Mariah Carey was born March 27, 1970, in New York City, New York. Mariah is a musician, songwriter
and a superstar singer. Mariah was born to a half-Venezuelan father, and an Irish mother. As you might
imagine, the family faced a fair amount of prejudice due to a mixed marriage. Her mother, Patricia, an
opera singer and vocal coach, was disowned by her family when she married Alfred Carey, an aeronautical
engineer. Over the years, the couple had various atrocities visited upon them, including having their
cars blown up and their dogs poisoned. Their marriage crumbled under the strain of such malicious
events, and the couple divorced when Mariah was 3 years old.
Mariah's mother nurtured her daughter's talent by coaching her at home, all the while trying not to
force the issue of her singing. Mariah sang for friends, and performed in talent shows and at
folk-music festivals. By the time Mariah entered junior high, she had begun to write and compose
her own songs. During high school, she started commuting to Manhattan in order to study music with
professionals, and after her graduation in 1987, she moved to the city. She paid the rent on her
barren apartment by working as a waitress, and claims to have been fired from 20 restaurants because
of her "attitude".
Mariah began singing as a part-time backup singer with the rhythm-and-blues singer Brenda K. Starr.
This brought Mariah close enough to Tommy Mottola to slip him her demo tape. After only ten months
of slumming in the big city, Mariah Carey was about to become a star.
Her 1990 debut album created quite a stir, largely because of the incredible virtuosity of her voice,
which many say is rivaled only by that of Whitney Houston. Nothing the critics said mattered much after
her album sold over six million copies and made Mariah Carey an overnight sensation.
After closing out the twentieth century, Mariah is the undisputed biggest selling female recording
artist of the decade, her sales exceeding 150 million albums. With this tremendous amount of success
garnered in her relatively young career, Mariah Carey was named "Artist of the Decade" by the
Billboard Music Awards. She also received the World Music Award of "Best Selling Female Artist of
the Millennium".
Her first album shot to No. 1, and the music community awarded the newcomer with a gaggle of
Grammy's for her impressive debut. Love began to blossom between Mariah and Tommy Mottola, and
her big career move was about to take place. Mariah's "Emotions" album, and her MTV exposure
racked up sales in the millions. With "Glitter", her newly formed association with Virgin Records,
Mariah's budding movie career is starting to unfold. She recently completed the independently
produced film "Wise Girls", in which she co-stars opposite Academy Award winning actress Mira Sorvino.
Her most impressive production was her marriage to Tommy Mottola. Inspired by Charles and Diana at
their royal wedding, Carey and Mottola, self-styled music royalty themselves, sunk a half a million
dollars into their 1993 June wedding. Fifty flower girls, an eight piece orchestra, and a boy's
choir convened with 300 impressive guests. Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Robert De Niro,
and Ozzy Osbourne were there to heap their blessings on the marriage. Carey remembered, "When I
look back and think about it, it's so unbelievable! I mean, it really is like Cinderella".
Mariah seemed to have it all, a golden career, powerful husband, and a huge mansion outside of
Manhattan. This fairy tale came to an end, and after nearly five years of marriage, Mariah and
Tommy split for good. In March 1998, Carey flew to the Dominican Republic to obtain a divorce
from Tommy Mottola. Immediately after obtaining the divorce, the singer flew to Tampa to take in
an exhibition game featuring New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter, with whom, she had been
romantically linked. That romance fizzled with Carey laying blame on the press. Media pressure
was too much for them as a couple
2003 Death of a Dynasty
Character played: Herself
2002 Ally McBeal: Playing With Matches
Character played: Candy Cushnip
2002 Wisegirls
Character played: Raychel
2001 America: A Tribute to Heroes
2001 Glitter
Character played: Billie Frank
1999 Pavarotti and Friends for Guatemala and Kosovo
1999 The Bachelor
Character played: Ilana
1998 VH1: Divas Live
1997 Saturday Night Live: Claire Danes
Character played: Musical Guest
1993 Mariah Carey: Here is Mariah Carey
1991 Saturday Night Live: Linda Hamilton
Character played: Musical Guest
1990 Mariah Carey: The First Vision
1990 Saturday Night Live: Patrick Swayze
Character played: Musical Guest
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Alyssa Milano
