Mary J. Blige

From the time she was a little girl listening to her mother’s records, Mary J. Blige knew she wanted to be a singer—but her family told her it would never happen. Mary found escape from her hard life by singing in church. As a teen, she made what she considers one of the biggest mistakes in her life—she dropped out of high school.

Bored with the life of a dropout and determined to start a music career, she made a demo tape at a mall recording studio. The tape eventually made it into the hands of a record executive, who was wowed by her sound. At eighteen, Mary had a recording contract. She paired up with Sean “Diddy” Combs to produce top albums. By 2007, the R&B powerhouse had produced seven top albums that had sold over 34 million copies worldwide and earned her six Grammy Awards.

Here is the story of a lost girl’s journey to superstardom, self-discovery and love.