Singer, lyricist, producer, actress and philanthropist, Mariah Carey is back on the crest of the wave. After a hit album (Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel) and single (Obsessed), and following appearances at President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony and Michael Jackson's funeral, the pop star has now returned to the cinema screen in Precious, where she plays a social worker trying to help an adolescent single mother, who is pregnant with her second child.
Seated on the sofa in a small lounge in a Beverly Hills hotel, the great diva sips an espresso while her makeup artist applies the final touches for the photo session. Venus Mimi, as her friends call her, looks relaxed and contented. She is in a good mood, and is keen to talk about her latest work in front of the movie camera, her music, her philanthropic work (the singer has made generous contributions to organizations like the Fresh Air Fund and the Make A Wish Foundation) and, in passing, her underprivileged childhood. After her role in Precious, she is now releasing Angels Advocate, a collection of duets with some of her favorite artists.
What does it mean for you to go back to acting?
Finding new expression for the other side of my creativity, which I haven't been able to show until now. Working on Precious was an extraordinary opportunity to bring out the other part of what's inside me.
Do you identify in any way with Precious, the film's protagonist?
I'd say I do, yes, because when I was small I always considered myself different from everyone else. When you come from an interracial family – my father is Afro-American and my mother is white – it's very hard to blend into a group. People don't consider you either black or white, so I always felt very isolated.
What would you say you are?
My mother taught me to answer that question by saying I'm multiracial. The term then became 'biracial'. What people are afraid of saying is that they're half black and half white, so they have to invent exotic names to define themselves or feel more easily accepted.
What was your childhood like?
My parents got divorced, and I travelled around with my mother from place to place, continually changing schools and living on very little money. It was a very tough childhood, and let's just say I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. In fact, I remember sitting in my mother's broken-down old Dodge and seeing people go past in ordinary cars, and thinking: 'When I grow up, I'm not going to have a car like this one. I'm going to escape poverty and I'm going to sing, which is what makes me happy.' I experienced situations I don't dare talk about in public, but some day I'll write about it.
Why don't you do that now?
Because a lot of the things that happened to me during childhood weren't my fault. The blame lies with other people, and I wouldn't like to hurt them by publishing my memoirs. I'll get them ready little by little, though, perhaps with the help of other members of my family. The chairman of my record company wants to make a documentary about my life, and he wants to make it now. I understand his reasons, but first I've got to talk to other people and reach an agreement with them before publishing my memoirs. I don't want fights or unpleasantness with anybody.
Yours is seen as something of a Cinderella story…
Yes, but the perception's wrong because Prince Charming turned out to be a dud. It took me a long time to realize the relationship had turned so sour, but when I did, I got out of it. When you're successful in life and things are going well for you professionally, you don't think you deserve all the good things that are happening to you. You boycott yourself, and that's what I did by choosing the wrong person.
You're referring to Tommy Mottola, your ex-husband and promoter. And yet it was your brother Morgan who helped you at the start of your career…
Yes, he paid for my first demo, which cost 5,000 dollars at the time. Morgan always believed in me. 'My little sister's going to be a star come day,' he used to tell everybody. I've sung ever since I learned to talk. My mother (Patricia Carey) was an opera singer. She trained at the Julliard School and by 16 was already singing at the Lincoln Center in New York.
Your mother is Irish and your father is Afro-American with Venezuelan roots. How did they meet?
It was in Brooklyn Heights, when she and a friend were trying to discover the whereabouts of Yul Brynner, who apparently lived around there at the time. My father, who'd been in the army, had a shaved head, and although he's black, his skin is very pale. My mother and her friend mistook him for Yul Brynner until another friend of theirs pointed out their mistake, but it meant they met each other.
What have you learned from your parents?
To have faith in God. My mother used to say to me: 'Don't say "if" I manage it, but "when" I manage it.' That reaffirmed my determination to do things as well as I can, and to accomplish my objectives in every aspect of my life. That's how I've managed to get up after every fall and carry on. I consider myself a survivor and a very optimistic person. Nobody knocks me down.
Is that the message you'd like to send your fans?
Yes, I'm in a position where my responsibility is to set a good example, and that's something I take very seriously. I don't want it to be thought that the person who writes lyrics about not being swept away by mad moments or bad influences is someone who throws in the towel at the first sign of trouble. I adore my fans, I feel unconditional love for them. They're like my family. I don't have any children, but even if I never had any, I wouldn't feel deprived.
You're also interested in people less privileged than yourself, to judge by your philanthropic work...
I help as much as I can. Through my foundation, Camp Mariah, which is associated with the Fresh Air Foundation, I try to help children from underprivileged neighborhoods in New York State, most of whom have never left their street, to discover other places and other children by spending a few weeks in a camp surrounded by nature. Their eyes are opened to all sorts of activities that could lead them to a future profession. They learn photography, painting, handicrafts, singing and dance, and find out they have talents they never knew about. That fills me with satisfaction.
Going back to your childhood wish, it seems to have come true with a vengeance. Do you feel satisfied?
Very, I'm tremendously grateful. I went from the old Dodge to the New York subway, and later to a limousine, which I've donated to my parish. I don't need a car, I only use it for work. When I travel, though, I go by private jet on medical orders. I have to take good care of my voice (laughter).
What goals still remain for you to accomplish?
Now that I'm married again, I'd like to form a family, but if it can't be, as I said before, I'll content myself with continuing to progress as an artist and a human being. This year I went on a concert tour with my new album. So much travelling is tough, but I love being in direct contact with the public.
Besides music and film, you have other commercial interests like drinks, cosmetics and perfumes. Are you afraid of being made redundant?
I love being busy. And what's more, you have to be realistic. The traditional music industry is in a bad way. The sales of CDs have fallen drastically, and it's all because the top executives in the music industry didn't realize how the internet was going to change the way the fans consumed music. To be able to carry on doing the work we enjoy, we musicians and singers now have to go out and earn our living. People listen to my music almost for free these days, but I still make money by doing other things that allow me to keep composing my songs and recording new albums. Creation should have no limits.
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