Whitney Houston's Waiting to Exhale Costars: She Was "Unparalleled"

USMagazine, Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 2:21pm (PST)

Whitney Houston shared a special bond with Angela Bassett and Loretta Devine, two of her costars in the 1995 smash Waiting to Exhale.

As news of Houston's February 11 death spread, the star's family, friends and fans began to share their fondest memories of the six-time Grammy Award winner and two-time Emmy Award winner.

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"I am so thankful to have been enveloped by the warmth of Whitney's great talents. They were undeniable and vast," Bassett, 53, tells MTV News in a statement. "Whatever her burdens, she has at last laid them down and picked up instead a crown. For truly, she was and will ever be for us -- who were so captivated by her strengths -- unparalleled."

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Devine, 62, worked with Houston on Waiting To Exhale, The Preacher's Wife and TV's Boston Public.

"I am overwhelmed. I cannot wrap my mind around this. . . When we spoke last she had just finished Sparkle and she told me how excited she was to start production on Waiting to Exhale 2 with Angela, Lela [Rochon] and myself," Devine said. "My prayers go out to her family and I am so honored for the time I spent working with her . . .I love you, Whitney, and I will miss your easy laugh."

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Houston will be laid to rest in a private, invitation-only funeral at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, Saturday.

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