Mariah Carey
Renowned for her five-octave vocal range, Billboard chart dominance and diva-like behavior, Mariah Carey inspired a generation of vocalists with a record-breaking run of self-penned hits which effortlessly bridged the gap between pop and R&B. Born in Huntington, NY in 1970, Mariah Carey first began writing songs in high school and after moving to Manhattan aged 17 landed a backing vocal gig with Brenda K. Starr which helped her catch the attention of future husband Tommy Mottola. On signing to his Columbia Records label, Carey recorded her self-titled 1990 debut album, a mixture of showboating power ballads and glossy soul-pop which immediately positioned her as a rival to Whitney Houston. Not only did Mariah Carey top the Billboard 200, it also spawned the first of 18 number one singles, "Vision of Love," shifted 15 million copies worldwide and led to a Best New Artist win at the Grammys. Influenced by her love of Motown, 1991 sophomore Emotions failed to reach the same heights, peaking at No.4 and selling half of its predecessor. However, Carey soon bounced back with an acclaimed MTV Unplugged EP which produced a chart-topping cover of The Jackson 5's "I'll Be There." 1993's Music Box, a poppier affair which spawned two of her signature ballads, "Hero" and "Without You," elevated her status higher than ever before, selling an astonishing 28 million to become one of the world's best-selling LPs ever. Carey's golden streak continued with "All I Want for Christmas is You," the instant classic lead single from 1994's Merry Christmas, a hit duet with Luther Vandross and 1995's six-time Grammy nominated Daydream. The latter's team-up with Boyz II Men, "One Sweet Day," spent a record-breaking 16 weeks atop the US Hot 100, while an ODB-assisted remix of "Fantasy" was credited with pioneering the now ubiquitous pop/rap collaboration. Carey doubled down on these hip-hop elements for 1997's Butterfly, inviting the likes of Puff Daddy, Missy Elliott and Q-Tip to contribute on the first record since separating, both personally and professionally, from Mottola. After performing at the inaugural VH1 Divas benefit gig in 1998, Carey duetted with Whitney Houston for "The Prince of Egypt" (1998) soundtrack, released a best-selling hits compilation and worked with Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg on Rainbow, her 1999 final LP for Sony which achieved the highest first-week sales of her career. At the turn of the century Carey made her acting debut playing an opera singer in "The Bachelor" (1999) and signed a record-breaking $100 million deal with Virgin Records America but shortly after was reported to be in the midst of an emotional and physical breakdown. A chaotic appearance on "Total Request Live" (MTV, 1998-2008) and various troubling messages posted on her official website raised concerns even further and she was later hospitalized for two weeks. Carey's career took another blow when her acting debut in "Glitter" (2001) and its accompanying soundtrack bombed with critics and audiences alike. However, she started to get things back on track a year later with a supporting role in indie drama "WiseGirls" (2002), an acclaimed Super Bowl performance and the modestly-received ninth studio effort Charmbracelet. 2005's The Emancipation of Mimi returned Carey to her former glories, becoming her first chart-topper in eight years, spawning two more number one hits ("We Belong Together," "Don't Forget About Us") and winning three Grammys. In 2008, Carey surpassed Elvis Presley's all-time record of the most solo number ones on the US Hot 100 with the lead single from E=MC², "Touch My Body." She then played an aspiring vocalist in "Tennessee" (2009), performed at Barack Obama's Neighborhood Inauguration Ball and Michael Jackson's memorial service and earned plaudits for her measured turn as a dowdy social worker in tough-tackling drama "Precious" (2009) before dropping 12th LP, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. A second festive effort, Merry Christmas II You, arrived in 2010 and was followed by a one-season judging stint on "American Idol" (Fox, 2002-2016), a supporting role in Lee Daniels' "The Butler" (2013) and the announcement of a residency at Las Vegas' The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Carey added to her discography with 2014's Me. I Am Mariah The Elusive Chanteuse, took the director's chair for the first time on Hallmark Channel movie "A Christmas Melody" (2015) and filmed reality series "Mariah's World" (E!, 2016-17) based on her touring and wedding commitments. After voicing the Mayor of Gotham City in "The Lego Batman Movie" (2017), Carey formed her own Butterfly MC Records label, helped develop the festive animation "Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You" (2017) and launched a new Vegas residency dubbed "The Butterfly Returns." In 2018 she teamed up with the likes of Slick Rick, Blood Orange and Ty Dolla Sign on one of the most acclaimed albums of her career, Caution.
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Mariah Carey
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Ol' Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys | Self | - | 2024 |
No Score Yet |
|
Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All! |
Music Performer, Executive Producer |
- | 2022 |
No Score Yet |
|
Mariah's Christmas: The Magic Continues |
Self, Executive Producer |
- | 2021 |
86% |
|
Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special |
Unknown (Character), Executive Producer |
- | 2020 |
45% |
|
The Star | Rebecca (Voice) | $40.4M | 2017 |
No Score Yet |
|
Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You |
Older Mariah (Voice), Executive Producer |
- | 2017 |
89% |
|
The LEGO Batman Movie | Mayor McCaskill (Voice) | $175.7M | 2017 |
No Score Yet |
|
A Christmas Melody |
Melissa McKean-Atkinson (Character), Director |
- | 2015 |
71% |
|
Lee Daniels' The Butler | Hattie Pearl (Character) | $116.6M | 2013 |
92% |
|
Bad 25 | Unknown (Character) | - | 2012 |
92% |
|
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire | Ms. Weiss (Character) | $47.5M | 2009 |
35% |
|
Tennessee | Krystal (Character) | - | 2008 |
38% |
|
You Don't Mess With the Zohan | Self | $100.0M | 2008 |
14% |
|
State Property 2 | Professionally Dressed Woman (Character) | $1.7M | 2005 |
44% |
|
Wisegirls | Raychel (Character) | - | 2002 |
6% |
|
Glitter |
Billie Frank (Character), Executive Music Producer |
$4.3M | 2001 |
8% |
|
The Bachelor | Ilana (Character) | $21.7M | 1999 |
No Score Yet |
|
VH1 Divas Live 1998 | Music Performer | - | 1998 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The First Vision | Self | - | 1991 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | 28% | The Drew Barrymore Show | Guest | 2024 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Jennifer Hudson Show | Guest | 2023 |
No Score Yet | 42% | Jimmy Kimmel Live! |
Music Performer, Guest |
2008 2015-2018 2023 |
No Score Yet | 50% | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | Guest | 2020 2022 |
No Score Yet | 44% | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | Guest | 2018 2020 2022 |
68% | 95% | Janet Jackson. | Self | 2022 |
No Score Yet | 18% | The Late Late Show With James Corden | Guest | 2021 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Graham Norton Show | Guest | 2020-2021 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen | Guest | 2013 2016 2020 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Oprah Conversation | Guest | 2020 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Lip Sync Battle | Guest | 2019 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | TRL | Guest | 2018 |
No Score Yet | 59% | The Voice | Guest | 2018 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Beat Shazam | Guest | 2017 |
44% | 50% | Mariah's World | Self | 2016-2017 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Disney Parks Magical Christmas Celebration | Music Performer | 2016 |
No Score Yet | 61% | Late Night With Seth Meyers | Guest | 2016 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Guest | 2015-2016 |
84% | 48% | Empire | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2016 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Rap Game | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2016 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Talk | Guest | 2016 |
100% | 78% | Late Show With David Letterman | Guest | 2014 |
No Score Yet | 90% | American Dad! | Laura (Guest Voice) | 2013 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Late Night With Jimmy Fallon | Guest | 2013 |
No Score Yet | 54% | American Idol |
Guest, Judge |
2008 2013 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Extreme Makeover: Home Edition | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2010 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Lopez Tonight | Music Performer | 2009 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Alan Carr: Chatty Man | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2009 |
31% | No Score Yet | The Jay Leno Show | Guest | 2009 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | America's Got Talent | Music Performer | 2009 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Rachael Ray | Guest | 2008 |
No Score Yet | 57% | Saturday Night Live | Music Performer | 1990-1991 1997 2008 |
No Score Yet | 41% | The Proud Family | Self | 2003 |
61% | 78% | Ally McBeal | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2002 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | MTV Unplugged | Self | 1992 |