Mary Jane Blige (pron.: /?bla /; born January 11, 1971), better known as Mary J. Blige, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional rapper and actress. Starting her career as a background singer on Uptown Records in 1989, Blige released her first album, What's the 411? in 1992, and has since released ten studio albums. Blige further rose to national prominence with the release of the My Life album in 1994. A recipient of nine Grammy Awards, eight of Blige's albums have reached multi-platinum status in the United States. My Life, in particular, is considered among the greatest albums ever recorded according to 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 music publishing company 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 over 50 million albums and 15 million singles worldwide. Billboard ranked Blige as the most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years. The magazine also lists her 2006 song "Be Without You" as the top R&B song of the 2000s, as it spent an unparalleled 15 weeks atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 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 Woman in Music." Blige also earned high remarks for her work in film and fragrance. 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, which was released to theaters in 2012. She is a recipient of two Golden Globe Awards nominations for her musical contributions to the films Bobby and The Help. She is named to play music icon Nina Simone in the upcoming biopic Nina. 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 prestigious "Fragrance Sales Breakthrough" award. This book is your ultimate resource for Mary J. Blige. Here you will find the most up-to-date information, photos, and much more. In easy to read chapters, with extensive references and links to get you to know all there is to know about Mary J. Blige's Early life, Career and Personal life right away. A quick look inside: Mary J. Blige, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, 25/8 (song), Ashanti (entertainer), Can't Knock the Hustle, Carol's Daughter, Case (singer), Chaka Khan, Christmas in Washington, Cover version, Cresskill, New Jersey, Curtis (50 Cent album), Dance for Me (Mary J. Blige song), Dance for Me (album), Deep Inside, Each Tear, Enough Cryin, Essence (magazine), Eve (entertainer), Everything (Mary J. Blige song), Family Affair (Mary J. Blige song), Father MC, Funk This, Geffen Records, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, Grammy Award for Record of the Year, Grammy Award for Song of the Year, Growing Pains (Mary J. Blige album), Growing Pains European Tour, Hard Times Come Again No More, Heart of the City Tour, Heavy D, Hip hop soul...and more pages Contains selected content from the highest rated entries, typeset, printed and shipped, combining the advantages of up-to-date and in-depth knowledge with the convenience of printed books. A portion of the proceeds of each book will be donated to the Wikimedia Foundation to support their mission.