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Mariah Carey Biography

Mariah Carey is one of music's biggest stars.

Courtesy of Island Records

Birthdate: March 27, 1970
Birthplace: Long Island, New York.

Mariah Carey is one of the world's biggest divas and best singers. Kidzworld takes a closer look at the superstar's incredible career.

Cinderella Story

Mariah is the youngest child of Patricia Hickey, a former opera singer and vocal coach, and Alfred Carey, an aeronautical engineer. She began singing at the age of three, after she imitated her mother practicing an Italian Opera. Because of her work as a demo singer for local recording studios during High School, and missing a lot of classes, her classmates gave Mariah the nickname Mirage (Get it? Beause she was never really there.) After high school, Mariah moved to New York City. She worked part-time jobs and completed five hundred hours of beauty school before becoming a backup singer for Brenda K. Starr. Then, in 1988, Carey met Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola at a party, where Starr gave him Carey's demo tape. Mottola played the tape and was impressed, so he tracked her down and signed her to a recording contract.

Hit Maker

In 1990, Mariah released her self-titled debut album, which spent several weeks on top of the Billboard 200 chart, had four number one singles, and won her Grammys for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In 1993, Mariah Carey and Tommy Mottola were married and she released her third album, Music Box, which was an international success. Soon after, Mariah released Merry Christmas, which is now the best selling Christmas album of all time. Continuing to pump out hit singles, Mariah released Daydream, featuring Boyz II Men, which stayed at number one for a record 16 weeks. Less than two years later, Mariah and Tommy Mottola were divorced, and she released another album with more of a Hip-Hop edge, called Butterfly.

New Beginnings

By the turn of the millennium, Mariah had established herself as an incredible singer and famous diva on the same level as Whitney Houston and Celine Dion. Unfortunately, she was having trouble with her fame and personal life, and when her film project Glitter was a huge failure, Mariah had an emotional breakdown and pulled out of the spotlight. Eventually, she released a new album, Charmbracelet, and went on a reasonably successful world tour. Mariah's true comeback, though, came in 2005 when she dropped The Emancipation of Mimi, a self described party record which won her Grammys for Best Contemporary R&B Album, Best Female R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song. Now in 2008, Mariah has released E=MC2, featuring the number one single Touch My Body, and it doesn't seem like this hit making diva is going to stop anytime soon.

Did U Know?

Carey was named the Best-selling Female Pop Artist of the Millennium at the 2000 World Music Awards.

Touch my Body became Mariah's 18th number one single, beating a record held by Elvis Presley, and is second only to The Beatles.

Carey has won five Grammy Awards.

Mariah was the only artist to have a number one hit in each year of the '90s.

In 2003, she was presented with The Chopard Diamond Award for selling over 100 million albums worldwide.

With We Belong Together and Shake it Off, Mariah became the first female solo artist to hold the top two spots of the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time.

Mariah is said to have a five octave vocal range, and the ability to sing in the whistle register (highest register of the human voice).

Mariah Says...

"Forget the image, forget the ensemble, forget the rumors, forget the short skirts, the big hair, whatever! I owe this to the fans and I will never forget you."

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