Mary J. Blige

**Mary Jane Blige** (born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, model and actress. She is often referred to as _The Queen of Hip Hop Soul_, due to her music mainly being R&B mixed with hip hop and soul. She has released 11 studio albums, 82 singles, and 8 other albums.

## Music career

In 1988, Blige recorded an cover of Anita Baker's "Caught Up in the Rapture" at a recording booth in a local mall. Her mother's boyfriend at the time  played the cassette for Jeff Redd, a recording artist and A&R runner for Uptown Records. Redd then sent it to the president and CEO of the label, Andre Harrell.  Harrell met with Blige and, in 1989, she joined the label, becoming the company's youngest and first female artist.

Production for Blige's first album, _Whats the 411?_, began in 1991. Sean "Puffy" Combs (at the time a beginning A&R executive at Uptown) organised the project. Also enlisted were some of the top R&B and hip hop producers of the time, among them are Tony Dofat, Mark Morales and Cory Rooney, Dave "Jam" Hall, and DeVante Swing.

In 2014, Blige toured with R. Kelly called  "The King and Queen Tour".

## Personal life

Blige is a Democrat.

### Movie

|Year|Title|Role|class="unsortable"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2001|_Prison Song_|Mrs. Butler|Movie debut||
|2009|_I Can Do Bad All By Myself_|Tanya|||
|2012|_Rock of Ages_|Justice Charlier|||
|2013|_Black Nativity_|Platinum Fro|Nominated — American Black Film Festival Award for Best Ensemble Cast||
|2017|_Mudbound_|Florence Jackson|Gotham Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Performance New York Film Critics Online for Best Ensemble Cast IndieWire Critic's Poll Award for Best Breakthrough Performance (Film) Hollywood Film Awards – Breakout Actress Award Hollywood Film Awards – Breakout Ensemble Award Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress (Runner-up) Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Academy Award for Best Original Song Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated — Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song Nominated — Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Nominated — Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble||
|2018|_Sherlock Gnomes_|Irene (voice)|||
|2020|_Trolls World Tour_|Queen Essence (voice)|||
|2020|_Respect_|Dinah Washington|||
|TBA|_Body Cam_|Renee|Post-production||
|TBA|_The Violent Heart_|Nina|Filming||

### Television

|Year|Title|Role|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1995|_New York Undercover_|Herself|"Private Enemy No. 1" (episode 14, season 1), "Tag You're Dead" (episode 2, season 2) [music performance]|
|1998|_The Jamie Foxx Show_|Ola Mae|"Papa Don't Preach" (episode 14, season 2)|
|1999|_Moesha_|Herself|"Good Vibrations?" (episode 1, season 5)|
|2001|_Strong Medicine_|Simone Fellows|"History" (episode 4, season 2)|
|2007|_Ghost Whisperer_|Jackie Boyd|"Mean Ghost" (episode 15, season 2)|
|_Entourage_|Herself|"Gary's Desk" (episode 8, season 4)||
|2009|_30 Rock_|Herself|"Kidney Now!" (episode 22, season 3)|
|2010 & 2012|_American Idol_|Guest judge/Herself|2010: Auditions were held in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia Dome when Blige guest judged. 2012: Mentor for the Top 13 Whitney Houston & Stevie Wonder Week|
|2012|_The Voice_|Herself|Mentor of Team Adam (season 3)|
|2013|_Betty & Coretta_|Dr. Betty Shabazz|Television film Nominated — Women's Image Network Award for OutstandingOutstanding Actress Made for Television Movie / Mini-Series|
|_The X Factor_|Guest judge/herself|Blige assisted Nicole Scherzinger at her judge's house in Antigua||
|2015|_Empire_|Angie|"Sins of the Father" (episode 10, season 1)|
|_The Wiz Live!_|Evillene, The Wicked Witch of the West|TV special Nominated — Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress: Television Movie/Cable||
|_Black-ish_|Mirabelle Chalet|Guest appearance in Season 1, episode 24||
|2016|_How To Get Away With Murder_|Ro|TV Series (2 episodes)|
|2019–present|_The Umbrella Academy_|Cha-Cha|Main role|
|2019|_Scream_|Sherry Elliot|Recurring role|

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **embed**: yes
- **background**: solo_singer
- **origin**: Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Yonkers, New York, U.S.
- **instrument**: Vocals


## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Mary J. Blige
- **image**: Mary J Blige in 2022.png
- **caption**: Blige during an interview in February 2022
- **birth name**: Mary Jane Blige
- **birth place**: New York City, U.S.
- **years active**: 1988–present
- **awards**: List of awards and nominations received by Mary J. Blige, Full list