Mariah Carey (/məˈraɪə/; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Renowned as a significant influence in the music industry, she is celebrated for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, and her distinct use of the whistle register. Dubbed the "Songbird Supreme" by Guinness World Records, Carey was ranked as the fifth greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2023.


Carey gained fame in 1990 with her self-titled debut album, becoming the only artist to have their first five singles reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. She achieved international success with the best-selling albums *Music Box* (1993) and *Daydream* (1995). In 1997, she adopted a more urban image with hip-hop influences in her album *Butterfly*. Carey was recognized by Billboard as the most successful artist of the 1990s, having achieved eleven consecutive years with US number-one singles. Despite a period of career decline following the release of her 2001 film *Glitter*, she made a successful comeback with *The Emancipation of Mimi* (2005), one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century.


Carey's personal life, including her diva persona, high-profile relationships, and a public breakdown in 2001, has been widely covered by the media. She is also known as the "Queen of Christmas" due to the enduring popularity of her holiday music, particularly her album *Merry Christmas* (1994) and its single "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which is the best-selling holiday single by a female artist of all time.


Beyond music, Carey has acted in films such as *Tennessee* (2008), *Precious* (2009), *The Butler* (2013), *A Christmas Melody* (2015), and *The Lego Batman Movie* (2017). She has also appeared on television, serving as a judge on *American Idol* and starring in the docu-series *Mariah's World*. In 2020, she published her memoir, *The Meaning of Mariah Carey*.


With over 220 million records sold worldwide, Carey is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress, and the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame. Her accolades include 5 Grammy Awards, 10 American Music Awards, 19 World Music Awards, and 20 Billboard Music Awards. Carey's hits such as "One Sweet Day" and "We Belong Together" are among Billboard's most successful songs of the 1990s and 2000s, respectively. She holds the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles by a solo artist (19), a female songwriter (18), and a female producer (15), and has spent a record 93 weeks atop the chart. Carey is also the highest-certified female artist in the United States, ranking 10th overall, with 75 million certified album units.