Mariah Carey is an award winning American songwriter.
Mariah Carey ( born March 27 , 1969 or 1970 ) is an American singer , songwriter , record producer , and actress . In 1998 , she was honored as the world 's best-selling recording artist of the 1990s at the World Music Awards and subsequently named the best-selling female artist of the millennium in 2000 . Carey once again ventured into film with a well-received supporting role in Precious ( 2009 ) , and was awarded the `` Breakthrough Performance Award '' at the Palm Springs International Film Festival . Aside from her commercial accomplishments , Carey has won 5 Grammy Awards , 19 World Music Awards , 11 American Music Awards , and 14 Billboard Music Awards and has been consistently credited with inspiring a generation of singers .