The Heartbreaking Reason Mariah Carey Feels Connected To Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe has long inspired women of all generations, as has award-winning songbird Mariah Carey. In fact, for the "Always Be My Baby" singer, Monroe occupies an especially important place in her heart. 

Carey has never hidden her love for Monroe. In fact, in 1999, she shelled out a considerable sum to purchase the late star's beloved white baby grand piano. Per Barnebys, Carey bid a whopping $662,500 for the instrument, and she has zero buyer's remorse. Au contraire, dahling! She reflected on the purchase in her 2020 memoir, "The Meaning of Mariah Carey," referring to it as one of her most prized possessions. She also drew parallels to the importance both she and Monroe had placed on the piano. Just as Monroe had written in her own memoir, "My Story" that she had "rescued" her mother's instrument after searching for it for years, Carey "rescued" it from the auction, with every intention of giving it the respect and reverence she felt it deserved (via The Marilyn Report). 

That's not the only way Carey has honored her icon over the years, though. Shortly after the birth of her twins, a representative for Carey and then-husband Nick Cannon confirmed to CNN's The Marquee Blog that her daughter's name, Monroe Cannon, was indeed inspired by the late icon. Naming a child after someone is no mean feat, so what is it that connects Carey to the icon on such a deep level?

In her 2020 memoir, Mariah Carey recounted the moment she first became acquainted with Marilyn Monroe. Her mother had been watching a documentary on the star, Carey had caught a glimpse, and the rest was history (via The Marilyn Report).  

In wake of her newfound fascination, Carey's mother got her a copy of Norman Mailer's "Marilyn: A Biography," which she finished in no time. For Carey — then a third-grader — there was something about Monroe that she connected to, on a deeply personal level. "She had a very difficult childhood, moving from one foster home to another. That was close to my story: being uprooted and unprotected, feeling like an outsider," she shared (via The Marilyn Report). Carey also acknowledged that Monroe's "struggles with poverty and family" resonated with her. 

That heartbreaking connection was something Carey felt few others could truly relate to, and soon, she began to identify more with the late icon more than anyone else. As noted by Insider, she even considered the Monroe poster on her bedroom wall her best friend at a stage. Per an excerpt from her memoir (via The Marilyn Report), she said of the poster, "I gazed up at Marilyn before I went to sleep and first thing when I woke up." 

Though Mariah Carey connected to Marilyn Monroe through their shared childhood struggles, the latter is convinced that the "Niagara" actor doesn't get enough credit for the road she's paved for all women. 

Speaking to The Guardian in 2014, Carey noted that Monroe established her own production company in a time when women had little power in showbiz, if any. "Marilyn Monroe Productions was the first female-owned production company in Hollywood. She paved the way for women in Hollywood, and every single woman owes something to her for that, whether they agree with her image or not." she said. Of that image, Carey made sure to mention that despite perfecting the caricature of the "Ditzy" blond, she was incredibly well-read, noting, "Marilyn was reading Nietzche on the set of 'Something's Got To Give.'" Again, Carey can relate. Despite being an avid reader herself, she says she chooses to "play with" her "ditzy image." However, like Monroe, Carey feels no compulsion to give up her playful spiel. "If it pisses people off, whatever," she shared. 

As heartbreaking as Carey's initial connection to Monroe may have been, there's no denying the positive influence it made. As she wrote in "The Meaning of Mariah," through all her trials, tribulations and trailblazing, "Marilyn is a source of inspiration for me, and Lawd have I needed that" (via The Marilyn Report). For inspiring one of the greatest icons of our time, we can't thank Monroe enough.