Mariah Carey's Biggest Milestones

The New York native released he self-titled debut album on June 12, 1990. It has since become an R&B and pop classic and earned Carey two GRAMMY awards.

It was the beginning of many accolades for Mariah Carey, who received her first GRAMMY in February 1991. The singer, who was 20 years old at the time, took home two gramophones for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Vision of Love."

Carey was discovered by Tommy Mottola in 1998, when he was the head of Columbia Records. They began dating in 1991 and married on June 5, 1993, in a lavish wedding at New York City's St. Thomas Episcopal Church, when Carey was 23 and Mottola was 44. It was the first marriage for the pop star and second for the music mogul. 

The "Always Be My Baby" singer receive the award for Best-Selling World Recording Artist at the World Music Awards in May 1995.

Carey's "One Sweet Day," featuring Boyz II Men, was released on Nov. 14, 1995, and became an instant hit, garnering rave reviews from critics and fans. The song spent 16 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, becoming the longest-running No. 1 song on the chart. Subsequently, Billboard magazine named it the most popular song of the 1990s.

Despite having a successful career under Mottola's watchful eye, Carey's marriage with the label executive came to an end after four years of marriage. The singer filed for divorce on May 30, 1997. They officially divorced in 1998 and Carey spoke to Interview about her marriage the following year, saying that she "always felt like the rug could be pulled out from under me. [With Tommy] I felt safe and I felt a sense of family. It just didn’t work out because it became too suffocating.”

The "Hero" crooner closed out the '90s on a very high note -- she was named Artist of the Decade at the Billboard Music Awards, held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in December 1999.

In May 2000, Carey was honored at the World Music Awards as the Best-Selling Female Artist of the Millennium, reminding everyone once again of her global power.

The 2000s marked the beginning of a new era for Carey, who surprised fans by starring in her first feature film, Glitter. The film debuted in September 2001 and was considered a commercial flop by critics. 

In 2002, Carey parted ways with Virgin Records after one year. After being courted by other record companies, the pop diva signed with Island/Def Jam Music Group on May 9, 2002. It was later revealed that her new contract was valued at more than $20 million.

In March 2003, the "Heartbreaker" songstress was bestowed with the Quincy Jones Award at the 17th Annual Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles. The award, named in honor of the legendary music producer, was previously awarded to The Isley Brothers, Luther Vandross and Whitney Houston.

Every woman deserves their own signature fragrance -- at least that's what Carey thinks! The singer teamed up with Elizabeth Arden to develop a new women's perfume called M, which hit stores in September 2007. The fragrance was released in a lavish satin jewelry-esque box, and the bottle’s cap included Carey’s signature butterfly.

The "One Sweet Day" singer began dating Nick Cannon in 2008 after he appeared in her music video for "Bye Bye." The two shocked fans and loved ones when they eloped on April 30, 2008, and the lovebirds also got tattoos to commemorate the special occasion. Cannon got the name "Mariah" tattooed on his shoulder, while Carey got a tattoo with the words "Mrs. Cannon" on her lower back.

In December 2009, Billboard named Carey's "We Belong Together," from her album The Emancipation of Mimi, the Song of the Decade and the ninth most popular song of all-time.

Carey and Cannon celebrated their third wedding anniversary with another milestone: becoming parents to twins! Monroe Cannon and Moroccan Scott Cannon were born on April 30, 2011.

Carey joined the 12th season of Fox’s American Idol in July 2012. Two months later, it was revealed that the singer would share the judges’ table with Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban and Randy Jackson. She only stayed with the competition show for one season, later telling Australia's Kyle and Jackie O show that Idol was "the worst experience of my life."

Carey and Cannon renewed their vows every year to celebrate their anniversary. In 2013, they opted to host a renewal ceremony at Disneyland. The day also marked the second birthday of the couple's twins.

Cannon filed for divorce from Carey on Dec.12, 2014, in New York, after multiple reports surfaced that the two were calling it quits after six years of marriage. While their relationship was rocky directly following the split, they have since overcome their differences and are on good terms for the sake of their children.

The GRAMMY winner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in August 2015. The 2,556th star was unveiled at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Argyle Avenue, right outside the W Hotel.

The couple made their red carpet debut together at The Intern premiere in September 2015, where an eyewitness told ET the two looked "really cute together" and "seemed very happy." Carey and her billionaire beau got engaged in January 2016 but split in October of that year.

Carey gave fans an inside look into her chaotic world as a mother, then-fiancé and world-famous pop diva with an E! docu-series called Mariah’s World, which premiered in December 2016.

A quarter of a century since being released, Carey’s Christmas banger, “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time ever in December 2019. The song previously reached number three in 2018 and hit the top spot 25 years since its release. The achievement marks Carey’s 19th number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and she has now made history with the most No. 1 songs on the chart by a solo artist. The festive hit is featured on Carey’s 1994 Christmas album, Merry Christmas, which was re-released by Sony Music Entertainment’s Legacy Recordings as Merry Christmas (Deluxe Anniversary Edition). She also dropped a brand new music video for the holiday anthem in 2019, deemed the "Make My Wish Come True" edition.