Mary J. Blige
Appearing Friday, July 28
CONNECT WITH THE ARTIST
Iconic GRAMMY® and Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated artist, actress, producer, and entrepreneur Mary J. Blige is a figure of inspiration, transformation, and empowerment.
With a track record of eight multi-platinum albums, nine GRAMMY® Awards (37 nominations), an Emmy award, two Academy Award nominations, two Golden Globe nominations, and a SAG nomination, Blige has cemented herself as a global superstar.
Influenced at an early age by the music of Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight, Blige brought her own gritty, urban-rooted style—fusing hip-hop, soul, and honest, frank lyrics—to the forefront on her 1992 debut album What’s the 411? Blige continued to redefine R&B and began forging a unique niche for herself on her second album, 1994’s My Life.
Each subsequent album she released reads like a chapter from an autobiography leading to February 2022, when Blige released her 15th studio album Good Morning Gorgeous, which has since earned her six 2023 GRAMMY® nominations including Album and Record of the Year. The album release led into a historic performance at the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA alongside Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar. Her performance earned her a 2022 Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live).
Following the success of this performance, Blige and Pepsi announced the inaugural “Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit” in partnership with Live Nation Urban. The festival quickly sold out and will be back for its second year this May in Atlanta, GA.
On the acting side, Blige starred as Florence Jackson in the 2017 Netflix breakout film Mudbound, to which she received critical acclaim including two Academy Award nominations for Best Support Actress and Best Original Song. She became the first person ever to be nominated in an acting and song category for the same film. Among many other credits, Blige is currently starring in STARZ’s POWER BOOK II: GHOST, the third season premiered in March 2023 and immediately broke viewership records for the network with its premiere epsiode. Blige is currently in production on the fourth season.
Blige’s first children’s picture book, Mary Can!, will be released March 28, 2023.
On the producing side, Blige launched her production company, Blue Butterfly, and signed a first-look TV deal with Lionsgate. Blige also signed a first-look non-scripted deal and a second-look scripted deal with BET. She recently released THE WINE DOWN, an innovative unscripted series hosted by Blige, with BET. In 2021, Blige worked with Oscar-winning filmmaker Vanessa Roth and Amazon on her documentary Mary J. Blige’s My Life celebrating the 25th anniversary of her famed album My Life, of which she was the focus and EP.