Beyonce Knowles

Birth name :               Beyoncé Giselle Knowles

Born :                         September 4, 1981 (1981-09-04) (age 28)

Origin :                       Houston, Texas, United States Genres R&B, pop, hip hop, soul

Occupations :           Singer-songwriter, record producer, actress, dancer, choreographer, model, video director Instruments Vocals

Years active:              1990–present

Labels :                       Columbia

Associated acts :        Destiny's Child, Jay-Z

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981), often referred to mononymously as Beyoncé is an American R&B singer. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child.

During the hiatus of Destiny's Child, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love (2003), which became one of the most successful albums of that year, and signaled her viability as a solo artist. The disbanding of Destiny's Child in 2005 facilitated her continued success: her sophomore solo album, B'Day, released in 2006, debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. Her third solo album I Am… Sasha Fierce, released in November 2008, received 10 Grammy nominations.

Knowles began her acting career in 2001, appearing in the musical film Carmen: A Hip Hopera. In 2006, she starred in the lead role in the film adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical Dreamgirls, for which she earned two Golden Globe nominations. Knowles launched her family's fashion line, House of Deréon, in 2004, and has been engaged to endorse such brands as Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger, Armani and L'Oréal. In 2009, Forbes listed Knowles fourth on its list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential Celebrities in the world, third on its list of the top-grossing musicians, and number one on the list of top Best-Paid Celebs Under 30 with over $87 million dollars in earnings between 2008 and 2009.

Early life and career beginnings

Knowles was born in Houston, Texas. She is the daughter of Mathew Knowles, a successful record manager, and Tina Knowles, a costume designer and hair stylist. Knowles' father is African American and her mother is of Creole (African American, Native American, and French) descent. Knowles was baptized after her mother's maiden name, as a tribute to her mother and to prevent the name from becoming obsolete, since only a few of the Beyincé males carry the name. Her maternal grandparents, Lumis Albert Beyincé and Agnéz Deréon, were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles. She is the elder sister of Solange, a singer-songwriter and actress.

Knowles was schooled at St. Mary's Elementary School in Texas, where she enrolled in dance classes, including ballet and jazz. Her talent in singing was discovered when her dance instructor began humming a song and she finished it, hitting the high-pitched notes. Although a shy girl, as her mother considered her, Knowles' interest in music and performing began unexpectedly after participating in a school talent show. Once she had a moment on the stage, she overcame her shyness and wanted to become a singer and performer. By age seven, Knowles had entered her first talent show, singing John Lennon's "Imagine". She won the contest and was honored with a standing ovation. At the same age, Knowles started gaining attention from the press, having been mentioned in the Houston Chronicle as a nominee for the local performing arts award The Sammy.

In the fall of 1990, Knowles enrolled in Parker Elementary School, a music magnet school in Houston, where she would perform onstage with the school's choir. She also attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston and later went to Alief Elsik High School, located in the Houston neighborhood of Alief. Knowles was a soloist in the choir of her church, in St. John's United Methodist Church. She only lasted in the choir for two years, however, because she was preoccupied with her newfound career.

At the age of eight, Knowles met LaTavia Roberson while in an audition for a girl group. They, along with Knowles' friend Kelly Rowland, were placed into a group that performed rapping and dancing. Originally named Girl's Tyme, they were eventually cut down to six members. With Knowles and Rowland, Girl's Tyme attracted audience nationally. West coast R&B producer, Arne Frager, flew into Houston to see them. He eventually brought them to his studio - The Plant Recording Studios - in Northern California, with Knowles' vocals being featured because Frager thought she had personality and the ability to sing. As part of efforts to sign Girl's Tyme to a major label record deal, Frager's strategy was to debut them in Star Search, the biggest talent show on national TV that time. Girl's Tyme participated in the competition but lost it because the song they performed was not good, Knowles herself admitted. Knowles had her first "professional setback" after that defeat, but regained confidence after learning that pop stars Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake had also the same experience.

To manage the group, Knowles' father (who was at that time a medical-equipment salesman) resigned in 1995 from his job. He dedicated his time and established a "boot camp" for their training. The move reduced Knowles' family's income by half and her parents separated because of the pressure. Not long after the inclusion of Rowland, Mathew cut the original lineup to four, with LeToya Luckett joining in 1993. Rehearsing in Tina's Headliners Salon and their backyards, the group continued performing as an opening act for other established R&B girl groups of the time; Tina contributed to the cause by designing their costumes, which she continued to do throughout the Destiny's Child era. With the continued support of Mathew, they auditioned before record labels and were finally signed to Elektra Records, only to be dropped months later before they could release an album.

Personal life

During the turmoil of Destiny's Child in 2000, Knowles had admitted in December 2006 that she had experienced depression from an accumulation of struggles: the publicized split of LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson, being publicly attacked by the media, critics and blogs for causing the split-up, and a longstanding boyfriend (that she had dated from age 12 to 19 years) leaving her.

The depression was so severe it had lasted for a couple of years, while she had kept herself in her bedroom for days and refused to eat anything. Knowles stated that she struggled to speak about her depression because Destiny's Child had just won their first Grammy Award and she feared no one would take her seriously. All of these events had made her question herself and who her friends were, describing the situation she said, "Now that I was famous, I was afraid I'd never find somebody again to love me for me. I was afraid of making new friends." She remembers her mother, Tina Knowles, for finally saying to help her out of her depression, "Why do you think a person wouldn't love you? Don't you know how smart and sweet and beautiful you are?"

Since 2002, Knowles has been in a relationship with rapper Jay-Z, with whom she has collaborated several times. Rumors began to circulate about their relationship after Knowles was featured on "'03 Bonnie & Clyde". In spite of persistent rumors about their relationship, they remained discreet about it. In 2005, rumors began to spread about the marriage of the couple. Knowles closed the speculation stating that she and Jay-Z were not even engaged. When asked again about the subject in September 2007, Jay-Z replied, "One day soon—let's leave it at that." Laura Schreffler, senior writer for OK! magazine, said, "They are intensely private people".

On April 4, 2008, Knowles and Jay-Z were married in New York City. It became a matter of public record on April 22, 2008, but Knowles did not publicly debut her wedding ring until the Fashion Rocks concert on September 5, 2008 in New York City. Knowles finally revealed their marriage through an opening montage video at the listening party for I Am... Sasha Fierce in Manhattan's Sony Club.

Discography

Main article: Beyoncé Knowles discography

See also: Beyoncé Knowles videography

See also: Destiny's Child discography

Studio albums

• Dangerously in Love (2003)
• B'Day (2006)
• I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008)

Video releases

• Live at Wembley (2004)
• BET Presents Beyoncé (2006)
• Beyoncé The Ultimate Performer (2006)
• B'Day Anthology Video Album (2007)
• The Beyoncé Experience Live (2007)
• I Am... Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas (2009)

Tours

• Dangerously in Love Tour (2003)
• Verizon Ladies First Tour (2004)
• The Beyoncé Experience (2007)
• I Am... Tour (2009)

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2001	Carmen: A Hip Hopera	Carmen	Lead role, TV film
2002	Austin Powers in Goldmember	Foxxy Cleopatra	Lead role
2003	The Fighting Temptations	Lilly	Lead role
2004	Fade to Black	Herself	Jay-Z documentary
2006	The Pink Panther	Xania	Supporting role
	Dreamgirls	Deena Jones	Lead role
2007	My Night at the Grammys	Herself	TV film
2008	Cadillac Records	Etta James	Lead role
2009	Obsessed	Sharon Charles	Lead role
	Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!	Shine (voice)	"Wubbzy's Big Makeover/The Big Wuzzlewood" (Season 2, episode 22) "Wubb Girlz Rule!/Wuzzleburg Idol" (Season 2, episode 19) "Bye Bye Wuzzleburg/Wubbzy's Wacky Journey" (Season 2 , episode 20) "Lights, Camera, Wubbzy!/A Wubbstar Is Born" (Season 2 , episode 23)
2009	"Beyoncé: For The Record"	Herself	An hour long interview on 4Music

Awards

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Beyoncé Knowles