Beyoncé Knowles is a multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning recording artist who’s acclaimed for her thrilling vocals, videos and live shows.
Who Is Beyoncé Knowles?
Beyoncé Knowles first captured the public’s eye as lead vocalist of the R&B group Destiny’s Child. She later established a solo career with her debut album Dangerously in Love, becoming one of music’s top-selling artists with sold-out tours and a slew of awards. Knowles has also starred in several films, including Dream Girls. She married hip-hop recording artist Jay-Z in 2008 and the couple has three children.
Early Life
Singer and actress Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born on September 4, 1981, in Houston, Texas. She started singing at an early age, competing in local talent shows and winning many of these events by impressing audiences with her singing and dancing abilities.
Destiny’s Child
Teaming up with her cousin Kelly Rowland and two classmates, Knowles formed an all-female singing group. Her father, Matthew Knowles, served as the band’s manager. The group went through some name and line-up changes before landing a record deal in 1997 with Columbia Records. Destiny’s Child soon became one of the most popular R&B acts, with the release of their first, self-titled album. Gaining momentum, the group scored its first No. 1 single on the pop charts with Bills, Bills, Bills, off their second album. The recording also featured another smash hit, Say My Name.
While enjoying her group’s success, Knowles began exploring other projects. She made her acting debut in 2001 with a starring role in Carmen: A Hip Hopera. She then co-starred with Mike Myers in the Austin Powers spy parody Goldmember the following year.
Solo Career
On the musical front, Knowles took centre stage as a solo artist, releasing her first album, Dangerously in Love, in 2003. The recording became a huge success for her both commercially and critically. It sold millions of copies and won five Grammy Awards. On the album, Knowles worked with a number of different artists, including Missy Elliott, Sean Paul and Jay-Z. She was rumored to be dating Jay-Z around this time, but the couple did not publicly acknowledge their relationship.
Destiny’s Child released their last studio album, Destiny Fulfilled, in 2004, and officially broke up the following year.
In her own, Knowles continued to enjoy great success. Her second studio album, 2006’s B’Day featured such hits as Irreplaceable and Déjà vu”. On the big screen, she starred opposite Jennifer Hudson, Jaime Foxx, and Eddie Murphy in Dreamgirls. The film was adapted from the hit Broadway musical of the same name.
Marriage to Jay-Z
In 2008, Knowles married rapper and music mogul Jay-Z in a small, private ceremony in New York City. Among the guests sighted at the wedding were Knowles’ mother, Tina Knowles; father, Matthew; sister, Solange; Destiny’s Child members Rowland and Michelle Williams; and friend Gwyneth Paltrow.
The newlywed continued to work as hard as ever, promoting her latest effort, I am... Sasha Fierce (2008). Knowles scored two big hits off the album —Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) and If I Were a Boy. She also returned to the big screen that year, starring as R&B legend Etta James in Cadillac Records. The following January, Knowles sang James’ trademark song, At Last, for President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at his inaugural ball.
In addition to acting and performing, Knowles ran a clothing line called House of Dereon with her mother. She also launched her own fragrance, Heat, in 2010. Throughout her career, Knowles has served as a spokesperson and model for several other brands, including L’Oreal and Tommy Hilfiger.
Knowles found herself under fire after performing a private concert for Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi on New Year’s Eve in 2010. She later donated her fee from the event to help victims of the Haitian earthquake. According to some reports, Knowles said that her father had been responsible for arranging the Libyan concert. She decided to drop her father as her manager in March 2011. Later that year, Knowles reached the top of the album charts with her latest solo release, 4.
In January 2013, Knowles generated some negative headlines for her performance at President Obama’s second inauguration in Washington, D.C. She was criticised for reportedly pre-recording a version of The Star-Spangled Banner and lip-syncing to her own track during the outdoor ceremony. Despite wide media coverage, in the days following the incident, Knowles did not publicly address the controversy.
Not long after, prior to her appearance at Super Bowl XLVII, Knowles performed the song live at a press conference. She explained to reporters that she had used a “backing track” at the inauguration, adding that she would “absolutely be singing live” at the NFL’s biggest event of the year, according to The Huffington Post.
Indeed, Knowles more than redeemed herself in the public eye at the Super Bowl on February 3, 2013. During the event’s halftime show, she took the stage and wowed the crowd, joined by her former Destiny’s Child bandmates Rowland and Williams for parts of her performance. Knowles also announced that her next major tour would start in the spring of 2013.
Awards, Accolades and Surprise Album
At the 2010 Grammy Awards, Knowles walked away with six honours — the most wins in a single night by a female artist. Her record was matched two years later by pop/soul artist Adele. In 2010, she also tied the record for most No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Pop Songs chart, which is based on radio airplay. In 2011, she made the Forbes Top 10 list of entertainment’s highest-earning women. By 2013, Knowles had won 16 Grammys.
In 2018, she released Everything Is Love, a collaborative album with her husband, Jay-Z, as the Carters. As a featured artist, Beyoncé topped the Billboard Hot 100 with the remixes of Perfect by Ed Sheeran in 2017 and Savage by Megan Thee Stallion in 2020. The same year, she made her directorial and screenwriting debut with the musical film and visual album Black Is King, which received widespread critical acclaim after premiering on Disney+.
Beyoncé is one of the world’s best-selling recording artists, having sold 118 million records worldwide. Her success during the 2000s was recognized with the Recording Industry Association of America’s Top Certified Artist of the Decade, as well as Billboard magazine’s Top Radio Songs Artist and the Top Female Artist of the Decade. Beyoncé is the most nominated woman in the Grammy Award’s history and has the second most wins for a woman with a total of 24. She is also the most awarded artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, with 24 wins, including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
Highest-earning Black musician
In 2014, she became the highest-earning Black musician in history and was listed among Time’s 100 most influential people in the world for a second year in a row. Forbes ranked her as the most powerful female in entertainment on their 2015 and 2017 lists. She occupied the sixth place for Time’s Person of the Year in 2016, and in 2020, was named one of the 100 women who defined the last century by the same publication. Beyoncé was also included on Encyclopædia Britannica’s 100 Women list in 2019, for her contributions to the entertainment industry.