Mariah Carey

She married comedian-actor, Nick Cannon on April 30, 2008 in The Bahamas and on April 30, 2011, she gave birth to non-identical twins, Monroe and Moroccan. It is believed that during her pregnancy, she suffered from high-blood pressure and gestational diabetes.

This remarkable recording artist has donated time and money to several organizations viz., Fresh Air Fund, Make-A-Wish Foundation, New York Presbyterian Hospital and the World Hunger Relief Movement.

Mariah Angela Carey was born to Patricia (Hickey), an Irish-American mezzo-soprano opera singer, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer. They got divorced when Carey was only three.

Her first public performance was at the age of six. By the age of sixteen, she was skipping classes to write songs and her brother, Morgan, paid for her first recording session. She finally graduated from Harborfields High School, in 1987.

Before Carey got her big break, she worked as a temp and juggled with a number of odd jobs such as a beautician, hair sweeper in a salon, waitress and as a coat check girl. After several years of struggling, she had earned ample money and finally, she moved to a well-off sector in New York with her family.

In 1988, Tommy Mottola, Head of Columbia Records, signed her and produced her debut, self-titled album, ‘Mariah Carey’, which contained four No.1 hits. These songs charted the top US music countdowns for weeks and even earned her a number of prestigious nominations and awards.

‘Emotions’, released in 1991, was a more mature album in terms of the quality of songs and music.

Her MTV Unplugged version in 1992, awed critics and went on to earn a triple-platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Some of her popular singles through the 90s such as ‘Endless Love’ and ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ established her as a popular pop star and she soon began releasing a lot more albums.

‘Mariah Carey’, her debut album, released in 1990, sold over 15 million copies worldwide and contained four hit singles that charted the ‘Billboard Hot 100’ for weeks.

The album was also certified platinum nine-times by the RIAA and she became the first artist to have her four singles topping the music charts in the United States after ‘The Jackson 5’.