What Is Mary J. Blige's Net Worth?
Mary J. Blige is an American singer, songwriter and producer who has a net worth of $20 million. Dubbed the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul," Mary J. Blige has made significant contributions to the genre since her debut album, "What's the 411?" in 1991. The album's blend of R&B and hip-hop elements showcased her powerful voice and set the stage for a successful career.
Throughout her career, Blige has released numerous critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums, such as "My Life" (1994), "No More Drama" (2001), and "The Breakthrough" (2005). Her soulful and emotive vocal style has earned her nine Grammy Awards and over 30 nominations.
Blige has also ventured into acting, appearing in films like "Prison Song" (2001), "Rock of Ages" (2012), and "Mudbound" (2017), receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song for the latter.
Financial Troubles
Unfortunately, Mary J. Blige has had a series of financial issues over the years. As of May 2013, she owed the IRS $3.4 million. She also owed the state of New Jersey $900,000 and was the target of a lawsuit that claimed she owed $2.2 million for an unpaid bank loan. On May 25, 2014, it was revealed that Blige had paid off her $900,000 debt to New Jersey but still owed at least $3.4 million to the IRS.
Real Estate
In 2008, Blige paid $12.3 million for a palatial mansion in Saddle River, New Jersey. She reportedly paid all cash for the 20,000-square-foot mansion. In 2015, she listed the mansion for $13.9 million but did not find a buyer. She eventually lowered the price to $8.9 million and then, in August 2019, $6.8 million. In February 2022, the house finally sold for $5.5 million at nearly a $7 million loss.
She owns a slightly smaller mansion in Cresskill, New Jersey, that she bought for $2.1 million in 2001. As of October 2021, the house was still for sale and priced at $3 million.
Early Life
Mary Jane Blige was born on January 11, 1971, in the Bronx, New York. She was raised in Savannah, Georgia, until age seven, when her family moved back to New York, where they lived in the Schlobohm Housing Projects in Yonkers. Her mother was a nurse, and her father was a jazz musician. Mary has two siblings. Blige's father was a Vietnam War veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and left the family in the mid-1970s.
Career Beginnings
After dropping out of high school during her junior year, Blige began pursuing a career in music. She was briefly part of a Yonkers band named Pride, with whom she recorded a cover of "Caught Up in the Rapture" by Anita Baker. Her mother's boyfriend at the time played the cassette of her cover for Jeff Redd, a recording artist and A&R runner for Uptown Records, who then sent it to Andre Harrell, the label's CEO. When Blige was signed to the label as a backup vocalist in 1989, she was the company's youngest artist and also their first female artist.
Music Career
Blige began working with record producer Sean Combs (aka P Diddy or Puff Daddy) while at Uptown, and he helped produce her debut album, "What's the 411?" (July 1992). A combination of traditional R&B sounds and gospel and blues-inspired vocals, the album was positively received, peaking at #6 on the "Billboard" 200 chart. It was also certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA. "What's the 411?" went on to win her two Soul Train Music Awards in 1993 (Best New R&B Artist and Best R&B Album, Female) and earned her the title of "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul."
Her second album, "My Life," solidified her superstar status, debuting at #2 on the US "Billboard" 200 and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It appeared on "Time's" list of "100 Greatest Albums of All-Time" in 2006 and is often considered to be Blige's best work. Her subsequent album releases include "Share My World" (1997), which featured collaborations with artists like Nas, Lil' Kim, and George Benson, "Mary" (1999), which featured a more earthy and adult contemporary sound instead of her signature hip-hop style, "Ballads" (2000), a compilation album with covers of artists like Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin that was released only in Japan, and "No More Drama" (2001) and its re-release, which earned Blige her second Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for the song "He Think I Don't Know." Her other albums include "Love & Life" (2003), "The Breakthrough" (2005), "Growing Pains" (2007), "Stronger with Each Tear" (2009), "My Life II… The Journey Continues (Act 1)" (2011), "A Mary Christmas" (2013), "The London Sessions" (2014), "Strength of a Woman" (2017), and "Good Morning Gorgeous" (2022).
In September 2022, Blige was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for the Super Bowl LVI halftime show.
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Acting Career
In addition to her highly successful music career, Blige has also enjoyed a successful acting career. Her acting debut was as a preacher's daughter on the sitcom "The Jamie Foxx Show" in 1998, followed by a starring role in the independent film "Prison Song" in 2001. In 2004, she starred in "The Exonerated," an Off-Broadway play chronicling the experiences of death row inmates. Other acting projects she has worked on include the show "Ghost Whisperer" in the February 2007 episode "Mean Ghost," guest-starring as herself on an episode of "Entourage" in August 2007, an appearance on "30 Rock" in May 2009, a supporting role in the Tyler Perry film "I Can Do Bad All by Myself" (September 2009), and a guest appearance on the ABC drama "How to Get Away with Murder" in October 2016. In 2023, she was cast in the drama film "Rob Peace," a film adaptation of "The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace."
Starring roles she has held include in the film "Rock of Ages" (2012) alongside Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, and Alec Baldwin and the Lifetime movie "Betty and Coretta" (2013). For her starring role in the period drama film "Mudbound" (2017), Blige was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress, and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
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Other Ventures
Blige established her own record label, Matriarch Records, distributed through Interscope, in 2004. She launched the perfume My Life on the Home Shopping Network in July 2010, breaking sales records by selling 65,000 bottles in its premiere. She also has endorsed brands like Reebok, Air Jordan, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Gap, Target, American Express, AT&T, MAC, Apple, Burger King, and Chevrolet.
In 2023, Pepsi and Blige announced an HBCU scholarship, part of $200,000 in donations to organizations and initiatives to support women. Pepsi returned as co-presenter of Mary J. Blige's "Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit" during Mother's Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia.
Personal Life
Blige was married to her former manager, Martin Isaacs, from 2003 to 2018. According to their divorce paperwork, Mary earns around $300,000 per month. During the 1990s, Blige spent six years dating singer Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey of the R&B group Jodeci.
Mary has battled drug and alcohol addiction but has been sober for years now.
