Mary J Blige is an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and actress. She is one of the most successful singers in R&B Contemporary and Hip-hop soul genres. According to Billboard, she is the most successful female R&B/Hip-Hop singer of the past 25 years. In this blog, we will discuss some intriguing facts about her life and Mary J Blige Net Worth in 2021.
Blige has won four American Music Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, three Golden Globe Awards nominations and nine Grammy Awards. She also received two Academy Awards nominations for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ and ‘Best Original Song’.
She is the first person to be nominated for Academy Awards for acting and songwriting in the same year. Blige has also received a Legends Award at the World Music Awards in 2006 and the Voice Music Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.
She has been ranked as the 80th greatest artist of all time by VH1 in 2011. Again in 2012, she stood at number 9 in ‘The 100 Greatest Women in Music’ list by VH1.
Blige started her career in 1991 by signing a record deal with Uptown Records. In 1992, she released her first album ‘What’s the 411?’. After that, she gave back to back hit albums. In fact, her 1994 album ‘My Life’ is among the Time Magazine’s All-Time 100 Albums and Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
In total, Blige has released 13 albums, eight of which received a multi-platinum status in worldwide sales. Blige has sold around 50 million albums in the United States alone and 80 million across the globe.
Mary J Blige Net Worth and Overview
| Net Worth | $20 Million |
| Occupation | Singer, Producer, and Songwriter |
| Date of Birth | January 11, 1971 |
| Age | 49 years |
| Height | 5’9″ ft. or 1.75 m |
| Spouse(s) | Martin “Kendu” Isaacs (m. 2003; div. 2018) |
| Children | – |
| Country of Origin | The United States of America |
| Source of Wealth | Movies and Songs |
| Instagram Followers | 4.5 million |
| Twitter Followers | 6 million |
| YouTube Subscribers | 1.7 million |
| Last Updated | December 2020 |
Early Life
Mary J Blige was born on January 11, 1971, in the borough of the Bronx in New York. She was born to Thomas Blige, a Jazz musician, and Cora, a nurse.
Mary’s father was a Vietnam War veteran and an alcoholic, he suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. As a result of which he left Mary and her family in the mid-1970s. Her family was fully dependent on her Mother’s earning after her father left.
Mary spent her early childhood in Savannah, Georgia before moving back to New York. She has two siblings, an older sister named LaTonya Blige-DaCosta and a brother named Bruce Miller.
Blige dropped out of high school in her junior year to pursue a career in music. In her early days, she was briefly a part of a Yonkers-based band ‘Pride’.
Career Highlights and Achievements
After signing to Uptown Records, Blige started working with the executive producer Sean Combs. She released her first album “What’s the 411?” in 1992. The name of the album was derived from her past occupation as a 4-1-1 operator.
The album was welcomed with open hands by fans and stood at number 6 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top R&B/ Hip-Hop Albums Chart. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA three times and it stood at number 53 on the UK Albums Chart.
With the success of the album, Dave McAleer declared Blige as the most successful new female R&B artist of 1992 in the United States.
The album earned Blige two Soul Train Music Awards in 1993. In 1997, Blige released her third album which contained hit singles like ‘Love is All We Need’ and ‘Share My World’. The album debuted at number 1 position in on the Billboard 200.
Blige’s fifth studio album No More Drama came out in 2001 and its hit single ‘Family Affair’ became her one and only number-one single to remain on the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks.
Her seventh studio album The Breakthrough (2007) was a huge success and earned her nine Billboard Music Awards, two American Music Awards, two BET Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, and one Soul Train Award.
Grammy and On-Screen Presence
She also received eight Grammy Nominations which was the highest that any artist got in that year. And the list continues, each of Blige albums got her several awards and nominations making her one of the most successful female singers of all times in the R&B. Blige has also starred in several movies and television series.
In 2017, she starred in a period drama film Mudbound directed by Dee Rees. Her exceptional performance in the movie earned her several nominations including Golden Globe Awards and Academy Awards. Since 2019 she has been appearing in The Umbrella Academy and Power Book II: Ghost.
Personal Life
On December 7, 2003, Blige married her manager Martin “Kendu” Isaacs. Isaacs was already the father of three children Nas and Jordon from his first wife and an older daughter Briana from a teenage relationship.
The couple divorced in 2018. Blige had dealt with sexual abuse from a family member and dealt has been a survivor of drug and alcohol addiction in her past.
Criticism
In April 2012, a controversy stirred up after a Burger King advertisement was on the air. Mary featured in that ad and was promoting the fast-food brand. However, this wasn’t taken positively by some fans.
The Black community felt that this ad showed the community in a negative stereotype. Burger King took the ad down from Youtube after the netizens lashed out at it.
What is Mary J Blige Net Worth in 2021?
Mary J Blige is a famous American singer. She started her career in the early 90s. In a career that stretches over 3 decades, she gave several superhit songs.
She also appeared in a few movies. She earned a huge fan following and a lot of wealth through her musical journey and Mary J Blige Net Worth in 2021 is $20 million.
A Few Interesting Facts About Mary J Blige
- In 2004, Blige launched her own record label, Matriarch Records, and a line of sunglasses called Melodies by MJB.
- Mary is regarded as the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul”. She has influenced the musical conciliation of R&B and Hip-Hop.
- Blige has given a total of ten albums ranked number one on the R&B/Hip hop Albums Chart.
- She is the only artist to have won Grammys in the R&B, hip hop, pop, and gospel fields.
- For her acting skills, Blige has received the Breakthrough Performance Award at the 2018 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Summary
Despite struggling with drug and alcohol addiction Blige has made her mark in the music world. She is one of the most successful female singers and an inspiration for the younger generation. Mary J Blige Net Worth is estimated to be $20 million.
She braved through several sexual assaults against her by both genders. Her songs reflected her struggles but she never held herself back from giving her best performance. With 13 hit albums and uncountable awards and nominations, she is rightly the Queen of R&B.
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Hi, I am Kunika and as you can guess, I love numbers. I started Browsed Magazine to share interesting numbers behind celeb’s net worth, the most expensive stuff around, and top lists that’ll take you in for a surprise.