Intimate Portrait - Season 9

Mariah Carey: Pop Princess Mariah Carey grew up in Long Island, New York. Her mother was an opera singer who fostered her daughter's natural singing talent. By eighth grade, Carey was writing her own songs; by age 13, she was performing radio jingles. After graduation, Carey headed to Manhattan to follow her show-business dreams. Before long, she was singing backup for Brenda Kiss Star. The seasoned singer took Carey under her wing and introduced her to record executive Tommy Mottola, who quickly began grooming the teenager for superstardom. In July 1990, Carey released her first album, ""Vision of Love."" The album produced four number one hits and garnered two Grammy Awards: one for Best New Artist and another for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. But the 20-year-old didn't sit back and bask in the glory; she immediately returned to the studio and released ""Emotions"" in September 1991. A recording of her MTV Unplugged concert followed. As Carey's career continued to blossom, so did h

In April 1968, Beach Boy Brian Wilson and his wife, Marilyn Rovell, a singer from the 1960s band The Honeys, welcomed their first child, Carnie, into the world. The eldest Wilson child grew up harmonizing with her family; she made her stage debut at the tender age of five at a Beach Boys concert. She joined the band in singing ""Help Me, Rhonda."" Unfortunately, Wilson's father suffered from a serious drug addiction, and his habits broke up her parents' marriage in 1979. Wilson turned to eating for comfort. In her teenage years, she took a stab at acting, but her excess weight kept her from getting work. In 1986, after graduating from high school, Wilson returned to her musical roots and formed the band Wilson Phillips with her sister, Wendy, and Chynna Phillips, daughter of Michelle and John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas. After a few years of plugging away, the trio landed a recording contract in 1989. The band's 1990 debut album spawned three number one singles, including the sma

Erin Brockovich Erin Brockovich was born Erin Pattee in 1960 in Lawrence, Kansas, the youngest of four children. A traumatic molestation experience and struggles with dyslexia led to feelings of low self-esteem as a young girl. It wasn't until Brockovich reached high school that the gangly teen began to hit her stride. By 1979, she was attending the Miss Wades School of Fashion Merchandising in Dallas. She then moved with some girlfriends to California, where she met and married housepainter Sean Brown. The newlyweds moved to Nevada together. By the mid-1980s, Brockovich had two children and a strained marriage. After she divorced Brown in 1987, the suddenly single mom took a secretarial job. The vivacious 27-year-old eventually fell in love with her boss, broker Steven Brockovich. The two married in 1989, but their relationship quickly fizzled. Brockovich filed for divorce, and soon afterward she learned that she was pregnant with her third child. After moving her brood to California

Bea Arthur: Brassy & Golden Bea Arthur was born on May 13,1923, in New York City. The awkwardly tall and shy girl often hid behind her wicked sense of humor. Although she longed to be a blond starlet, because of her height she was usually cast as a boy in school plays. After graduating from high school, Arthur enrolled in drama school, where she discovered that being 5'9'' and having a deep voice were assets in classical theater. Unfortunately, Broadway wasn't biting, so the ambitious actress decided to switch gears and try comedy. In 1953, she was cast as Lucy Brown in ""The Threepenny Opera,"" the first of her well-received funny-woman roles. That same year, Arthur married theater director Gene Saks. The hardworking couple started a family — Matthew was born in 1961 and Daniel in 1964 — but Arthur soon returned to Broadway to play second banana Vera Charles in the Broadway musical ""Mame,"" which was directed by her husband. Arthur's stellar singing and comic timing earned her a Tony Aw

Naomi Judd Naomi Judd was born Diana Judd in 1946, in Ashland, Kentucky. One of four children, she enjoyed happy times as a young girl. But that changed in 1963, when Judd, then 17, got pregnant and dropped out of high school. She was also helping her parents care for her brother Brian, who had just been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Daughter Wynnona was born in May 1964. Judd relished her new role as a mother, but her happiness soon turned to mourning the next year, when her brother passed away. Soon afterward, the young mother married a former boyfriend and moved to Los Angeles with him. In 1968, she gave birth to her second daughter, Ashley (the future movie star), but Judd's marriage soon soured. After the divorce, the single mom went on welfare to make ends meet and then took her two daughters back to Kentucky, where she enrolled in nursing school and decided to take on a new name: Naomi. Judd often relaxed in those stressful times by singing with Wynnona. By 1979, singing ha

Isabel Sanford: Movin' On Up Born in 1917 in Harlem, New York, Isabel (born Eloise Gwendolyn) Sanford was the youngest of seven children and the only one to live past infancy. As a child, Sanford found respite from her poverty-stricken life by making people laugh. As a teen, she won rave reviews at an amateur night at the Apollo, but her performing dreams were put on hold when her mother fell ill. Although Sanford wanted to be an actress, she was forced to take over her mom's job as a cleaning lady. Sanford married housepainter William ""Sonny"" Richmond during this tough time, and shortly after tying the knot, they brought daughter Pamela into the world. Between the births of her next two children, Sanford finally made her stage debut, in the 1946 production of ""On Striver's Row"" at the renown American Negro Theater. In 1960, Sanford decided to leave her unhappy marriage and take her three children to Los Angeles. The single mother was barely off the bus before legendary actress Tallul

In a special episode of Intimate Portrait, Lifetime shares the stories of famous women who found love or survived heartbreak despite a life in the spotlight, including Pam Dauber's decision to leave Hollywood to make her husband Mark Harmon and children a priority, Amy Grant's acceptance of the growing distance in her marriage to Vince Gill, Lisa Rinna's finding the love of her life from the worst first kiss with Harry Hamlin, and others.

Eve Ensler's young life in an affluent Upper East Side household seemed like a fairy tale to the outside world. However, Ensler's close relationship with her dad, the president of a high-profile company, and her entire life were forever changed when he sexually molested her. Afraid and insecure, Ensler had trouble making friends in school. The tormented teen retreated into a private world and began keeping a journal. While attending Vermont's artistic Middlebury College, she began to discover her own voice. Ensler became a student leader and found a supportive group of buddies. ""That time in my life…gave me a sense that I might be able to do something…of value,"" says Ensler. After graduation, Ensler headed to New York City, where she spent much of the next decade working as a waitress and turned to alcohol to deal with feelings of low self-esteem. She befriended bartender Richard McDermott, who helped her get sober and turn her life around. The couple married, and Ensler adopted her hu

Josie Bissett: Model Mommy Josie Bissett, n饠Joelynn Heutmaker, grew up in a close-knit household in a suburb of Seattle. Fun and outgoing, she began modeling in high school, with her family's full support. It wasn't long before Bissett was appearing in catalogs and teen magazines, and at age 18 she moved to Los Angeles to further her career. After a year of struggling while taking acting classes, Bissett landed a few roles in commercials and music videos. In 1990, she landed a guest part on ""Doogie Howser, M.D."" and a small role in the biopic flick ""The Doors,"" directed by Oliver Stone. At one fateful audition, Bissett met a handsome aspiring actor named Rob Estes. The pair fell for each other fast, and they exchanged vows on May 1, 1992, just days before each launched into breakthrough roles. Bissett starred on the Aaron Spelling soap ""Melrose Place,"" and Estes was a part of the Miami cop show ""Silk Stalkings."" Bissett's character, Jane Mancini, was the nice, normal girl caught up

Susan Lucci: Soap Queen Susan Victoria Lucci was born in Long Island, New York. Her father imparted to her a strong work ethic, while her mother nurtured the young girl's imaginative side. In school, Lucci was an honors student, a cheerleader and a member of the drama club. The teen blossomed into a confident beauty, and after graduation, she headed for Marymount College to study musical theater. One summer, while working at a hotel, the co-ed met Austrian chef Helmut Huber. Lucci then headed to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming an actress, and in 1969, she married Huber. When the newlyweds returned from their honeymoon, Lucci had a message waiting for her: The producers of a new soap opera called ""All My Children"" wanted her to audition for them. On January 5, 1970, Lucci made her debut on ""All My Children"" as Erica Kane, a rebellious teen looking for love in all the wrong places. Over more than three decades, this character's multiple trips down the aisle, evil schemes a