Mariah Carey Biography
Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1970 in Huntington, Long Island, New York) is a Grammy Award-winning American pop and R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, music video director and actress.
Early life
Carey was born in Huntington, Long Island, New York. She is the third and youngest child of Patricia Hickey, a former opera singer and vocal coach of Irish American extraction, and Alfred Roy Carey (formerly Nuņez), an aeronautical engineer of Afro-Venezuelan heritage. As a multiethnic family, the Careys endured racial slurs, hostility, and sometimes violence, causing the family to frequently relocate throughout the New York and Rhode Island areas. The strain on the family led to the divorce of Carey's parents when she was three years old.
Carey had little contact with her father, and her mother worked several jobs to support the family. Spending much of her time at home alone, Carey turned to music as an outlet. She began singing at around the age of three. Her mother Patricia was her vocal coach, Patricia began teaching her how to sing after Carey imitated her practicing Verdi's opera Rigoletto in Italian. Carey performed for the first time in public during elementary school and was writing her own songs by junior high. Carey graduated from Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, New York although she was frequently absent because of her popularity as a demo singer for local recording studios. After moving to New York City she studied over 500 hours of beauty school and hair salon prior to becoming a singer. Carey worked numerous odd jobs to support herself, including hat/coat-checker, hostess, hair sweeper in hair salons and waitress. She stated that she got fired from all her jobs because of her attitude and was concentrating of becoming a backing singer and mixing demos. Eventually, she became a backup singer for Puerto Rican freestyle singer Brenda K. Starr.
Got her name from the song "They Call The Wind Mariah". The popular Lerner & Loewe musical Paint Your Wagon (1969), starring Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood, which was enjoying a great deal of success after its release in 1969, and the song containing Mariah's name, was a favorite of mother Patricia.
Had the nickname "Mirage" in high school, because she never showed up for class. Her highest octave is two octaves higher than normal soprano.
Career
She debuted in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola and became the first recording act to have its first five singles top the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Following her marriage to Mottola in 1993, a series of hit records established her position as Columbia's highest-selling act. According to Billboard magazine, she was the most successful artist of the 1990s in the United States.
Carey took much more control over her image and music following her separation from Mottola in 1998, and she introduced elements of hip hop into her album material. In 2000 the World Music Awards named Carey the best-selling female artist of all time, and she has recorded the most U.S. number-one singles for a female solo artist (seventeen).
Her popularity was in decline when she left Columbia in 2001, and she was dropped by Virgin Records the following year after a highly publicized physical and emotional breakdown and the poor reception of Glitter, her film and soundtrack project. In 2002 Carey signed with Island, and after an unsuccessful period, she returned to the forefront of pop music in 2005. In addition to her commercial accomplishments, she is often considered to be one of the greatest vocalists of all time, and is well-known for her melismatic singing voice, vocal range, power, and use of the whistle register. However, some critics have said that Carey's efforts to showcase her vocal talents have been at the expense of communicating true emotion through song.
Appeared on the benefit concert "A Tribute To Heroes" and sang the song "Hero" in dedication to the families, friends, victims, and heroes of the World Trade Center tragedy, September 2001. Ranked #17 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women" in 2000. Ranked #99 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women" in 2001. Ranked #47 in Askmen's "Most Desirable Woman" in 2001. Voted in at #36 in FHM's Sexiest Girls of 2002 poll, American edition. Is the most successful female singer-songwriter of all time, with 17 #1 hits and more than 160 million records sold worldwide. Composes all of her own material, except for song covers.
Carey began to take professional acting lessons in 1997, and within the coming year, she was auditioning for film roles. She made her debut as an opera singer in the romantic comedy The Bachelor. Carey's first starring role was in Glitter (2001), in which she played a struggling musician in the 1980s who breaks into the music industry after meeting a disc jockey. Carey, Mira Sorvino and Melora Walters co-starred as waitresses at a mobster-operated restaurant in the independent film WiseGirls (2002), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Carey was one of several musicians who appeared in the independently produced Damon Dash films Death of a Dynasty (2003) and State Property 2 (2005), while her television work has been limited to a January 2002 episode of Ally McBeal. In 2006 Carey joined the cast of the indie film Tennessee (2007), taking the role of a waitress who travels with her two brothers to find their long-lost father.
Mariah Carey is a philanthropist who has donated time and money to organizations such as the Fresh Air Fund. In 1999 Mariah won the Horizon Award at the Congressional Foundation Awards for her work with and for children. Some of her prestigious awards include 5 Grammies, numerous grammy nominations, numerous Radio Music Awards, many American Music Awards, Billboard's "Artist of the Decade" Award and the World Music Award for "World's Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium" to name a few.
In early 2006 she launched a jewelry and accessories line for teenagers, "Glamorized". She had signed a licensing deal with the cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden to release a fragrance in 2007. As part of a partnership with Pepsi and Motorola, Carey recorded and promoted a series of exclusive ringtones such as the song Time Of Your Life. According to Forbes, Mariah is the 6th richest woman in entertainment. Her net worth is estimated about U$D 225 million.
Named #28 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement. She appeared on the cover of the March 2007 edition of Playboy magazine on a non-nude photo session.
Mariah Carey Discography - Discs - Albums - Singles
- "The Emancipation of Mimi" year 2005 tracks +14 Island.
- "The Remixes" year 2003 tracks CD1 9 CD2 13 Columbia Records.
- "Charmbracelet" year 2002 tracks 15 Island.
- "Greatest Hits" year 2001 tracks CD1 14 CD2 14 Columbia Records.
- "Glitter" year 2001 tracks 12 Virgin.
- "Rainbow" year 1999 tracks 14 Columbia Records.
- "#1's" year 1998 tracks 17 or 19 Non-U.S. editions Columbia Records.
- "Butterfly" year 1997 tracks 12 or 15 Non-U.S. editions Columbia Records.
- "Daydream" year 1995 tracks 12 Columbia Records.
- "Merry Christmas" year 1994 tracks 11 Columbia Records.
- "Music Box" year 1993 tracks 10 or 13 Non-U.S. editions Columbia Records.
- "MTV Unplugged" year 1992 tracks 7 Columbia Records.
- "Emotions" year 1991 tracks 10 Columbia Records.
- "Mariah Carey" year 1990 tracks 11 Columbia Records.
Mariah Carey Soundtrack - Filmography
- Breakin' All the Rules (2004) (performer: "I Know What You Want")
- "Ally McBeal" (1 episode, 2002)
- Playing with Matches (2002) TV Episode (performer: "Lead The Way")
- Power of Love 2 (2002) (V) (performer: "Without You")
- Stars 2001 - Die Aids-Gala (2001) (TV) (performer: "Never Too Far", "Hero")
- Glitter (2001) (performer: "Loverboy (Remix)", "Lead The Way", "If We", "Didn't Mean To Turn You On", "Don't Stop", "All My Life", "Reflections (Care Enough)", "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life", "Want You", "Never Too Far", "Twister")
- "Daria" (1 episode, 1999)
- Depth Takes a Holiday (1999) TV Episode (performer: "Vision of Love")
- The Prince of Egypt (1998) (performer: "The Prince Of Egypt (When You Believe)")
- Rush Hour (1998) (performer: "Fantasy")
- Divas Live: An Honors Concert for VH1 Save the Music (1998) (TV) (performer: "Chain Of Fools")
... aka VH1 Divas Live (USA: short title)
- Matimbang pa sa dugo (1995) (writer: "Hero") (performer: "Hero")
Mariah Carey Filmography - Movies - TV
- Tennessee (2007) (pre-production) .... Krystal Evans
- State Property 2 (2005) .... Professionally Dressed Woman
- WiseGirls (2002) .... Raychel
- "Ally McBeal" .... Candy Cushnip (1 episode, 2002)
- Playing with Matches (2002) TV Episode .... Candy Cushnip
- Glitter (2001) .... Billie Frank
- The Bachelor (1999) .... Ilana
Mariah Carey Miscellaneous - Filmography
- Behind the Scenes of 'Wisegirls' (2002) (V) (special thanks)
- "Ally McBeal" (singer) (1 episode, 2002)
- Playing with Matches (2002) TV Episode (singer: "Lead The Way")
- Glitter (2001) (executive music producer)
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) (lyricist: "Where Are You Christmas")
... aka The Grinch (Australia) (UK) (USA: promotional title)
... aka Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (USA: complete title)
... aka Grinch, Der (Germany)
Mariah Carey Producer - Filmography
- Mariah Carey: Around the World (1998) (TV) (executive producer)
- Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden (1995) (TV) (executive producer)
- Here Is Mariah Carey (1993) (TV) (executive producer)
Mariah Carey Director - Filmography
- Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: Greatest Video Hits (2000) (V) (video "Breakdown")
- Mariah #1's (1999) (V) (videos "Fantasy" and "Always Be My Baby")
