Los Angeles, Nov 27 (IANS): Actress-singer Mariah Carey's life is quite layered. The 52-year-old singer, who is working on a TV series based on her memoir, believes her route to superstardom has been more complicated than people realise.

Mariah, who released her memoir, 'The Meaning of Mariah Carey', in 2020, shared that her life in general is actually much more layered than what people know or what is even in the book, reports Female First UK.

She said: "People who have been friends with me for years were like, 'How come you never told me all of this happened to you?' At this point in my life, it's about doing things that I really want to do."

Mariah has also written a children's book called 'The Christmas Princess'. The story centres on a young girl named Little Mariah, and the chart-topping star has likened the character to "Pippi Longstocking or Harriet the Spy".

She told W magazine: "Little Mariah is a mixed-race girl with no money and no one to come do her hair. She's like Pippi Longstocking or Harriet the Spy, but she's biracial."

"A lot of people who are my actual fans feel that they are 'other', whether they're white, black, brown, whatever it is - you know, any race, creed, or colour. If you feel 'other', it's just a different thing," she added.

Female First UK further states that Mariah previously admitted that she's felt under pressure to identify as either being black of white. The 'Always Be My Baby' hitmaker explained that people have wanted her to make a choice about her own identity.

She said: "I always thought it should be OK to say I'm mixed, like it should be OK to say that, but people want you to choose."