Mariah Carey

Early life and family, 1970–1989

Carey is the third and youngest child of Patricia Hickey, an opera singer and voice coach of Irish-American ethnicity, and Alfred Roy Carey (originally surnamed "Núñez"), an aeronautical engineer of Afro-Venezuelan descent. She was named after the song "And They Call the Wind Maria", from the musical Paint Your Wagon. Carey's mother has mentioned that she picked her name because she thought it would be a good stage name. She has no middle name. Carey has a sister named Alison (ten years older) and a brother named Morgan (nine years older).

Related Topics:
Opera - Irish-American - Aeronautical engineer - Afro-Venezuelan - Paint Your Wagon - Middle name

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As a multiracial family, the Carey household was met with racial slurs, hostility and even violence. Thus, the family moved around the New York area often to find more friendly neighborhoods. The strain on the family led to the divorce of Alfred and Patricia when Mariah was three; Mariah and Morgan stayed with their mother while Alison stayed with their father. Mariah Carey had little contact with her father, except for sporadic visits on weekends but even those dwindled as the years went by; Patricia raised Mariah, often struggling with two or three jobs and continuing to move among different towns on Long Island, but tried to provide a spirited, loving household. It is generally believed, however, that she failed in a sense as a parent, as Mariah has often mentioned that she grew up quickly for her age, having been exposed to traumatic incidents as a child, and learning to deal with being alone as her mother and brother were never home. In a sense, Mariah has often mentioned that music helped raise her in a way when no one else was there. Nevertheless, Mariah and her mother still maintain a close relationship to this day.

Related Topics:
Multiracial - Neighborhood - Divorce - Long Island

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Carey began singing when she was three; her mother believed early on that she had tremendous potential. In fact, one day, when Patricia had brought Mariah to her opera rehearsal, Patricia had missed a vocal cue, but the young Mariah astounded everyone by catching it and singing it perfectly in tune. Publicly, she first performed when she was six and first began writing songs when she was in grade school. She attended and graduated from Oldfield Middle School and Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, but was frequently absent due to efforts to break into the music business, netting her the nickname "Mirage". Ironically, Mariah was never in her school's choir. She eventually landed a role as a backup singer for Brenda K. Starr. Then, in 1988, Carey met Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola while at a party, where her friend gave him a demo tape. He played the tape while leaving the party and was very impressed by what he heard. He returned to the party to find Carey, but she had already left. Nevertheless, he tracked her down and signed her to a recording contract. This Cinderella-like story became part of the standard publicity surrounding Carey's entrance into the industry.

Related Topics:
Harborfields High School - Greenlawn - Brenda K. Starr - 1988 - Columbia Records - Tommy Mottola - Cinderella - Publicity

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