Some of the stars we admire today have survived trials so harrowing, it’s almost unbelievable they ever made it to the top.
The woman we’re about to explore had a childhood steeped in darkness and betrayal, and her memoirs revealed shocking, painful truths.
When she was just 12 years old, her own sister allegedly tried to get her hooked on drugs and wanted to recruit her to be a sex worker.
Didn’t believe she was worthy of being alive
To the world, some stars shine with nothing but glamour, talent, and undeniable success. But behind the spotlight, certain icons have endured pain so profound, it seems unimaginable. One such powerhouse of music — recently named the fifth-greatest singer of all time — has a story that reveals just how much darkness can hide behind the dazzling light.
She rose to fame in 1990, but her story began long before the spotlight.
Our star entered the world on March 27, 1969, in Huntington, New York. Her dad, Alfred, was an aeronautical engineer of African American and Venezuelan heritage, and her Patricia was an opera singer from an Irish-American family.
Even though they shared the same blood, the singer often felt like a stranger, an outsider within her own family. Neither of her parents resembled her. She remembered seeing them as “riddled with regret, hostages of a sequence of cruel circumstances.” Her older siblings, Alison and Morgan, had darker skin.
”I didn’t believe I was worthy of being alive,” she once stated.
There was also another shadow that loomed over every moment of her childhood. Her parents married during a time when racism was rampant and interracial unions were rare. Patricia’s family cut ties with her for marrying a Black man.
Racial prejudice made it nearly impossible for the family to feel accepted in their community. While living in Huntington, they endured shocking acts of hostility— neighbors poisoned their dog and even set their car on fire.
She has described her first encounter with racism as “a first kiss in reverse,” explaining, “Each time, a piece of purity was ripped from my being.”
Attacked for her skin color
With a Black father and white mother, many of her friends didn’t even realize she was biracial. She recalls a traumatic sleepover when a group of girls locked her in a bedroom and repeatedly shouted the n-word at her.
“The venom and hate with which these girls spewed this… chant was so strong, it quite literally lifted me out of my body,” she says. “I was disorientated and terrified and I thought that maybe, if I held on and just kept crying, surely a grown-up would come and stop the assault. But no-one came.”
On a different occasion, she was targeted by a racist who spat in her face on the school bus.
Home offered no refuge either.
The singer remembers frequent clashes between her father, Alfred, and her brother, Morgan, once saying, “It was not uncommon for holes to be punched in walls or for other objects to go flying.”
Always felt dirty
Her relationship with her mother was also far from ideal.
“I always felt dirty, I didn’t feel put together, and [she was] leaving me with people who were not safe,” the singer recalled.
The pressures of the world around them forced her family to move frequently and ultimately contributed to Alfred and Patricia’s divorce.
After her parents split, she saw very little of her father and spent much of her childhood alone at home. She began singing at just three years old, often mimicking her mother’s renditions of Verdi’s Rigoletto in Italian.
Even though singing became a way to escape reality, the harshness of life kept knocking at her door throughout her childhood.
In her memoirs, she recounted a terrifying incident at just six years old, when she called a family friend for help after her mother was attacked. When the police arrived, one officer reportedly remarked, “If this kid survives it will be a miracle.”
Her older sister Alison was an inconsistent presence in her life, struggling with teenage pregnancy, drug addiction, and suicidal thoughts.
Her sister’s act
According to her memoir, our star endured a deeply traumatic experience with her sister before reaching her teens. She claims that at just 12 years old, her sister gave her Valium, offered her a tiny amount of cocaine, caused her third-degree burns, and attempted to sell her to a pimp.
Allegedly, she manipulated into spending a night alone with the pimp, which led to a card game and a drive-in movie, where he “almost immediately” put his arm around her. Terrified and immobilized by the “handgun resting against his thigh,” the artist says she only managed to escape when another car pulled up alongside them.
Alison, who passed away in 2024, consistently denied the allegations in the book, saying she was shocked and appalled that her sister would accuse her of something like this.
Considering all the trauma and challenges she faced, it’s remarkable that this young woman would grow up to become one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold worldwide.
Nicknamed the “Songbird Supreme,” she is renowned for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, signature use of the whistle register, and larger-than-life diva persona. Many would also say she’s best known as “The Queen of Christmas,” thanks to her holiday hit All I Want for Christmas Is You, one of the best-selling singles in history.
So, who is this? Naturally, we’re talking about none other than Mariah Carey.
“Controlling” relationship
As many may know, Carey burst onto the music scene in the early 1990s. Her self-titled debut album made history, as she became the only artist whose first five singles reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Mariah went on to achieve global success, and with eleven consecutive years of US number-one singles throughout the ’90s, Billboard named her the Artist of the Decade.
By the time Carey found her breakthrough in music, her desire to escape her previous life led her to marry former Sony Music executive Tony Mottola.
Years later, she described the relationship as “controlling” and said she felt like a prisoner in their luxurious mansion. Carey eventually freed herself after eight years, and today she devotes herself to her children and to “music,” which she calls her “saving grace.”
Mariah Carey has two children, twins Monroe and Moroccan Scott Cannon, with her ex-husband Nick Cannon. They were born on April 30, 2011.
Story behind All I Want For Christmas
Reflecting on her difficult childhood, Carey has shared how those experiences shaped her love for Christmas — something that shines through in her iconic holiday hit, All I Want For Christmas Is You, which is now celebrating its 31st anniversary.
“As a kid, I always hoped for great Christmases, and we didn’t have them. My brother and sister would come back to wherever I was with my mom, and they’d be fighting and ruining the holiday. I would still be like, ‘You know what? I just want to have the best time,’” she said during an interview with Cosmopolitan.
Mariah’s relationship with her mother—who passed down her remarkable vocal talents—was complex throughout her life. The bond between Mariah and Patricia was described as a story of “betrayal and beauty,” a tale of “love and abandonment,” and one of “sacrifice and survival.”
Tragically, Patricia and Mariah’s sister Alison both passed away on the same day in August 2024.
Mariah was with her mother in her final moments.
The singer said, “I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mom before she passed.” She ended her message by expressing gratitude for the love and support she has received, as well as for the “respect for my privacy during this impossible time.”
What an incredible journey she’s been through — I honestly had no idea. It’s a powerful reminder that behind all the millions, the smiles, and the hit songs, there’s often a story the world never sees.
You never truly know what someone has survived to get where they are, and it’s a reminder to never judge anyone at first glance.