Where Is Mary J. Blige From?

Where is Mary J. Blige from? Mary J. Blige is from the Bronx, New York, where she was born on January 11, 1971. Although she’s a New York City native, the singer spent her early years in Savannah, Georgia, before she moved with her mother and sister to Yonkers, New York. There, she had a rough childhood — she dropped out of high school in the 11th grade — but one day, she happened to record a version of Anita Baker’s “Caught Up in the Rapture” at a mall in White Plains. Thanks to her stepfather, the demo made its way to Uptown Records, and in 1992, with the help of up-and-coming producer Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, she released her landmark debut, “What’s the 411?”

Mary J. Blige has come a long way from her Bronx/Yonkers roots, and in the years since “What’s the 411?” she’s released 10 additional studio albums and two live LPs. Four of her full-lengths have topped the Billboard 200, and she’s sold more than 50 million albums around the world. Blige is the rare singer who can collaborate with U2 and Sting one second and 50 Cent and Drake the next, and in addition to being the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, she’s an artist with genuine pop crossover appeal. Blige first made her name with the single “Real Love,” a mix of soul and rap that changed the game and established her as a tough-but-pretty songstress with stunning pipes and street edge.

The answer to the question of where Mary J. Blige is from has never been much of a secret, as the singer is closely associated with NYC. And like any Big Apple striver, Blige has also made the jump into other business ventures — specifically TV and film. She’s appeared on such shows as “Ghost Whisperer,” “Entourage,” and “American Idol,” and in 2012, she appeared with Tom Cruise in “Rock of Ages.”