Mariah Carey is a singer/songwriter who used her success in the music industry to branch into acting and record production. Mariah was born March 27th, 1970 in Long Island, New York. Her father was part Afro-Venezuelan and African and her mother is of Irish decent. This mixed background is what accounts for Mariah Carey's exotic looks which are not typical of just one ethnicity.
Carey showed a gift for singing at an early age. While attending high school she started to work in the industry as a demo singer. After an executive for Columbia Records heard Carey's demo, he tracked down the girl and gave her a recording contract. Mariah Carey's self-titled debut was released in 1990 and reached the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart. Carey' success continued through the 90s and she became an international hit with the release of seven albums in this time. Her album "Glitter" at 2001 was a failure and her subsequent albums also did not live up to the success of the 90s. It wasn't until 2005 that Mariah Carey began to gain popularity again as she started to incorporate hip hop into her vocal style and work with prominent rappers.
But she is famous not only as a singer. Mariah Carey has also appeared in many films. She began taking acting lessons in 1997 and was given roles in movies like "The Bachelor", "Glitter", "WiseGirls", and "Precious". However, Carey's acting skills were met with harsh criticism and she won a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for her role in "Glitter". Regardless, Mariah Carey is still considered one of the top female vocalists of the generation and has achieved status as a musical diva. She has received endorsements from major companies like Pepsi and Motorola and continues to make a presence in the entertainment industry.
