Hat's on! But everything else is off...

While the last images of Whitney Houston alive depicted a troubled and worse for wear star, photographs uncovered from the days before her fame tell a very different story.

She may be remembered for her beautiful singing voice, but Houston, who died on February 11 aged 48, in fact began her career as a model.

Images of the star modelling for Seventeen Magazine in 1981 show a fresh-faced and hopeful young girl who had her whole life ahead of her.

Pretty in pink: Photos of Whitney Houston modelling for Seventeen magazine before she was famous have been uncovered

The beautiful youngster, who was 18 at the time, can be seen smiling as she looks out to sea in a fuchsia swimsuit, while another photograph shows her running along the edge of the water in a pink and white striped romper suit.

Two of the shots show her sporting a red one-piece along with a snorkelling mask as she carries flippers before heading out into the surf with her fellow models.

Another image sees the angelic-faced teen sat on the edge of a sunbed while wearing a red dress as she throws her head back in laughter.

Fresh-faced: Whitney graced the cover of Seventeen magazine two years before signing a record deal

Professional: A fashion editor who worked with Whitney in her teen modelling days has spoken out about her experience of the star

And fashion editor Diane Forden who worked with the superstar during her modelling days, has spoken out to tell of how Houston was just as sweet in person as she appears in the beach shots.

Forden wrote on the website BridalGuide.com: ‘I had the pleasure of working with Whitney during her high school years when she was a teen model.

‘She was a delightful, sweet, wonderful person, and all of us who worked with her loved her. She was truly beautiful inside and out.’

The fashion editor also took to the website to tell of how professional Houston was, despite her young years.

She wrote: ‘Anytime we were booking models for a photo shoot, we would always say, “Let’s book Whitney,” “See if Whitney is available,” “Whitney would be great for this story.”

‘She was never a diva and she was always professional. She showed up on time and made our jobs easier by doing her best in front of the camera. She never complained if days ran long and cheerfully did whatever was expected.’

Two years after the singer graced the cover of the teen magazine, she landed a record deal with Arista and began putting together her first album.

The superstar released her self-titled debut album two years later, in 1985, which sold more than 25 million copies internationally and paved the way for her to hit the big-time.

The touching photographs only make the star’s untimely death seem even more tragic, and they are unearthed as it is reported by Radar Online that she allegedly died from a deadly concoction of Valium, Xanax and alcohol.

However the cause of death is yet to be confirmed, pending toxicology reports which are expected to be released in a few weeks.

Houston was laid to rest on Sunday in her homeland of Newark, New Jersey, following her funeral the day before.

Stars including Mariah Carey, Oprah Winfrey and her co-star from The Bodyguard Kevin Costner attended the service at the New Hope Baptist Church.

Her whole life ahead of her: Whitney was a successful teen model before signing a record deal two years later in 1983

A far cry: The happy beach images of Whitney told a different story to those taken days before her death