American singer Mariah Carey has had an extensive career in film and television throughout her career including multiple music videos, starring in feature films, and several television appearances. After filming and directing multiple music videos for well-acclaimed songs throughout the 1990s, such as "Fantasy", Carey made her big-screen debut in the rom-com, The Bachelor (1999). In 2001, Carey starred in Glitter which followed the story of Billie Frank, a young woman rising to fame as a pop-star, and was released on September 21, 2001. It was a major commercial failure and critical flop being ranked number 21 on IMDb's Bottom 100 Movies of All Time. Despite her initial start, she went on to appear in films WiseGirls (2002), State Property 2 (2005) and Tennessee (2008) with supporting roles. The latter film received higher praise with Carey's role as Krystal, an aspiring young singer, being called "surprisingly effective". Despite the film's mixed reviews, Carey's performance as Raychel in WiseGirls was also given favourable reviews in comparison to her role as Billie Frank in Glitter.
In 2009, Carey starred in Lee Daniels' film Precious as Ms. Weiss, a social worker, which earned her multiple awards and nominations including a win for the Palm Springs International Film Festival Breakthrough Performance Award. Precious was deemed by some to be Carey's comeback and "return to acting". Daniels enlisted her again for his historical drama film, The Butler (2013) which earned her a second nomination for Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. That same year, she appeared as a judge on the twelfth season of the singing competition television series American Idol alongside Nicki Minaj, Randy Jackson and Keith Urban. In 2018, she also appeared as a key advisor on fifteenth season of The Voice.
In December 2016, Carey starred in her first docu-series, Mariah's World which premiered on the E! cable network. The show followed Carey's Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour around Europe and her then-plans to get married. The series struggled with ratings and was cancelled after one season. Since 2015, Carey has gone on to reinvent her image as the "de facto Christmas-time hostess" with multiple Christmas specials including Hallmark Channel's A Christmas Melody (2015) which marked her directorial debut, and Apple TV's Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special (2020).
Carey has also lent her voice to many animated films, most notably The Star (2017) and The Lego Batman Movie (2017). She has also made cameo appearances in numerous films, her first being in Death of a Dynasty (2003) and later on in Girls Trip (2017) among several others. Carey has also recorded theme music for different films and shows such as "When You Believe" from The Prince of Egypt (1998) soundtrack with Whitney Houston, "Almost Home" from Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), "In the Mix" from Mixed-ish (2019),"Mariah Carey Writes, Performs 'Mixed-Ish' Theme Song For ABC – TCA" from Deadline (August 5, 2019) and "The Star from the 2017 film of the same name which was nominated for the Best Original Song at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
Having worked with numerous artists throughout her career such as Ol' Dirty Bastard, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Boyz II Men and Ariana Grande, Carey has accumulated over one billion views on her Vevo account. Her music videos have been given high praise with Vogue stating that "since bursting onto the scene in the 1990s, [Carey] has evolved from the American girl next door (jeans and a T-shirt were her staples) to a sultrier, more glamorous aesthetic, complete with a wind machine blowing at all times". Carey has been nominated three times for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video, for the videos "Honey (Bad Boy Remix)", "We Belong Together" and "Touch My Body". In 2021, Carey was honoured at the African American Film Critics Association with a Special Achievement Innovator Award for her "visual storytelling in her music videos and specials".
Music videos 1990s +Key Denotes music videos directed or co-directed by Mariah Carey
+ List of music videos, showing associated album, premiere date, other artists credited, director(s), producer(s), and description Associated album Title Premiere date Other artist(s) Director(s) Producer(s) Description Mariah Carey "Vision of Love" July 1990 Bojan Bazelli Ron Kay "Vision of Love"(Channel 4 Version) 1990 "Love Takes Time" October 1990 Jeb BrienWayne Maser Ron Kay "Someday" February 1991 Larry Jordan Lexi Godfrey "Someday"(New 12" Jackswing) 1991 "I Don't Wanna Cry" May 1991 Larry Jordan Kim Turner "I Don't Wanna Cry"(Alternative Version) "I Don't Wanna Cry"(Director's Cut) Carey stated in 2015 that because there was a "hot guy" in the video and her dressing was very provocative, they made her reshoot many scenes. "There's Got to Be a Way" May 1991 Larry Jordan Emotions "Emotions" September 1991 Jeff Preiss Debbie Samuelson "Emotions"(12" Club Mix) 1991 Jeff Preiss "Can't Let Go" December 1991 Jim Sonzero David Ramser "Make It Happen" March 1992 Marcus Nispel Anouk Frankel MTV Unplugged "I'll Be There"(Live Video) June 1992 Trey Lorenz Larry Jordan "If It's Over"(Live Video) July 1992 Larry Jordan Music Box "Dreamlover" August 1993 Diane Martel Gina Harrell "Hero"(Live Video) November 1993 Larry Jordan Patti Lamanga "Without You"(Live Video) February 1994 Larry Jordan Al SmithJack GulickRandy Hoffman "Anytime You Need a Friend" May 1994 Daniela Federici "Anytime You Need a Friend"(C+C Radio Mix) 1994 Daniela Federici "Anytime You Need a Friend" – EP "Anytime You Need a Friend"(Soul Convention Mix) August 7, 2020 Mariah Carey Previously Unreleased but later released for #MC30 in 2020. Songs "Endless Love" 1994 Luther Vandross "Endless Love"(Live Video) 1994 Luther Vandross Merry Christmas "All I Want For Christmas Is You" November 28, 1994 Diane Martel "All I Want For Christmas Is You"(Alternative Version) December 14, 1994 "Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)" 1994 Diane Martel "Joy to the World"(Live Video) 1994 Daydream "Fantasy" September 7, 1995 Mariah Carey "Fantasy"(Bad Boy Remix) October 1995 O.D.B Mariah Carey "One Sweet Day" November 1995 Boyz II Men Larry Jordan Tom Case Merry Christmas "Joy to the World"(Celebration Mix) December 1995 Daydream "Open Arms"(Live Video) 1996 Larry Jordan "El Amor Que Soñé"(Live Video) 1996 Larry Jordan "Always Be My Baby" March 1996 Mariah Carey Ethan Wolvek "Always Be My Baby"(Mr. Dupri Mix) May 1996 Da BratXscape Mariah Carey "Forever"(Live Video) October 1996 Larry Jordan "Underneath the Stars" November 13, 2020 Previously Unreleased (Released for #MC30) Butterfly "Honey" September 1997 Paul Hunter Rubin Mendoza "Honey"(Bad Boy Remix) September 1997 MaseThe Lox "Butterfly" October 1997 Daniel PearlMariah Carey Warren HewlettDan Shea "Breakdown" February 1998 Krayzie BoneWish Bone Mariah CareyDiane Martel Jack Gulick "The Roof" March 1998 Mariah CareyDiane Martel Jack Gulick "My All" 1998 Herb Ritts Debbie Kennard "My All/Stay Awhile"(So So Def Remix) June 1998 Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz Diane Martel "Whenever You Call"(Live Video) 1998 #1's "Sweetheart" October 1998 Jermaine Dupri Hype Williams "When You Believe" November 16, 1998 Whitney Houston Phil Joanou "When You Believe"(Alternative Version) December 13, 1998 Whitney Houston Mary Lambert "I Still Believe" January 12, 1999 Brett Ratner Erin Williams "I Still Believe/Pure Imagination"(Damizza Reemix) February 1999 Krayzie BoneDa Brat Mariah Carey Rainbow "Heartbreaker" August 16, 1999 Brett Ratner August 30, 1999 Jay-Z Brett Ratner "Heartbreaker" (Remix) October 12, 1999 Da BratMissy ElliottDJ Clue? Diane Martel "Thank God I Found You" October 14, 1999 Joe98 Degrees Brett Ratner Steve WoronieckiJohn Marshall "Thank God I Found You"(Make It Last Remix) November 1999 JoeNas Sanaa Hamri "Thank God I Found You"(Alternative Version) December 14, 1999 Joe98 Degrees
2000s
+Key Denotes music videos directed or co-directed by Mariah Carey