Mariah Carey

Overcoming Humble Beginnings

Despite Carey's tremendous success now, her life didn't begin so smoothly. Carey was born in New York's Long Island suburbs into a troubled family as the third and youngest child. Her father was Afro-Venezuelan, while her mother was of Irish descent. Carey's parents were both immigrants, and her mother was an opera singer while her father worked as an aeronautical engineer. However, her parents' marriage was rocky; they divorced when Carey was three years old. Raised solely by her mother, Carey has spoken about her family's poverty in her early years, hoping that people can see past an artist's current wealth to understand their rough beginnings.