Mariah Carey.

Her mother discovered her talent in 1972 when Mariah, not yet 3, sang an aria in Italian on perfect pitch during a rehearsal of Rigoletto.

Married Nick Cannon on April 30, 2008 after a 5-day engagement.

In the mid-1990s, she bought her mother a house and moved all her possessions into it as a surprise.

Her legs are insured for $1 billion.

Her name was taken from the song They Call the Wind Maria from the musical Paint Your Wagon.

Earned the nickname Mirage in high school because she rarely attended class.

Studied over 500 hours of beauty school and hair salon work before becoming a singer.

The only female artist and second overall to have 18 No. 1 songs on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Collaborated with many musicians including Brian McKnight, Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, and Missy Elliott.

The most successful female singer-songwriter of all time with 17 No. 1 hits and over 160 million records sold.

Appeared on the benefit concert A Tribute to Heroes after 9/11, performing Hero.

Bought Marilyn Monroe’s white lacquered baby grand piano at auction in October 1999 for $600,000.

Her paternal grandfather Francisco Núñez changed his surname to Carey after moving from Venezuela to New York.

Musical influences include Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Minnie Riperton, and Stevie Wonder.

Mentioned in the Vanessa Hudgens song Promise and the Freeway song Flipside.

Included in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2008 with a tribute by Stevie Wonder.

Founded Camp Mariah in Fishkill, New York, a retreat for inner-city youth to explore the arts.

Had a public breakdown in 2001, grabbing an interviewer’s tape recorder and calling it a complete clown-fest.

Her 1994 song All I Want for Christmas Is You reached No. 1 on the Digital Songs chart in December 2005.

Her highest note G#7 was hit during live performances of Emotions in 1991; she also sings as low as A2 in My All.

Virgin Records bought out her $80 million contract for $28 million in 2002 after the failure of Glitter.

Her wedding to Tommy Mottola was modeled after the royal wedding of King Charles III and Princess Diana, costing nearly $0.5 million.

Owns a three-floor apartment in New York City.

Writes or co-writes all of her number one hits except the cover of I’ll Be There.

Suffered a physical and emotional breakdown in July 2001 and spent time in a Connecticut mental hospital.

Became the only artist to top the charts in each year of the 1990s with Heartbreaker in 1999.

All I Want for Christmas Is You has earned over $60 million in royalties as of 2020.

Worked odd jobs as a hat/coat-checker, hostess, hair sweeper, and waitress before her break.

Her album E=MC2 sold 154,000 copies on its first day.

With 18 No. 1 hits, she is second only to The Beatles 20 in all-time chart history.

Separated from Nick Cannon after six years of marriage.

Has fraternal twins Monroe Cannon and Moroccan Cannon, born April 30, 2011.

Awards include five Grammy Awards, numerous American Music Awards, Billboard’s Artist of the Decade, and the World Music Award for World’s Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium.

Smoked frequently from ages 12 to 18 but quit once her singing career began.

Has no middle name, as her mother believed Mariah Carey would be her stage name.

The Emancipation of Mimi was the biggest-selling album of 2005 and earned eight Grammy nominations.

Was one month pregnant with her twins when she completed The Angels Advocate Tour.

Her first purchases after success were a Ford Mustang convertible and an apartment with a view of New York’s Upper East Side.

Wanted to be a genie when she was a child.

In 1998, she toured Australia and said the highlight was swimming with dolphins.