 Center : Mariah and husband, Nick Cannon holding twins, Moroccan and Monroe. Left : Father, Alfred Roy Carey Right : Mother, Patricia Hickey Carey . | The Mariah Carey family finds its roots in Ireland, Venezuela and Africa. Mariah Carey’s parents Alfred and Patricia eloped and really upset Patricia’s parents because Alfred was African American. The couple raised their family including a son, Morgan, and two daughters Alison and Mariah in Huntington, New York. The family suffered many racial hardships from burning crosses to even gun shots flailing through the kitchen windows at dinnertime. The daughter of an opera singer, Mariah overcame her family struggles by sharing her voice with the world and becoming America’s sweetheart in the early 1990s. Today, the Mariah Carey family includes her husband Nick Cannon and twin children, Moroccan and Monroe. The sky is the limit for Mariah as she will be appearing a a judge o n Fox’s American Idol in the Fall of 2012. Marriage |
Parents : [father - Alfred Roy Carey] and [mother - Patricia (nee Hickey) Carey] The famous member of the Carey family was born Mariah Angela Carey to her parents Alfred and Patricia Carey on March 27, 1970. She was more than eight years younger than her two siblings Morgan and Alison. After her parents divorced when he was 3, Mariah moved her and her brother, Morgan, around the New York City suburbs finding work wherever she could. Mariah escaped her explosive childhood by singing to the radio and working with her talented mother to perfect her voice.
At the age of 15, Mariah was hired as a backup singer for Brenda K. Star. Fatefully, Mariah joined Brenda at a party where she passed her cassette tape of her music onto Tommy Matola, a music mogul for Columbia Records. After hearing the tape in his limo ride home from the party, Tommy rushed back to make a connection with Mariah. In 1994, Mariah hit the charts with her first self-titled album that quickly received the honor of becoming multi-platinum.
Mariah Carey’s extraordinary talent for music comes from her mother’s side of the family tree. Patricia Hickey developed a love for music from her father before he passed away when she was very young. To make her father proud, Patricia went on to become a New York opera singer. At a very young age, Patricia met her husband Alfred and eloped with him after learning she was pregnant with her first children and son, Morgan. Her family was not happy with her choice to marry a black man, so she was on her own to deal with the struggles of becoming a young mom in a highly violent environment for mixed race families. In 1994, Patricia fought with Mariah in court over custody of her eldest daughter’s children.
Maternal Grandparents :
f: John Wesley Hickey
Died when Patricia was very young. He is noted as being a lover of music and inspired Patricia to seek a career in it.
m: Ann Elizabeth Egan (b. Dec 7, 1903 d. Feb. 1989
She disowned her daughter Patricia for marrying a black man. Her family tree goes all the way back to Ireland.
