This FAQ is quite out of date. I am hoping to review the information and create a new version in the coming months.—Archer Nov '03

PERSONAL QUESTIONS

P1. What is Mariah's family like?

Mariah was born of a multicultural parentage, with a European descended mother (Patricia) and a father (Alfred Roy) of mixed South American and African-American parentage. Alison and Morgan are Mariah's only siblings, and are significantly older- by ten years.

Alison is the most outspoken of the two, frequently speaking negatively about Mariah to the gossip press, and perpetually threatening to write a "tell-all" biography. Alison turned to drug use and prostitution in her teenage years. Mariah dedicated her debut album to her, but these days the two are bitter enemies, largely due to a custody battle over Alison's offspring where Mariah took her mother's side.

Morgan suffered from serious symptoms of cerebral palsy and epilepsy in his youth, but is now part of the recording industry, CEO of Big Kid Records (http://bigkidrecords.com). Morgan is currently single, and has no children. He was briefly married to actress Jeannie Millar in August 1996, but the rest of the family never met her.

P2. When and where was Mariah born?

Mariah was the third and final child born to Patricia, an Irish-American mezzo soprano opera singer, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer of mixed Venezuelan and African-American descent. She was born on Friday March 27th 1970 in New York. She was raised on Long Island, New York.

P3. How would I pick Mariah in a crowd?

Mariah used to be most commonly recognisable for her shoulder to elbow length slightly reddish brown curly hair. But given the number of changes in the last few years, the trademark look is now a thing of the past.

Mariah's hair was darker and straighter than her natural red/brown during part of 1994 (see the Fantasy and Daydream covers), and in interviews and video clips after the release of Daydream, her hair appeared much lighter, although was once again curly.

Often Mariah appears to be almost completely blonde, and her hair is now most often straight. But this changes, so don't take it as gospel. In summary, I certainly wouldn't envy anyone who tried to pick out Mariah in a crowd based on her hairstyle. Better to look for her now well-established trademark- dark sunglasses.

Mariah has brown eyes, stands 175 cm tall (5'9") and weighs approximately 55 kg (120 lbs). She is tall and lean, and has tanned skin, partially natural due to her parentage. Her dress size was once reported by Cosmopolitan magazine in the US as European 10 (US 6).

P4. What are Mariah's favourite things?

Mariah's favourite colour is pink, though she likes to wear black. Mariah enjoys having fun outside, especially at the beach or at an amusment park- but anywhere really. She also likes swimming, water-skiing and horseriding, but appears to exclude competitive sports from her recreational activities. For thrills she likes to try rollercoasters.

Mariah likes pets, has always liked pets, and will probably continue liking pets for the foreseeable future. Her oldest animals, mentioned in many early interviews, were Princess and Duke, a pair of dobermans, Ginger, a Yorkshire terrier, and Ninja and Tompkins, a pair of cats. Mariah no longer has these pets- Ninja and Tompkins have passed away. Jack, a Jack Russell terrier which appears in many videos (Honey for one), is still with Mariah. Jack travels with her where possible, and often has to be rescued from hotel pools by Mariah's bodyguards.

Over the years, Mariah has had other pets as well, including two other cats, Clarence & Puffy, and another dog Tommy gave her as a gift a number of years ago. In Japan last year she added two further small dogs, Bing and Bong. She picks up pets almost everywhere she goes, and it is very hard to keep track of all of them. Her pets live with her in her Manhattan apartment, though some, such as Bing and Bong, have been entrusted to the care of friends.

Mariah likes listening to rap and other contemporary music styles. Covers of Without You, Open Arms and the reworking of Genius Of Love into Fantasy demonstrate Mariah's strong sentimental attachment to songs of the late '70s and early to mid '80s. (This period formed the musical backdrop to her teenage years.)

Mariah was inspired to her original style of singing by listening to Alison's collection of soul, jazz and gospel. But lately she has been showing a leaning towards a more urban sound.

When curling up to watch a movie, Mariah prefers comedy and horror. However, her choice of favourite actors- Marilyn Monroe and James Dean- might also indicate a soft spot for movies made during Hollywood's golden years. For a TV dinner, Mariah is likely to choose pasta, or perhaps salad. She used to be a vegetarian, but lapsed when she married Tommy.

P5. What was Mariah's first wedding like?

Her first wedding, to Tommy Mottola (see P7), was a bit like a Royal wedding, as Mariah modelled it on the wedding of their Royal Highnesses Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Her excuse for using this wedding as a basis for her own was that she never really had much interest in weddings as a girl, and she wanted to know what such a gala affair should be like. Even the tiara she wore, a family heirloom, was redesigned to look like the Princess's. Her wedding dress was an ivory-silk duchess satin gown designed by Vera Wang, with a 8.25 m (27') train and matching satin pumps. The whole affair cost almost $US0.5M, not including the 1893 sixpence Mariah put in one of her shoes for luck.

There has not yet been a second wedding, but Mariah is romantically linked with latin singer Luis Miguel.

P6. Does Mariah smoke?

Most people assume not, and that assumption is true. However, a more pertinent question is "Has she ever smoked?" This is a question that appears only have ever been asked of Mariah by the public, and the answer is yes.

Mariah smoked during her teenage years, until the age of 18 when she gave up in one day. Legend has it (and it is probably as good as any other explanation) that just before she quit, Mariah lost her voice and promised God she wouldn't smoke if she got it back. She did, so she doesn't.

P7. Who was Mariah's first husband?

Thomas D Mottola Jr was married to Mariah in June 1993. Tommy, as he is known, has risen from being a so-so talent manager to CEO of one of the biggest and most dominant entertainment corporations in the world, Sony Entertainment. Born into a warm Italian family, Tommy carries the stigma attached to his father's alleged connection with the mob. A hazard of sharing his name, though marrying the daughter of an alleged mobster in 1971 certainly didn't help.

Along his rise to the top, Tommy has been a guitarist in a rock band, drag raced, acted in four films under the stage name Tommy Valentine and even tried his hand as a solo vocalist. Jack of all trades, master at none, Tommy admits he was never a showman. But when he signed up Hall and Oates to Epic records in the early 70s, his ascent to prominence was assured, perhaps more through slick contracts than actual foresight.

Tommy even has had songs written about him. One is called Cherchez La Femme, originally recorded by Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. It was rerecorded in 1994 by Epic Records' Gloria Estefan on her covers album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me. About singing of her boss, Gloria says in the credits, "I got a real kick out of singing this one... I loved singing [Tommy's] name [on the song]... Thankyou [Tommy]... My love to Mariah!" Tommy was also recently the subject of a Vanity Fair article called "Tommy Boy" [Vanity Fair 97].

The divorce of Mariah and Tommy was finalized in March 1998 after a nine month trial separation. Mariah has not remarried.