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ABC/Randy HolmesNobody is more surprised than Mary J. Blige that she’s nominated for not one, but two Oscars for the Netflix movie Mudbound. But Mary knows exactly whom to credit for those nominations, as well as for her long and successful career: her mom.
In an awards season video interview on People.com, Mary was asked, “Who is the woman who has inspired you the most?” Mary responds, “My mother. Because my mother is a strong woman who raised us in some very difficult living environments, very difficult situations — we didn’t have a lot of money, we didn’t have a lot of anything.
“And she was a single parent mom, and she did it, and she did it very very well,” the singer adds. “And because of her I’m here right now, nominated for two Oscars, and I’ve been around for a while…she’s my hero!”
Mary was also asked to answer some less serious questions, such as, “What is the movie you can watch over and over and over?” Her answer? The Russell Crowe movie, Gladiator. Why that movie specifically?
“Because no matter how hard they try to take away what was destined to be his, they couldn’t take it away,” Mary explains. “They couldn’t take away his destiny. They couldn’t stop him from saving Rome. They couldn’t stop him from his destiny.”
As for her favorite movie theme songs, Mary says, “It’s actually two of them, and it’s probably everybody’s favorite movie theme song: ‘I Will Always Love You,’ from The Bodyguard, and ‘My Heart Will Go On,’ Titanic.”
Of course, it’s a safe bet that “Mighty River,” the song Mary co-wrote for Mudbound, is on people’s list of favorites, too: It’s earned her an Oscar nod for Best Original Song. Her other nod is for Best Supporting Actress.
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