Mariah Carey

Bought Marilyn Monroe s white lacquered baby grand piano at auction in October 1999 for $600,000 plus commission.

Got her name from the song "They Call the Wind Maria" (spelled Maria without the H, but pronounced Mariah). The popular Lerner & Loewe musical Paint Your Wagon , starring Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood , which was enjoying a great deal of success after its release in 1969, and the song containing Mariahs name, was a favorite of mother Patricia.

Worked a variety of 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.

Attended Oldfield Middle School and Harborfield High School.

Her paternal grandfather was an Afro-Cuban immigrant and her paternal grandmother was African-American. Her mother, who is Caucasian, is of Irish descent. While Mariahs grandfather, Roberto Nuez (later Robert Carey), is often described in news reports as having been from Venezuela, all censuses and records indicate he was born in Cuba.

Honored by the Congressional Award in Washington, D.C. with the 1999 Horizon Award. The Horizon Award is a special recognition from the Joint Leadership of the United States Congress and the Congressional Award Board of Directors. The Horizon Award is presented to individuals from the private sectors who have contributed to expanding opportunities for all Americans through their own personal contributions, and who have set exceptional examples for young people through their successes in life.

Is the only female artist (and second artist or group ever) to have 18 #1 songs on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts.

1990: Made her singing debut at age 20.

Had the nickname "Mirage" in high school, because she never showed up for class.

(July 25, 2001) According to her spokesperson, Mariah suffered a physical and emotional breakdown, and spent the next couple weeks recovering in a Connecticut mental hospital.

(September 2001) 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.

2001: Signed an $80 million deal with Virgin Records for her next four albums.

Founder of Camp Mariah, a serene escape located in Fishkill, New York for inner-city youth to embrace the arts, introduce career opportunities, and build self-esteem.

Named one of People magazines "25 Most Intriguing People of 2001".

(January 26, 2002) Virgin Records bought out her $80 million contract for $28 million. The primary reason being the failure of her Glitter album and film.

Single "One Sweet Day" holds the record for the single staying most weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (a record 16 weeks).

With 18 #1 hits, she is in second place among all artists with the most No. 1 hits in music history, with The Beatles remaining in first place with 20 #1 hits. She surpassed Elvis Presley s 17 #1 hits with "Touch My Body" as her 18th #1.

Owns a three-floor apartment in New York City.

(May 2002) Signed a three-album deal with Island/Def Jam records for a reported $21-24 million. She had already started work on a new album, which had no release date at that point. Meanwhile, WiseGirls , her movie with Mira Sorvino , premiered on HBO in the fall of 2002.

Ranked #36 in the American edition of FHM magazines Sexiest Girls of 2002 poll.

Her seventh studio album, titled "Charmbracelet", was released on December 3, 2002, a week earlier than originally planned.

Is the most successful female singer-songwriter of all time, with 17 #1 hits and more than 160 million records sold worldwide.

Her paternal grandfather, Roberto Nuez, changed his last name to "Carey" after moving to New York City from Cuba; he hoped a British Isles surname would help him make a good life in the United States. He took the name Carey from his biological father. Robertos mother, Margarita Nuez, was with a man named Carey, but they were not married.

Used to be a backup singer for Brenda K. Starr.

The first single from the Glitter soundtrack, "Loverboy", was the #1 bestselling single in the year 2001.

Has worked with an extensive amount of musicians, including: Brian McKnight , Whitney Houston , Boyz II Men, Jay Z , Snoop Dogg , Camron , Carole King , Cline Dion , Michael Jackson , 98 Degrees, Joe, Da Brat , Missy Elliott , Aretha Franklin , Shania Twain and many, many more.

She has twice recorded Phil Collins song "Against All Odds", initially on her album "Rainbow" and then a collaboration with Westlife hit number one in the United Kingdom in 2000.

Mariahs mother, Patricia (Hickey), is a former mezzo-soprano New York City opera singer and a freelance vocal coach. Patricia was also Mariahs vocal coach. Mariahs father, Alfred Roy Carey, was an aeronautical engineer.

Her highest note thus far was a G#7 (a few keys from the top of a piano) hit during two live performances of "Emotions" in 1991. Also, she has hit an A2 in her 1998 hit "My All", verifying her five-octave range. Also, celebrity vocal coach Mark Baxter says that he has heard Mariah sing past the top note on the piano.

Her siblings are Alison and Morgan, and are significantly older by eight years.

Mariah writes and co-writes as well as produces and co-produces her own songs, including all of her number one hits (with the exception of her cover of "Ill Be There").

Her wedding to Tommy Mottola was modeled after the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Her excuse for using the royal wedding as basis for her own was that she never really had much interest in weddings as a girl, and she wanted to know what such a gala affair should be like. Even the tiara she wore, a family heirloom, was redesigned to look like Princess Diana s. Her wedding dress was an ivory-silk duchess satin gown designed by Vera Wang , with a 8.25 m (27) train and matching satin pumps. The whole affair cost almost $US0.5M, not including the 1893 sixpence Mariah put in one of her shoes for luck.

With "Heartbreaker", the first single from her 1999 album "Rainbow", she became the only artist to top the charts in each year of the 1990s.

Made music history when "Fantasy" (from her 1995 album "Daydream") became a #1. With "Fantasy", she became the first female artist to debut at #1 in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100s. "Heartbreaker", the first single from her 1999 album "Rainbow" became her 14th #1 single, and with "Heartbreaker" it marked Mariahs 60th week atop the charts, which broke a long-standing 59-week record established by The Beatles as the artist with the most weeks at #1 in the 41-year history of the Billboards Hot 100. "Thank God I Found You" also from the "Rainbow" album, was her 15 #1. "We Belong Together" from her 2005 album "The Emancipation of Mimi" became her 16th #1 single, is also Hot 100s Greatest Airplay Gainer, and moved to #1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart to become her ninth #1 chart topper there. It is also her first #1 without any guest artists since her song "My All" captured the top spot in May 1998. "Dont Forget About Us" became her 17th #1 single, tying her with Elvis Presley s 17 #1 singles. She beat Presleys record with "Touch My Body" as her 18th #1 single.

Some of her prestigious awards include five Grammy Awards, numerous Grammy nominations, numerous Radio Music Awards, many American Music Awards, Billboards "Artist of the Decade" Award and the World Music Award for "Worlds Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium" to name a few.

Her mother Patricia discovered Mariahs talent in 1972 while rehearsing at home for her New York City Opera debut as Maddalena in Giuseppe Verdi s "Rigoletto". Patricia said, "From the time Mariah was a tiny girl. she sang on true pitch; she was able to hear sound and duplicate it exactly. I missed my cue, but Mariah didnt. She sang it - in Italian - at exactly the right point. She wasnt even yet 3." From then on, Patricia began coaching Mariah.

Some of her albums feature the serif typeface friz quadrata.

Ranked #17 in the 2000 FHM list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".

Ranked #99 in the 2001 FHM list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".

Ranked #47 in Ask mens top 99 "most desirable" women of 2001.

Some of her musical influences include Aretha Franklin , Gladys Knight , Minnie Riperton and Stevie Wonder.

"The Emancipation of Mimi", named the biggest-selling album of 2005, generated an all-time career-high eight Grammy nominations for Mariah. The album includes her 16th and 17th #1 career singles, "We Belong Together" and "Dont Forget About Us", respectively - which tied one of the most enduring chart records in Billboard Hot 100 history, Elvis Presley s 17 #1s. She passed Presley with her 18th #1 single, "Touch My Body". Mariah is now positioned as the only active recording artist in the 50 years of the Hot 100 (which began in 1958) with the potential to match or surpass The Beatles all-time high 20 #1 hits.

For the first time in history, a non current song, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" reached the #1 spot in the Digital Songs and Tracks the week of December 22, 2005.

Was among the guests at Usher Raymond s 26th birthday party.

Her godmother is Patti LaBelle.

Named #15 in FHM magazines "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement.

Her longest note is in her song "Lead the Way", where she holds a note for about 21 seconds long. In full-voice (no Whistle), she can sing up to G6, as in the song "Youre So Cold" where she ad-libs down to F2 (two notes lower than the A2 in "My All") and back up to F6, seconds later, she hits F7# in the Whistle register.

Studied over 500 hours of beauty school and hair salon prior to becoming a singer.

Named #28 in FHM magazines "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement.

Gave acclaimed performances at State Kremlin Palace, Moscow and in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2003.

The first presents that Mariah indulged herself, were a Ford Mustang convertible and an apartment with a stunning view in New Yorks Upper East Side on the 21st floor of a high-rise building. She decorated it with her idols posters (Marilyn Monroe ) and lived there with her two cats Ninja and Thompkins.

Used to be a vegetarian but stopped for ex-husband Tommy Mottola.

Ranked #19 on VH1s 100 Sexiest Artists.

According to some reports, she insured her body for $10M during the shooting of Glitter .

Is mentioned in the Vanessa Hudgens song "Promise", and the Freeway song "Flipside".

2001: Had a breakdown with the press, grabbed an interviewers tape recorder and spoke directly to her fans: "I want them to know that this is a freaking, complete clown-fest".

Is the only act to have had a number one single in the United States every year of the 1990s.

(March 2003) The Guinness Book of World Records awarded her the record for the highest note hit by a human, after she hit the G7# note during a live performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner". She also held the record for possessing the largest vocal range A2-G7#.

1998: Toured Australia and said the highlight of her trip was swimming with dolphins.

Her official website features "Mariahisms", her favorite sayings, including "Lamb", "Bing bong" and "Okie dokie smokey".

Admires Marilyn Monroe.

Named "Americas Most Misunderstood Black Woman", by Essence magazine.

Failed her drivers license test three times.

In the mid 1990s, she thanked her mother by buying her a house. She gathered her mothers possessions and put them in the new house, as well as framing photos and putting them on the wall. Then she pretended they were just looking at the house. Mariah says: "It was the most incredible thing Ive ever been able to do.".

Wanted to be a genie when she was a kid.

(April 2008) 154,000 copies of her album, "E=MC2", were sold on its first day of release.

Merited a place in Time magazines "100 Most Influential People in the World" (Artists & Entertainers section) with a tribute written by Stevie Wonder (Issue May 12, 2008).

Ranked #71 on Maxim magazines Hot 100 Women of 2008 list.

Has a dog named JJ.

Her publicist is Cindi Berger.

Was one month pregnant with her twins Monroe and Moroccan when she completed performing on "The Angels Advocate Tour".

Was originally cast as Tangie Adrose/Orange in For Colored Girls , but after dropping out due to medical reasons she was replaced by Thandie Newton.

Founded Crave Records (1997-1998).

Her legs are insured for $1 billion.

According to several interviews with Mariah Carey, her birth certificate, and her twins birth certificates, Mariah has no middle name. Mariah said in a CNN interview (04/30/2005), her mother did not give her a middle name because she felt the full name "Mariah Carey" can be her "stage name". Mariahs daughter, Monroe Cannon, also does not have a middle name because Mariah herself does not have one.

Returned to work 6 months after giving birth to her twins Monroe and Moroccan to begin recording her 14th studio album.

(April 30, 2008) Married for the second time her boyfriend of a month Nick Cannon following a 5-day-long engagement.

2009: Debut of her perfume "Luscious Pink".

Is a staunch liberal Democrat.

Separated from her second husband of 6 years Nick Cannon.

Gave birth to her twins (her first and second children) at age 41, son Moroccan Cannon (Morrocan "Roc" Scott Cannon) and daughter Monroe Cannon (Monroe "Roe" Cannon) on April 30, 2011. Childrens father is her now-estranged 2nd husband, Nick Cannon.

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6270 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on August 5, 2015.

In a relationship with Australian billionaire James Packer , as of the middle of 2015.

Her new property, with James Packer , is on 1 acre, took 5 years to build and was reportedly, never put up for sale.

Mariah and billionaire James Packer announced their engagement on Thursday, 23rd January, 2016, after the businessman popped the question in Careys hometown, with a diamond ring which weighs in at around 35 carats.

When they got engaged, both Carey and James Packer were still legally married; Mariah to Nick Cannon , James to Erica Packer.

Moved in with fiance James Packer in November 2015.

Mariah and fianc James Packer have split up [October 2016].

Good friends with Lee Daniels , Da Brat , Sean Combs , Snoop Dogg , Raymond Usher , Beyonc , Will Smith , Jay Z , and Alicia Keys.

Her manager is Stella Bulochnikov.

Her song "100% was used as one of the theme songs for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

She will be portrayed as a child by actress Breanna Yde in "Mariah Careys All I Want For Christmas Is You".

Because as an artist, and most importantly as a person, I am genuinely,happy to finally be free to be who I am. Thank you.

Butterflies are always following me, everywhere I go.

I decided to make my own ski-wear range after I found there were no,fashion outfits for me to wear on the piste.

There was a time when all I was allowed to do was go to gay clubs,because my quote-unquote husband was so afraid of me being around,straight people.

When they see me for the first time, women are always surprised to be,obliged to raise their head.

I can still count on one hand the number of men I`ve slept with.

My fans have made all my career moments special for me. They are the ones that have gotten me through every single thing - good times and bad, they are who I go to and lean on. I am very thankful for that.

Since having the babies, I realize that 90 percent of losing weight is my diet.