About Beyonce
Born: September 4, 1981, Houston, Texas
Best Known As:
- Singer
- Songwriter
- Actress
- Fashion Designer
- Wife of Jay-Z
Beyonce began entering talent shows when she was 7, but by the ‘90s she was performing on the talent show circuit with Gyrls Time, an all-girl group that included her future Destiny’s Child members Kelly Rowland, LeToya Luckett, and LaTavia Roberson. In 1996, Mathew Knowles, Beyonce’s father, left his six-figure job to manage Destiny’s Child and helped to negotiate a deal for them with Columbia Records. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1998. The Writing’s on the Wall, their second album, was released in 1999 and featured the singles “Say My Name” and “Jumpin’, Jumpin’.” In 2000, members LeToya and LaTavia were dismissed from the group and were replaced with Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin, who left a few months later. Destiny’s Child remained a trio. Beyonce made her big-screen debut in the Austin Power’s movie “Goldmember” as Foxxy Cleopatra in 2000. That same year rumors she’s dating rapper Jay-Z surface after she appears on his song “‘03 Bonnie & Clyde.” In 2003, Beyonce went solo with Dangerously in Love, which sold 317,000 copies in its first week. She won five Grammys in 2004, which was the same year Destiny’s Child released its final studio album, Destiny Fulfilled. Beyonce and her mother launched House of Dereon, a clothing company, a year later. At the age of 25, Beyonce released her second solo album, B’Day, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and won a Best Contemporary R&B album Grammy award in 2007. Beyonce also starred in the movie version of “Dreamgirls,” opposite Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose. In 2007, Beyonce was the first non-model and non-athlete, as well as the second African-American, to grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Beyonce and Jay-Z secretly wed in New York in 2008 because she didn’t want the drama of a large affair. Beyonce created a video sensation with “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” which inspired countless choreography spoofs. The double album I Am ... Sasha Fierce went No. 1 in 2008. In December of that year, Beyonce portrayed legend Etta James in Cadillac Records, a role that finally put criticisms of her acting to rest.
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