Things You Might Not Know About Mariah Carey

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10. A Fractured Family

Mariah’s mother’s family disowned her for marrying Alfred Roy because he was black. Her parents’ relationship also didn’t work out. They divorced after only three years of marriage.

A photo posted by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey) on May 1, 2013 at 6:24pm PDT

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9. Mariah Núñez

Her Venezuelan grandfather, Francisco Núñez, adopted the name “Carey” when he immigrated to New York.

A photo posted by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey) on Dec 3, 2014 at 1:50pm PST

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8. Marilyn Monroe’s Piano

She bought Marilyn Monroe’s childhood piano at an auction for $600,000. “I had to fight for it…That piano is a symbolic thing,” she told Playboy. “It was the only thing she had from her childhood.”

A photo posted by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey) on Mar 31, 2013 at 8:53am PDT

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7. Fighting On Set

She got into a skirmish with Mira Sorvino on the set WiseGirls. She threw a saltshaker at the actress who then wrestled Mariah to the floor.

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6. Mariah the Waitress/Coat Check Girl

Before her music career was launched, she used to work as a coat-checker/waitress in Manhattan. She worked for several different restaurants and usually got fired after two weeks.

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5. Being Discovered

She met her first husband, Sony Music mogul Tommy Mottola, at a Columbia Records party in 1988. She handed him her demo tape and he listened to it on the way home. After only two songs, he was so enamored by her voice that he spent two weeks trying to find her. When he finally found her, he immediately signed her.

A photo posted by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey) on Feb 12, 2015 at 11:15am PST

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4. Voice

She possesses a five-octave vocal range, but has the ability to reach notes beyond the seventh octave range.

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3. Estranged

After her parents’ divorce, Mariah became estranged from her father. They got back in touch after her divorce from Tommy Mottola, but her father died soon after of cancer.

A photo posted by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey) on Oct 23, 2013 at 3:38pm PDT

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2. Born to Sing

At the age of two, she stunned her opera singer mother by imitating her singing. When she was four, she finally started receiving singing lessons.

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1. Beauty School Dropout

Before she made it big, she was studying cosmetology in New York City.

A photo posted by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey) on Sep 13, 2014 at 3:23pm PDT

Cate

Cate has a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature and has been the Managing Editor of Fame10 for more than 6 years. Despite having a love for the works of Thomas Hardy, Leo Tolstoy and Lord Byron, she also has an intense fascination with pop culture. When she isn’t writing for Fame10, she’s planning her next big adventure in Southeast Asia.