Pop singer Mariah Carey was born on March 27, 1970 in Huntington, N.Y. to an Irish-American opera singer mother and an African-Venezuelan engineer father. Carey's mother encouraged her daughter's vocal skills from an early age and by age 15 Mariah was performing in New York City, often skipping school to play in clubs late into the night. After graduating from high school Carey moved to New York to attend beauty school and shop her rough demos around town. She eventually landed a job as a backup singer for Brenda K. Starr, who introduced her to music industry execs; one night Carey handed her demo tape to Tommy Mottola, the president of Columbia Records, and had a deal the next month. Collaborating with several established pop producers as well as friend Ben Margulies, Carey released her debut album, Vision of Love, in 1990. The record shot to the top of the R&B, pop, and adult contemporary charts, spawning four No. 1 hits, selling over six million copies in the U.S., and winning two Grammys.