Beyonce was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Mathew Knowles, a professional record manager, and Tina Knowles (née Beyincé), a costume designer and hair stylist. Knowles' father is African American. Her mother, a Louisiana Creole, has African, French, Native American, and Irish ancestry; she is a descendant of Acadian leader Joseph Broussard. Knowles was baptized after her mother's maiden name, as a tribute to her mother. She is the elder sister of Solange Knowles, a singer, songwriter and actress.
Knowles was educated 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. Knowles' interest in music and performing began after participating in a school talent show. She sang John Lennon's "Imagine" and won the competition. At age seven, 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 musicmagnet school in Houston, where she would perform on-stage with the school's choir. She also attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston and later went to AliefElsik High School, located in the Houston suburban munincipality,Alief. Knowles was a member of the choir at St. John's United Methodist Church for two years, performing as a soloist.
At the age of eight, Knowles met LaTavia Roberson while in an audition for an all-girl entertainment group. They, along with Knowles' childhood 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. 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. As part of efforts to sign Girl's Tyme to a major label record deal, Frager's strategy was to début them in Star Search, the biggest talent show on national TV at the 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 were forced to move into separated apartments. Not long after the inclusion of Rowland, Mathew cut the original lineup to four, with LeToyaLuckett 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. They moved to Atlanta to work on their first recording, only to be cut by the record company in 1995. They returned home to start over again. This eventually put a strain on the family, and Beyoncé's parents separated briefly when she was 14. In 1996, the family reunited, and shortly after, the girls got a contract with Columbia Records. That same year, Destiny's Child recorded their major label début song "Killing Time" for the soundtrack to the 1997 film, Men in Black.
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. They moved to Atlanta to work on their first recording, only to be cut by the record company in 1995. They returned home to start over again. This eventually put a strain on the family, and Beyoncé's parents separated briefly when she was 14. In 1996, the family reunited, and shortly after, the girls got a contract with Columbia Records. That same year, Destiny's Child recorded their major label début song "Killing Time" for the soundtrack to the 1997 film, Men in Black.
The following year, the group released their self-titled debut album, scoring their first major hit "No, No, No". The album established the group as a viable act in the music industry, amassing moderate sales and winning the group three Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards for Best R&B/Soul Single for "No, No, No", Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year and Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist. The group released their multi-platinum second album The Writing's on the Wall in 1999. The record features some of the group's most widely known songs such as "Bills, Bills, Bills", the group's first number-one single, "Jumpin' Jumpin'" and "Say My Name", which became their most-successful song at the time, and would remain one of their signature songs. "Say My Name" won the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and the Best R&B Song at the 43rd Grammy Awards. The Writing's on the Wall sold more than eight million copies. During this time, Knowles recorded a duet with Marc Nelson on the song "After All Is Said and Done" for the soundtrack to the 1999 film, The Best Man.
After settling on their final lineup, the trio recorded "Independent Women Part I", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 2000 film, Charlie's Angels. It became their best-charting single, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for eleven consecutive weeks. Later that year, Luckett and Roberson withdrew their case against their now-former band mates, while maintaining the suit against Mathew, which ended in both sides agreeing to stop public disparaging.
In early 2001, while Destiny's Child was completing their third album, Knowles landed a major role in the MTV made-for-television film, Carmen: A Hip Hopera, starring alongside American actor MekhiPhifer.
Set in Philadelphia, the film is a modern interpretation of the 19th century opera Carmen by French composer Georges Bizet. Luckett and Roberson refiled their lawsuit after Destiny's Child's third album Survivor was released in May 2001, claiming that the songs were aimed at them. The album débuted at number one on US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 663,000 copies sold. To date, Survivor has sold over ten million copies worldwide, over forty percent of which were sold in the US alone. The album spawned other number-one hits, "Bootylicious" and the title track, "Survivor", the latter of which earned the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. After releasing their holiday album 8 Days of Christmas in October 2001, the group announced a hiatus to pursue solo careers.
Set in Philadelphia, the film is a modern interpretation of the 19th century opera Carmen by French composer Georges Bizet. Luckett and Roberson refiled their lawsuit after Destiny's Child's third album Survivor was released in May 2001, claiming that the songs were aimed at them. The album débuted at number one on US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 663,000 copies sold. To date, Survivor has sold over ten million copies worldwide, over forty percent of which were sold in the US alone. The album spawned other number-one hits, "Bootylicious" and the title track, "Survivor", the latter of which earned the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. After releasing their holiday album 8 Days of Christmas in October 2001, the group announced a hiatus to pursue solo careers.
In October 2002, Knowles was featured on her then-boyfriend Jay-Z's single "'03 Bonnie & Clyde". In the United States, the song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Rap Songs chart.In March 2003, Knowles released a remix of 50 Cent's single "In Da Club", which made its way onto several mixtapes. After Williams and Rowland released their solo efforts, Knowles released her début solo album Dangerously in Love in June 2003. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 317,000 copies sold. It was certified four times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Dangerously in Love has sold over 4.6 million copies in the United States, and 11 million copies worldwide. It remains as Knowles' best-selling album to date.
The album's lead single "Crazy in Love", featuring Jay-Z, spent eight consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's second single "Baby Boy", featuring dancehallsinger Sean Paul, spent nine consecutive weeks at number one. The album's third single "Me, Myself and I", peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Naughty Girl", the fourth single, peaked at number three, and became Knowles' fourth consecutive top-five release from Dangerously in Love, and her fifth top-five hit as a solo artist. The album led Knowles to win a then record-tying five awards at the 46th Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary R&B Album, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Dangerously in Love 2", Best R&B Song, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.In November 2003, Knowles embarked on her Dangerously in Love Tour in Europe.
The album's lead single "Crazy in Love", featuring Jay-Z, spent eight consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's second single "Baby Boy", featuring dancehallsinger Sean Paul, spent nine consecutive weeks at number one. The album's third single "Me, Myself and I", peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Naughty Girl", the fourth single, peaked at number three, and became Knowles' fourth consecutive top-five release from Dangerously in Love, and her fifth top-five hit as a solo artist. The album led Knowles to win a then record-tying five awards at the 46th Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary R&B Album, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Dangerously in Love 2", Best R&B Song, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.In November 2003, Knowles embarked on her Dangerously in Love Tour in Europe.
In March 2004, Knowles joined Alicia Keys, Missy Elliott and Tamia for the Verizon Ladies First Tour in North America. Knowles had originally planned to release a follow-up to Dangerously in Love in March 2004, which would feature some of the left-over recordings from the album. However, Knowles decided to put the album on hold in order to concentrate on the next Destiny's Child album. After a three-year journey that involved concentration on individual solo projects, Knowles rejoined Rowland and Williams to release their fourth and final album Destiny Fulfilled in November 2004. The album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 chart. It was certified three times platinum by the RIAA. Destiny Fulfilled has sold over 3.1 million copies in the United States. The album spawned the hit singles "Lose My Breath", "Soldier" and "Cater 2 U".
In support of the album, Destiny's Child embarked on the 2005 Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It world tour, which began in April 2005; culminating in September of that year. During the Barcelona, Spain stop of their tour, Rowland announced they would disband after the end of their final North American leg in September 2005. In October 2005, Destiny's Child released a compilation album, #1's, which included all of their number-one hits and most of their well-known songs. It also included three new tracks, including "Check on It" featuring Slim Thug. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Knowles her third number one on the chart as a solo artist. #1's debuted at number one on Billboard 200 and certified platinum by the RIAA. In March 2006, Destiny's Child reunited to accept a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2008, Beyoncé married rapper and music mogul Jay-Z in a small, private ceremony in New York City.Before they were married, Knowles and Jay-Z were listed as the Most Powerful Couple for Time magazine's 100 Most Influential people of 2006. In January 2009, Forbes ranked them as Hollywood's top-earning couple, with a combined total of $162 million. They also made it to the top of the list the following year, with a combined total of $122 million between June 2008 and June 2009.
Knowles released her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce on November 18, 2008. Upon its release, it received generally mixed to positive reviews from most music critics; according to the music review aggregation of Metacritic, the album received an average score of 62/100. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, giving Knowles her third consecutive number one album in the US. Eventually, she became the third female artist of the 2000s decade to have her first three albums debut at the top spot of the chart. To date, I Am... Sasha Fierce has sold six million copies worldwide.
Tour in 2009The album was proceeded with the release of its two lead singles, "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". The first single, "If I Were a Boy" topped eight charts worldwide, including the United Kingdom and reached the top-ten in many other charts "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, giving Knowles' her fifth number-one single, and was also successful in other international markets, peaking in top-ten positions around the world. The song's music video has achieved fame for its intricate choreography, which has been credited as having started the "first major dance craze of both the new millennium and the Internet." This prompted a legion of imitations and parodies from men and women all around the world, including celebrities such as pop singers Justin Timberlake[85] and Joe Jonas, U.S. President Barack Obama. and actor Tom Hanks. It received nine nominations at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and ultimately won the award for Video of the Year, and an additional two awards, though its loss in the Best Female Video category to Taylor Swift's "You Belong with Me" led to a controversy during the ceremony.
In addition to acting and performing , Beyoncé runs a clothing line called House of Dereon with her mother. She also launched her own fragrance, Heat, in 2010. During her career, Beyoncé has served as a spokesperson and model for several other brands, including L'Oreal and Tommy Hilfiger.Recently, Beyoncé found herself under fire for performing a private concert for Libyan leader Muammar 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, Beyoncé said that her father had been responsible for arranging the Libyan concert. She decided to drop her father as her manager in March 2011.Despite this passing controversy, the future looks bright for Beyoncé. She began work on a new album, and was signed on as the headlining act at the Glastonbury Festival in southwest England.
