PERSON: Mary J. Blige

Capitol Records

Musician

Mary Jane Blige (/ˈblaɪʒ/; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, model, record producer and actress. Starting her career as a backing singer on Uptown Records in 1989, Blige released her first album, What’s the 411?, in 1992, and has released 13 studio albums since, eight of Blige’s albums have achieved multi-platinum status, and er 150 guest appearances on other albums and soundtracks.
A recipient of nine Grammy Awards, in addition to receiving a record of thirty Grammy nominations, and also known as the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, Blige is one of few entertainers in history to have eight or more albums to reach multi-platinum status. My Life has been placed on greatest albums lists by Rolling Stone, Time, and Vibe. For her part in combining hip hop and soul in the early 1990s and its subsequent commercial success, Blige received the Legends Award at the World Music Awards. Blige also received the Voice of Music Award from performance rights organization ASCAP, with its official Jeanie Weems stating that “[Blige’s] music has been the voice of inspiration to women worldwide in both struggle and triumph.” Blige made Time magazine’s “Time 100” list of influential individuals around the world in 2007.
As of 2013, Blige has sold 50 million albums and 25 million singles worldwide. Billboard ranked Blige as the most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years. In 2017, Billboard magazine also lists her 2006 song “Be Without You” as the most successful R&B/Hip-Hop song of all time, as it spent an unparalleled 15 weeks atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and over 75 weeks on the chart. In 2011, VH1 ranked Blige as the 80th greatest artist of all time. Moreover, she is ranked number 100 on the list of “100 greatest singers of all time” by Rolling Stone magazine. In 2012, VH1 ranked Blige at number 9 in “The 100 Greatest Women in Music.”
Blige also earned high remarks for her work in film. She starred in the 2009 Tyler Perry box-office hit I Can Do Bad All By Myself and played a role in the film Rock of Ages (2012). She received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her musical contribution to the film The Help. In partnership with the Home Shopping Network (HSN) and Carol’s Daughter, Blige released her “My Life” perfume. The perfume broke HSN records by selling 65,000 bottles during its premiere. The scent went on to win two FiFi Awards, including the “Fragrance Sales Breakthrough” award. In 2017, she stars in the period drama film Mudbound directed by Dee Rees.

— Wikipedia