Mary J Blige — who earned critical acclaim and award nominations for her acting in ‘Mudbound’ — has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
It was extra-special as Blige was honoured with the star on her 47th birthday.
“I am so grateful, and I say that with confidence and not arrogance,” the Grammy-winning singer told the crowd gathered for the star unveiling ceremony.
“I know my work and I understand what this means.”
Blige — the self-proclaimed “queen of hip-hop soul” who is best known for hits such as “No More Drama” and “Reminisce” — is a nine-time Grammy winner with tens of millions of records sold worldwide.
She earned a Golden Globe nomination and a Screen Actors Guild award nod — and is generating Oscars buzz — for her magnetic turn as Florence Jackson, a stoic housewife in Dee Rees’s civil rights drama “Mudbound.”
“Dee Rees called me and gave me a job and put my life back in motion with ‘Mudbound,’” Blige said.
“Dee, I want to thank you for calling me. I don’t think you understand what you did… You really really helped save my life,” the New York native added.
“‘Mudbound’ opened up doors and gave me strength that I didn’t even know I had.”
Rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who helped launch Blige’s career and produced most of her first album, was on hand to congratulate her.
“We would just dream — we were saying… ‘We want to be somebody, we want to be big,’” Combs said. “And we did that. Singing.”
Blige gushed about Combs, saying he helped keep her going in the hard times.
“I love this man so much,” she told the crowd.
Copyright 2024 TheCable. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from TheCable.
Follow us on twitter @Thecablestyle