Mary J Blige is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and actress who is also popular as the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul”.
In this article, we will cover the net worth of Mary J Blige, early life, personal life, career, and others. Read the full article below to know everything about Mary J Blige, from her net worth to her personal life.
What Is the Net Worth of Mary J Blige?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the estimated net worth of Mary J Blige is around $20 million. She has won 9 Grammy Awards, 4 American Music Awards, and 10 Billboard Music Awards.
Throughout her career, she has been nominated for Golden Globe Awards three times whereas the Academy Awards two times. Mary J Blige has earned this huge net worth with all her wonderful music over the years.
After taking a dig into Mary J Blige’s net worth, let’s take a look at her early life.
Early Life
Mary J Blige was born on January 11, 1971, in New York City. She was brought up in Savannah, Georgia until the age of 7 and then her family returned to New York City, where they stayed in the Schlobohm Housing Projects in Yonkers.
Her father worked as a jazz musician whereas her mother worked as a nurse. She grew up with her two siblings. Her father was a Vietnam War veteran who struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and during the mid-1970s, he left the family.
Personal Life
In 2003, Mary J Blige tied the knot with Martin Isaacs, her former manager and they divorced in 2018 ending their marriage of around fifteen years. She receives nearly $300,000 every month according to their divorce documents.
Music Career
During her junior year, after dropping out of high school, Mary J Blige decided to pursue a musical career. She joined a Yonkers band called “Pride” for a while, with whom she recorded a cover of “Caught Up in the Rapture” by Anita Baker.
During that time, her mother’s boyfriend played the cassette of her cover for Jeff Redd who was a recording artist and A&R runner for Uptown Records. Redd later sent it to the label’s CEO, Andre Harrell. In 1989, when the label signed her as a backup vocalist 1989, she was the youngest artist of the company as well as their first female artist.
Mary started working with record producer Sean Combs (also popular as Puff Daddy) when she was still at Uptown, and he aided her to produce her first album entitled “What’s the 411?” in July 1992. A mix of traditional R&B sounds, and gospel and blues-based vocals, the album was received well and debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 chart as well as RIAA-certified Platinum three times.
It also brought her 2 Soul Train Music Awards for the category “Best New R&B Artist and Best R&B Album, Female” in 1993, and also the title of “Queen of Hip Hop Soul.”
Mary’s second album entitled “My Life” was also a hit and peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard 200, whereas number #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In 2006, it appeared on Time’s list of “100 Greatest Albums of All-Time” and is regarded as one of her best works.
In 1997, she released an album titled “Share My World” in which she collaborated with artists such as Nas, Lil’ Kim, and George Benson. She then released 1999’s “Mary”, switching to an earthy and adult contemporary sound, and the next year “Ballads” was released, an album with covers of artists like Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin that was released just in Japan; 2001’s “No More Drama” and its re-release, brought Blige her second Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for the song named, “He Think I Don’t Know.”
Mary’s other notable albums are 2003’s “Love & Life”, 2005’s “The Breakthrough”, 2007’s “Growing Pains”, 2009’s “Stronger with Each Tear”, 2011’s “My Life II… The Journey Continues (Act 1)”, 2013’s “A Mary Christmas”, 2014’s “The London Sessions” and 2017’s “Strength of a Woman”. Mary J Blige has earned a considerable amount of net worth from her career in music.
Acting Career
As we know she has earned a lot from her successful music career, Mary J Blige’s acting career also earned her a significant net worth. Let’s have a look.
Blige made her acting debut with the 1998 sitcom “The Jamie Foxx Show” where she portrayed a preacher’s daughter and later in 2001, she starred in the independent film titled “Prison Song”. Blige then went on to star in 2004’s “The Exonerated”.
She also landed other acting projects like the show “Ghost Whisperer” in the February 2007 episode titled “Mean Ghost”; in August 2007, she starred as a guest herself on an episode of “Entourage”; in 2009, she appeared on “30 Rock” and the same year she landed as the supporting cast of the Tyler Perry film “I Can Do Bad All by Myself”; and in October 2016, she guest-appeared on ABC drama titled “How to Get Away with Murder”.
She has starred in other films including the 2012 film “Rock of Ages”, alongside Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, and Alec Baldwin, and the 2013 film “Betty and Coretta”. She also received a nomination for Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her 2017 period drama film “Mudbound”.
This film also brought her nomination for the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has earned a lot from all these projects, helping Maty J Blige in earning a good net worth and fortune.
Other Ventures
In 2004, Mary formed her own record label named Matriarch Records, distributed through Interscope. In July 2010, she introduced the perfume “My Life” on the Home Shopping Network and broke sales records by selling 65,000 bottles in its premiere.
Blige also has promoted brands such as Reebok, Pepsi, Air Jordan, Burger King, Coca-Cola, Target, Gap, American Express, MAC, AT&T, Apple, and Chevrolet. All these collaborations and ventures have made Mary J Blige able to earn her net worth.
Financial Issues
Sadly, despite earning enough, Mary has experienced several financial issues over the years. She owed the IRS $3.4 million as of 2013. Mary also owed the state of New Jersey $900,000 and a legal battle also claimed that she owed $2.2 million for an outstanding bank loan. In 2014, it was confirmed that she had paid off her $900,000 debt to New Jersey but the IRS is yet to receive a minimum of $3.4 million.
Mary J Blige has earned a massive net worth of $20 million from her career as a musician, and actress, and also from her other ventures. We will keep you updated with all the latest information until then stay tuned to our website.