The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul adds more entertainment projects to her growing resume.
Mary J. Blige is the embodiment of having multiple streams of income. The Good Morning Gorgeous singer and Power Book II: Ghost star is coming off six Grammy nominations and the highest-ever ratings for a season premiere in Starz history.
Now, she’s cashing another check as the executive producer on two new Lifetime movies based on her music.
The network announced this week that they’re partnering with Mary J. Blige on two movies – Mary J. Blige’s Real Love and Mary J. Blige’s Strength of a Woman. They will debut on consecutive Saturdays starting on June 10 at 8 p.m.
Blige is executive producing through her Blue Butterfly production company along with Ashaunna K. Ayars and Q. Nicole Jackson.
She has a history with Lifetime, playing Dr. Betty Shabazz in Betty and Coretta with Angela Bassett in her first movie role, and executive producing 2020’s The Clark Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel with Queen Latifah and Missy Elliot.
“I wrote ’Real Love’ based on my real life experiences and my fans connected to it in a deeply personal way.” Blige said in a press release. “It’s exciting to now use this song and my music to create a new story by way of film.” She continued, “My passions for acting and music now include developing diverse stories with music as the backdrop.”
In Real Love, college student Kendra is determined to focus on college but after meeting and falling in love with Ben, her film class partner, they will both learn how to make real love work.
In Strength of a Woman, which continues 15 years later with the same characters, is now in a struggling marriage. When Ben returns to her life, she’s challenged to make the right decisions for everyone involved.
But that ain’t all Blige is collecting checks from. She released a new children’s book Mary Can!, her BET show The Wine Down is streaming now, and she’s hosting a four-day concert and entertainment conference, also called Strength of a Woman, in Atlanta, May 11 -14.
