Patricia Carey: Is Mariah Carey’s mother still alive? Where is she now?

Who is Patricia Carey?

Patricia Carey is a former opera singer and vocal coach and also the mother of Mariah Carey. Patricia’s daughter Mariah Carey has been very successful in her career and has been named the “Songbird Supreme” by the Guinness World Records. Her daughter is regarded as one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters of her generation. She has won five Grammy Awards, nineteen World Music Awards, ten American Music Awards, 8 Guinness World Records, and fifteen Billboard Music Awards. Most recently in 2022, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Patricia Carey: Bio Summary

Is Patricia Carey still alive?

Patricia Carey also known as Patricia Hickey was born on February 15, 1937, in Virgin, Utah, U.S.A. is Patricia Carey still alive? Yes, she is 85 years old as of 2022. She is the daughter of John Wesley Hickey and Ann Elizabeth Egan. She reportedly grew up in Springfield Illinois and her mother was Irish Catholic woman.

Patricia Carey’s father is said to have passed away at the time her mom was pregnant with her. She is of Irish descent. She worked with the New York City Opera. She move to New York City where she won a scholarship to the prestigious Julliard School for Music.

Patricia Carey would go on to sing with The New York City Opera, making her debut at Lincoln Center. She recorded the album ‘To Start Again’ in 1977, and the album featured 13 tracks. On her daughter Mariah Carey’s 2010 Christmas album, Patricia features as a guest vocalist on “O Come All Ye Faithful” / “Hallelujah Chorus”.

Patricia Carey was married to Alfred Roy Carey. They are parents of three children, Mariah Carey, Alison Carey, and Morgan Carey. Mariah was named after the song “They Call the Wind Maria.”

Mariah reportedly sold her mother Patricia’s vacated upstate New York home, which she originally purchased for her in 1994 for $419,000. Patricia was relocated to West Palm Beach, Florida, to live in an upscale senior living home.

Her Family Disowned Her For Marrying A Black Man

Patricia Carey fell in love with Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer of African-American and black Venezuelan-American lineage. Patricia and Alfred got attracted to each other after they met and thereafter romance blossomed. They dated for some time and decided to spend the rest of their lives together.

In 1960, Patricia Carey and Alfred Roy Carey decided to get married. However, due to their mixed-race marriage, Patricia’s family turned their backs on her. Her family decided to disown her for marrying a black man. The family had to go through a lot including racist threats and humiliation.

In Mariah’s memoir, she stated that “It was an abomination. It was a complete humiliation. My mother’s marriage to my father was beyond betrayal to her mother; it was a high crime against her White heritage, punishable by ex-communication.”

Also Read: Lorelei Frygier: Everything About Kristen Bell’s Mother

Racial tensions prevented the Carey family from integrating into their community. Living in Huntington was hell as their neighbors were able to poison the family dog and set fire to their car.

It became too much for the couple to handle and eventually, they divorced in 1973. They were married for over a decade.

Patricia Carey Contributed To Her Daughter Mariah Carey’s Career

After Patricia Carey divorced Alfred Roy Carey, their daughter Alison Carey moved in with her father Alfred while Mariah Carey and Morgan Carey lived with their mother Patricia. Mariah Carey had little contact with her father Alfred.

To be able to support the family, Patricia Carey did several jobs to earn enough money. Her daughter Mariah started singing at age three and she frequently mimicked her mother’s take on Verdi’s opera Rigoletto in Italian. Under the tutelage of her mother Patricia, Mariah started vocal training.

Patricia Carey told People in 1993, “From the time Mariah was a tiny girl, she sang on true pitch. She was able to hear a sound and duplicate it exactly”. “I missed my cue, but Mariah didn’t. She sang it in Italian at exactly the right point. She wasn’t yet 3.”

Patricia Carey was a classically trained opera singer but she never pressured her daughter Mariah to pursue a career in classical opera. Mariah once recollected that Patricia had “never been a pushy mom. She never said, ‘Give it more of an operatic feel.’ I respect opera like crazy, but it didn’t influence me.”

Mariah Carey said that her mother is an opera singer and she has experienced diva moments.

“I have had diva moments, and then people can’t handle it. I guess it’s a little intense, because I come from a true diva: My mother is an opera singer. And that’s a real diva, you know–Juilliard diva. And I mean it as a compliment, or I wouldn’t be the person I am without experiencing that.

Her daughter Mariah Carey is now a distinguished singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She is known for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, signature use of the whistle register, and songwriting. She gained attention with her eponymous debut album.

Mariah Carey became the first artist to have her first five singles attain number one on the Billboard Hot 100, from “Vision of Love” to “Emotions”. She released her debut album under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married.

Mariah Carey has become very successful in her career and throughout her career, she has earned many awards and honors. Billboard named her the Artist of the Decade (1990s), while the World Music Awards honored her as the best-selling female pop-artist of the millennium. She has set and broken numerous Hot 100 records.

Mariah Carey signed a $100 million record deal with Virgin Records after leaving Columbia Records. She later signed with Island Records. She won the Breakthrough Actress Performance award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for her role in the 2009 film Precious.

Mariah Carey has released several albums and singles and has also appeared in numerous movies. She was a judge on American Idol. She has published her 2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey. She is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 220 million records worldwide.

Mariah Carey 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). She was ranked second on VH1’s list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. She has inspired many pop and R&B artists helping merge hip-hop with pop music through her crossover collaborations.

Mariah Carey has announced her Merry Christmas to All! tour would stop at two venues: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on December 11, 2022, and Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 13, 2022. She is also a philanthropist and she has been involved with several charitable organizations.

Mariah is an active Episcopalian. She stated in 2006:

“I do believe that I have been born again in a lot of ways. I think what I’ve changed are my priorities and my relationships with God. I feel the difference when I don’t have my private moments to pray… I’m a fighter, but I learned that I’m not in charge. Whatever God wants to happen is what’s going to happen. I feel like I’ve had endless second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth chances. It’s by the grace of God I’m still here.”

Meanwhile, Mariah Carey battled bipolar II disorder. She opened up about taking therapy sessions and medication for her struggle in April 2018. She was diagnosed in 2001 and initially kept the diagnosis private.