Beyoncé Knowles at a glance
The former member of all girl group Destiny’s Child has made a name for herself in the world of music, becoming one of the most well known singers of our generation.
Beyonce Knowles was born in Houston.
The daughter of a record manager and a hair stylist, the Beyonce knew she wanted to be a singer from a young age, from watching Michael Jackson on the television.
She started out singing in choirs and entering dance competitions.
It was her father who helped to launch her career, when she joined the group Destiny’s Child at just 16.
In the beginning, the group was made up of Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett.
The last two left the group very early on and were replaced by Michelle Williams.
Destiny’s Child made themselves known with singles such as “Say My Name” and “Bills Bills Bills”.
However, it was their single “Independent Woman” (2001), used on the soundtrack of the film Charlie’s Angels, with the album “Survivor”, following shortly afterwards, which really drove their success.
The girls’ careers were launched, with Beyonce making her solo career venture in 2003 with the album “Dangerously in Love”, which includes the hits “Crazy in Love”, a collaboration with her husband, the rapper Jay-Z, and “Baby Boy” with Sean Paul.
With her music career going from strength to strength, Beyonce launched her acting career with a memorable performance, starring alongside Mike Myers, as Foxy Cleopatra in “Austin Powers in Goldmember” (2002), and recorded the track “Work It Out” for the soundtrack of the film.
The star has continued to mix the two worlds ever since. In 2006, she starred in the musical film “Dreamgirls” (with Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx), for which she also recorded the track “Listen”.
She also starred in the film “Pink Panther”, with Jean Reno, recording the track “Check on It” for the film. In the same year the singer profited from her success by releasing her second solo album, “B’Day”, for which she recorded the track “Beautiful Liar” with the sexy Columbian singer, Shakira.
In November 2008 she released the double album “I am…Sasha Fierce”, which was a huge success with hits such as “Single Ladies” (the clip of which was copied several times, most notably by Justin Timberlake) and “Halo”.
“I am…Sasha Fierce” also led to a world tour in 2009 and earned the singer a record breaking 6 Grammy Awards at the ceremony in January 2010.
In 2009, in addition to her tour, Beyonce both produced and starred in the film “Obsessed”, with the star from the series “Heroes”, Ali Larter.
Aside from singing and acting, Beyonce’s reputation has earned her a number of very prestigious publicity contracts, mostly in the cosmetic industry.
She has been the image of L’Oreal since 2001 and has worked with the designer Tommy Hilfiger on his perfume True Star (2004). She was also the face of the perfume Emporio Armani Diamonds (2007) before launching her own fragrance Heat in 2010.
In her private life, Beyonce has had a wonderful couple of years. In August 2011 she announced that she and husband Jay-Z were expecting their first child and on 7th January 2012 she gave birth to her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter.