Mariah Carey Biography:

A Long Island born and raised singer and songwriter who conquered the 1990s with several thriving record releases and many number one hit songs, Mariah Carey swiftly became a pop music legend with a truly unbounded vocal range and talent for writing attractive songs and sweet ballads that were at home in the Top 10. Starting out as a backup singer for singer Brenda K. Starr the young singer passed Carey's demo tape along to then Columbia Records head Tommy Mottola in 1988. Impressed by the singer's capacity and vocal range, Mottola signed the artist and in 1990, Mariah Carey's self-titled debut album burned up the charts on the muscle of the hit songs "Vision of Love", "I Don't Wanna Cry", "Someday" and "Love Takes Time". Winning Grammy awards in the Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal categories in early 1991, Mariah Carey followed up the success of her debut with that year's "Emotions", a skillful second effort that launched the title hit as well as the chart-busting songs "Make it Happen" and "Can't Let Go",

As writer or co-writer of nearly all of her own songs, Carey appeared as a songwriter with her finger on the pulse of popular music, writing heart-felt ballads and harmonious faster paced dance songs that were saturated on 1990s radio. Mariah Carey's remarkable showing on "MTV Unplugged" yielded a multi-platinum album of the same name in 1993, and Carey hit the charts with her touching reworking of the Jackson 5 hit "I'll Be There". That same year the singer had her first television network special, NBC's "Mariah Carey", showcasing her lively personality and incredible singing voice to a prime-time audience. 1993's legendary wedding to Sony Music president Tommy Mottola also kept the singer in the public and media eye, and when her album "Music Box" hit stores later that year, Carey's high profile and popular hit songs helped to make it her fastest selling album to date.

While enjoying the success of "Music Box", Mariah Carey recorded a duet with R&B star Luther Vandross, updating the 1980s hit "Endless Love" by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross. An active supporter of the Fresh Air Fund, a charity designed to bring nature to the lives of underprivileged urban youth, Carey cut the ribbon on her Camp Mariah in 1994. That winter, her holiday album "Merry Christmas" sold well, thanks to the rocker original "All I Want For Christmas", which had a energetic beat, strong melody and broken heart message that made it seem more than worthy for inclusion on the 1963 classic "A Christmas Gift to You From Phil Spector". 1995 saw the release of Mariah Carey's next album, "Daydream", another hit-filled record that music fans happily purchased. While the bubbly numbers "Fantasy" and "Always Be My Baby" received a great deal of radio play, in 1996, the moving single "One Sweet Day" spent a remarkable sixteen weeks in the number one slot, making the collaboration between the singer and the R&B vocal group "Boyz II Men" the biggest song of the year.

In 1996, Carey created Crave Records, a division of Sony Music that had releases by the R&B groups "Allure" and "7 Mile". By 1998, following the divorce of Carey and Mottola, Crave ceased operations. The power couple separated in May of 1997 and were divorced ten months later, with Mariah Carey releasing her "Butterfly" in the time between. A clear change from her prior records, "Butterfly" had a edgier sound, introducing more hip-hop fundamentals into her R&B pop sound, and seemed to be Carey's statement of independence. The hit songs "Honey" and "My All" made certain that Mariah Carey would enjoy the same esteem she had always earned, even in the wake of her new image.

With well over 100 million records sold, Carey was certainly one of popular music's heavy hitters, and appeared on the VH1 special "Celine, Aretha, Gloria, Shania and Mariah: Divas Live" as a testimony to her standing and vocal skill. The next CD was very successful and certainly showed Carey as deserving of the Diva title. Mariah teamed up with another diva that year, singing "When You Believe" with Whitney Houston for "The Prince of Egypt" soundtrack. Though rumors ran unchecked that the two were entangled in power struggles, the song ended up being a quality collaboration and a big hit.

Carey followed Whitney Houston's footsteps to the big screen in 1999, taking a small role as an opera singer in "The Bachelor", a romantic comedy starring Chris O'Donnell as a man who must commit. That same year she visited her hometown high school for Fox's "Mariah Carey's Homecoming Special" and teamed up with rap star Jay-Z on "Heartbreaker", the lead-off singer from her album "Rainbow". In 2000, Carey's contributions to the 1990s were rewarded greatly, winning several awards for her consistent hit making and even being named the Artist of the Decade by Billboard. 

Later in the year Mariah hit some rougher patches, prevented from touring with a bad case of food poisoning and named in a lawsuit alleging her hit "Thank God I Found You" borrowed from the Xscape song "One of Those Love Songs". In the first half of 2001, Carey left Columbia Records for Virgin after her later albums for the company --those released after her split from Mottola-- were given somewhat short run in the world of promotions. 

That August, Carey started on the acting career she had been working on since the mid-1990s, finally finding the time and resources to complete "Glitter" (2001), a 1980s-set feature telling of the the rise of a struggling singer from meek beginnings. Based on an idea by the singer turned actress, but reportedly not autobiographical, the film would either mark the launch of an all new career for the performer or be written off as a vanity project with a good soundtrack. Already hoping for the former, Carey was lining up other acting jobs, including the crime-drama "Wise Girls" (2002) where she co-starred with Mira Sorvino and Melora Walters, and the action comedy "Double-O-Soul", starring Chris Tucker.

In 2995 she starred in the music drama "State Property 2" (2005) about three gangsters who vie for control of the streets of Philadelphia. Next was the dramatic "Tennessee" (2008) where Carter and his younger brother Ellis embark on a journey from New Mexico to Tennessee to find their estranged father -a trip which might hold Ellis's life in the balance. 

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