MARIAH

< > Mariah hit the red carpet at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, Feb. 21 in support of her much-herald acting role in the soon to be released film “Precious,” (previously titled "Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire") the story of a teenage girl living in Harlem who is struggling to shape the course of her life. Walking the carpet alongside director Lee Daniels, Mariah stated that she was "just honored to be a part of it. It's really something that's so strong and different and I think that it's really going to enlighten a lot of people and help a lot of people." Mariah plays a social worker in the film with comedian Mo'Nique and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe.  

"Precious" debuted at Sundance and quickly became the talk of Park City, eventually earning the Grand Jury and Audience awards. Mariah lamented that she missed the big Sundance moment for "Precious" at the award ceremony in Utah in January. "I wasn't able to be there for when he won all the awards," she said before playfully being interrupted by Daniels. "Where was she?" he mocked the singer. "Obama was more important," he laughed, referring to Mariah's trip to the inauguration that interfered with the Sundance festivities.  

Clearly proud of the film and all its early success, Mariah called the acclaim "great, because I know how much [Daniels] put into the film. And all of us who participated in the movie, we feel so attached to this."  

"Precious" has been picked up for distribution by Lionsgate and will be released later this year.