earned a reputation as a regal diva, but not without merit.

"She was entitled to be a diva .. when you've got that much talent," star-spotter Cowell added.

She also was a trailblazing African-American beauty, a teen model who became the first black cover girl on Seventeen magazine.

Houston sold more than 170 million records worldwide but suffered a major career setback after admitting drug use during an abusive relationship with ex-husband Bobby Brown.

And while her fans kept waiting for more recovery and a bigger comeback, Houston broke some hearts with her passing.

"I am absolutely devastated by this news. I'm so sad for her," said Cowell, known for his normally rough edges.

"She was undoubtedly one of the greatest superstars of all time. One of the greatest voices, you know, in our lifetime we're likely to ever hear," Cowell said. "And to hear this news, it's really, really upset me."

P-Noy, affected!

MALACAÑANG yesterday aired sadness over the passing away of legendary international pop icon and multi-Grammy award-winner Whitney Houston.  

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