Mary J. Blige Biography

Mary Jane Blige (born January 11, 1971) is a three-time Grammy Award-winning American R&B, soul, and hip-hop soul singer, songwriter, producer, and actress who has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.

Born in The Bronx, New York City, New York to a jazz musician father and a nurse mother, Mary was exposed to music from an early age. At the age of four, Mary's father, Thomas, left the family, leaving her mother Cora to raise Mary and her older sister Latonya alone. (On the February 1, 2006 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Mary revealed that she was sexually assaulted as a child by a family friend.) A couple years later, Mary's family relocated to Yonkers, where they resided in one of the city's most dangerous housing projects. Music eventually became Mary's refuge, singing lead in her church's choir, and at seven she won a talent contest singing Aretha Franklin's "Respect."

While continuing to remain true to her love of music, as Mary entered her teen years, she began experimenting with recreational drugs and eventually dropped out of high school.

In 1988, at age seventeen, Mary recorded an impromptu cover of Anita Baker's 1986 "Caught Up In The Rapture" at a recording booth in a local shopping mall. Mary's mother's boyfriend at the time later played the cassette for a music industry contact, Jeff Redd, a recording artist and A&R runner for Uptown Records. Redd sent it to the president and CEO of the label, Andre Harrell. At the time, the fledgling Uptown was home to a few noted hip-hop and R&B acts of the day, including Heavy D & The Boyz and Guy. Harrell met with Mary, and in 1989, she was signed to the label – becoming the company's youngest and first female artist.

After signing with Uptown, Mary's early years at the company were dormant as the label continued to focus most of its attention on its more established acts. In no hurry to make an instant star out of Mary, her first assignment came in 1991 when she sang the hook on "I'll Do 4 U" by rapper and label mate Father MC. Mary also appeared in the concert-themed music video, in the less than dazzly role of a back-up singer.

Blige had a tumultuous six-year affair with Jodeci frontman Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey, which ended in 1997. In 2006, the mother of Nas's child, Carmen Bryan, revealed that Blige had a relationship with rapper Nas around 1997/1998.

R&B singer Case was affiliated with Mary J. Blige. The supposed reason why they went their separate ways was that Case felt he was dealing with Mary J. Blige's problems from her previous relationship's with K-Ci of Jodeci and K-Ci and JoJo fame.

In 2000, Blige began a relationship with record industry executive Martin Kendu Isaacs (known as simply Kendu). Isaacs was, in Blige's words, the one to get Blige to kick alcohol after issuing an ultimatum to Blige that he was leaving her if she came home drunk. Isaacs and Blige married on December 7, 2003 in a small private ceremony at Blige's home. As a result, Blige is now the stepmother of Kendu's three children from a previous marriage. Blige has also talked about having children of her own one day.

Another significant change occurred in 2001 when Blige lost a reported 40 pounds. She stated that during the time when she was struggling with substance abuse, she also found comfort in food which explained her weight. Through the help of a trainer combined with diet and exercises, she shed the pounds and now sports a svelte, curvy figure.

Most recently in 2006, past boyfriend Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey reported that during his relationship with Mary, there were no intentions that the two were to be married. This is in response to Blige's newest radio hit "Enough Cryin," which hits at the rumors surrounding their relationship. Supposedly, Hailey was abusive and helped contribute significantly to her drug and alcohol addictions.

She and her husband just wrapped a world tour, and was last seen in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico on the beach.