The Star That Could Not Be Outshined: Mariah Carey Turns Heads in the Most-Watched Episode of Cribs
There are celebrities and then there’s Mariah Carey — and that’s what set apart her famous episode of Cribs from all the others. The MTV series, now in its 19th season, is back with new episodes on Nov. 15 — with stars including Vivica A. Fox, Rumer Willis and Dita Von Teese giving house tours — but the most-watched and replayed episode is that of the Grammy-winning songstress which originally aired in January 2002. She opened the golden doors to her 11,000-square-foot Tribeca penthouse in NYC, making six outfit changes, exercising in stilettos and taking a bath along the way.
Memorable moments in Mimi’s diva den
The jaw-dropping 3 bedroom, 5 1/2 bathroom triplex with views of the Empire State Building was Carey’s first apartment. Decorated in an art deco design by the late Mario Buatta, it was embellished in neutral colors because, according to the “Vision of Love” singer in the episode, “I have enough jarring things that happen to me on a daily basis. We don’t need that at home.”
Every room in the luxury palace — boasted with fainting couches in practically every room, including the kitchen — was designated as her favorite. The true fave seemed to be her 38-foot-long, candlelit “ladies lounge” (aka bathroom), where she stripped to a bodysuit and took a bath. Her closets were like mini department stores with gold leaf designs on the floor, and her shoe closet is bigger than most NYC bedrooms.
Her personal spaces
Mariah wouldn’t show her bedroom or a close-up of Marilyn Monroe’s piano (“privacy, please!”) but she revealed other highlights in the episode:
• Her rarely used gym, where she famously used the stair-climber in stilettos and a black minidress.
• Her laundry room, where she pulled her lapdog out of the dryer.
• Her full-service salon — with a “Be Nice or Leave” sign on the door — where she said she spent most getting diva-ed up.
• The “Mermaid Room,” a screening room with full kitchen decorated in an underwater motif.
• Her country kitchen, with butterfly designed marble, where a different dog attacked her cat.
Mariah’s influence and legacy
Not only was this episode a milestone for Cribs, but it also shed light on Mariah Carey’s eventful life. Her sprawling penthouse has remained her home base for the last 20 years, it contains structures with significant meaning to her life and career. The Meaning of Mariah Carey, she wrote that she came close to buying Barbra Streisand’s “exquisite palatial Central Park West penthouse” but “the conservative co-op board” rejected her because they were “afraid there would be too many rappers and their entourages, aka big Black men, milling about.” Additionally, Buatta designed her triplex top to bottom, placing butterflies throughout her artistic home. As she continues to share her home in media throughout the years, she significantly puts it on the map with all the features and changes throughout time.
