Singer-turned-actress Mary J. Blige was all smiles on Wednesday as she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which also happened to be her 47th birthday.
The "Be Without You" hit-maker was introduced on stage by long-time friend and Rap mogul, Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
"I am so grateful, and I say that with confidence and not arrogance," she told the crowd who congregated for the star unveiling ceremony.
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 and is generating Oscars buzz for her magnetic turn as Florence Jackson, a stoic housewife in Dee Rees's civil rights drama "Mudbound."
Diddy, who helped launch Blige's career and produced most of her first album congratulated her.
"We would just dream, we were saying... We want to be somebody, we want to be big. And we did that." Combs said.
Blige gushed about Diddy, saying he helped keep her going in the hard times.
"I love this man so much," she said to the crowd.
