Today marks the 14th anniversary of Aaliyah‘s tragic passing.
As we mourn the loss of the talented singer and actress, we’re looking back at one of E! News’ interviews with her from 2001—a conversation that shows her as the modest, down-to-earth and grateful person she always was.
During this time, she had recently been picked to play Zee in The Matrix Reloaded—a role she never got to fulfill which was later given to Nona Gaye—and opened up about her path and the people that helped lead her to that big step in her career.
Fallen stars from 2015
“I was very blessed to meet Lorenzo di Bonaventura at Warner Brothers and become a Warner’s baby,” she gushed about the producer. “I’m very thankful to him for giving me the chance to do what I did in Romeo [Must Die] and to Joel Silver as well. They saw something in me and decided to go with me, and they’ve been supporting me ever since. I went out for Queen [of the Damned]—I worked hard to get that part, and the same for The Matrix as well—but they’ve always been there to support me, and I’m very, very thankful to them for that.”
At the time of the interview, Aaliyah hadn’t yet begun filming for her role, but she had an idea about her character.
“I don’t really know that much about it. They’re being very secretive, which I totally understand,” she explained. “I know her name is Zee. She’s a tough girl, but I can’t really go into the details, you know, it’s a top-secret type thing. So I have to wait and be patient and see.”
READ: Could there be more Aaliyah music on the way?
She also got candid about her love of shopping.
“I like to shop any and everywhere,” she revealed. “If it’s a beautiful day in New York, and I’m walking down the street and I see something cute, doesn’t matter what designer it is, doesn’t matter what store, I’ll go in there and pick it up.”
However, she had to note, “But I do like going to Barneys. I like going to Roberto Cavalli. I do like to shop,” she laughed. “My mother and I are dangerous together, absolutely dangerous!”
Meanwhile, some of Aaliyah’s closest friends also made sure to pay tribute to the late singer Tuesday. Timbaland, Janet Jackson and Missy Elliott have all shared meaningful messages on social media.
R.I.P babegirl!!!!
A photo posted by Timbo the King (@timbaland) on
Singers who died too soon
