Whitney Houston files for divorce

After a tumultuous 14-year marriage marked by drug arrests and stints in rehab, Whitney Houston is divorcing Bobby Brown in the US.

The pop singer filed divorce papers in Orange County Superior Court, California, this week, a month after filing for legal separation from Brown, said Houston's publicist Nancy Seltzer.

The documents could not be obtained by The Associated Press and Brown's lawyer Phaedra Parks declined to comment.

Houston, 43, had asked in her separation papers that she be granted custody of the couple's 13-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina, and that Brown, 37, be allowed visitation rights.

The couple married in 1992, with Houston at the height of her fame as a Grammy-winning superstar known for such hits as I Will Always Love You.

Brown won acclaim for his gritty R&B songs as a one-time member of the boy band New Edition.

During their marriage, Brown was arrested for drugs and alcohol and Houston entered drug rehabilitation programs twice.

In an attempt to clean up her public image, Houston stepped out last month for an event in Beverly Hills with cousin Dionne Warwick and mogul Clive Davis, with whom she is working on a new album.