Mary J. Blige

Mary Jane Blige (born January 11, 1971) is an American R&amp;B/hip hop soul singer and actress. She has released 11 studio albums, 82 singles, and 8 other albums.
Music career.
In 1988, Blige recorded an cover of Anita Baker's "Caught Up in the Rapture" at a recording booth in a local mall. Her mother's boyfriend at the time later played the cassette for Jeff Redd, a recording artist and A&amp;R runner for Uptown Records. Redd then sent it to the president and CEO of the label, Andre Harrell. Harrell met with Blige and, in 1989, she joined the label, becoming the company's youngest and first female artist. 
Production for Blige's first album, "Whats the 411?", began in 1991. Sean "Puffy" Combs (at the time a beginning A&amp;R executive at Uptown) organised the project. Also enlisted were some of the top R&amp;B and hip hop producers of the time, among them are Tony Dofat, Mark Morales and Cory Rooney, Dave "Jam" Hall, and DeVante Swing.
In 2014, Blige will tour with R. Kelly called "The King and Queen Tour".
Personal life.
Blige is a Democrat.