First Name: Giselle
Last Name: Knowles
Maiden Name: Knowles
Alternative Names: Sasha Fierce, Beyowulf, Beyonce, Beyonce (Knowles) Carter, Beyonce Knowles
Date of Birth: 04 September 1981
Birthplace: Houston,Texas, USA
Nationality: American
Build: Average
Height: 5' 7" (170 cm)
Eye Color: Brown - Dark
Hair Color: Brown - Light
Star Sign: Virgo
Claim to Fame: Destinys Child
Occupation: Singer, Writer, Actress, Producer, etc.
Religion: Methodist
Occupation Category: Singer
Music Genre: R&B, R&B/Soul
Music Tags: Pop/Rock, Producer
Music Style: Contemporary R&B, Dance-Pop, Pop, Pop/Rock, Teen Pop, Urban
Music Mood: Amiable/Good-Natured, Confident, Dramatic, Energetic, Exuberant, Fun, Party/Celebratory, Playful, Producer, Refined/Mannered, Romantic, Sexy, Spicy, Stylish, Uncompromising
Musical Instrument: Vocals
Biography for Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born sep. 4, 1981 (30 years ago)), best known mononymously as Beyoncé, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, choregrapher, video director, actress and model. 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 1990 (21 years ago) as the lead singer of the girl group Destiny's Child. Knowles has sold more than 50 million records worldwide with the group and over 75 million records in her total career.
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| Beyonce Knowles |
The success of her solo albums has established Knowles as one of the most marketable artists in the music industry, and she has expanded her career to acting and product endorsement. She began her acting career in 2001 (10 years ago), appearing in the musical movie Carmen: A Hip Hopera. In 2006 (5 years ago), she starred in the lead role in the movie adaptation of the 1981 (30 years ago) Broadway musical Dreamgirls, for which she earned two Golden Globe nominations. Knowles launched her family's fashion line, House of Deréon, in 2004 (7 years ago), and has been engaged to endorse such brands as Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger, Armani and L'Oréal. In 2009 (2 years ago), 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 (3 years ago) and 2009 (2 years ago).
Early years
Knowles was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Mathew Knowles, a very successful record manager, and Tina Beyincé, 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 mentioned in Houston Chronicle as a nominee for the local performing arts award The Sammy.
In the fall of 1990 (21 years ago), 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. She was also attending a dance school, which inspired her many local singing and dancing competition wins.
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.
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| American Singer Beyonce Knowles |
Career
1997-2005: Destiny's Child's era
Taking inspiration from a passage in the Book of Isaiah, the group changed its name to Destiny's Child in 1993 (18 years ago). Together, they performed in local events and, after four years on the road, the group was signed to Columbia Records in late 1997 (14 years ago). That same year, Destiny's Child recorded its major label debut song, "Killing Time", for the soundtrack to the 1997 (14 years ago) film, Men in Black.
The following year, the group released its self-titled debut album, scoring their first major hit "No, No, No". That 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". However, the group rose to bona fide stardom after releasing their multi-platinum sophomore album The Writing's on the Wall in 1999 (12 years ago). 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 2001 (10 years ago) Grammy Awards. The Writing's on the Wall sold more than seven million copies, essentially becoming their breakthrough album.
Knowles performing Destiny's Child hit "Independent Women Part I", the best-charting single from the group.Along with their commercial successes, the group became entangled in much-publicized turmoil involving the filing of a lawsuit by Luckett and Roberson for breach of contract. The issue was heightened after Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin appeared on the video of "Say My Name", implying that Luckett and Roberson had already been replaced. Eventually, Luckett and Roberson left the group. Franklin would eventually fade from the group after five months, as evidenced by her absences during promotional appearances and concerts. She attributed her departure to negative vibes in the group resulting from the strife.
After settling on their final lineup, the trio recorded "Independent Women Part I", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 2000 (11 years ago) film, Charlie's Angels. It became their best-charting single, topping the official U.S. singles chart for eleven consecutive weeks. The success cemented the new lineup and skyrocketed them to fame. 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. Destiny's Child's third album, Survivor, channels the turmoil they underwent, spawning its eponymous lead single, which was a response to the experience. The themes of "Survivor", however, caused Luckett and Roberson to refile their lawsuit, believing that the songs were aimed at them. However, the proceedings were eventually settled in Jun. 2002 (9 years ago). Meanwhile, the album was released in May 2001 (10 years ago), debuting at number one on U.S. Billboard 200 with 663,000 units sold. To date, Survivor has sold over ten million copies worldwide, over forty percent of which were sold in the U.S. 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, the group announced a hiatus to pursue solo projects.
2000-present: Solo and career development
In 2000 (11 years ago), Knowles signed a three-album deal with Columbia Records. While Knowles was with Destiny's Child, she made solo appearances. She made a duet with label mate Marc Nelson on the song "After All Is Said and Done" for the soundtrack to the 1999 (12 years ago) movie The Best Man, and featured on the 2000 (11 years ago) single "I Got That" by rapper Amil. In early 2001 (10 years ago), while Destiny's Child was completing Survivor, Knowles landed a major role in the MTV made-for-TV film, Carmen: A Hip Hopera, starring alongside American actor Mekhi Phifer. Set in Philadelphia, the movie is a modern interpretation of the 19th century opera Carmen by French composer Georges Bizet.
That same year, Knowles was featured on her then-boyfriend Jay-Z's hit single "'03 Bonnie & Clyde". She also recorded a version of 50 Cent's "In Da Club" and released it in Mar. 2003 (8 years ago). Luther Vandross and Knowles remade the duet "The Closer I Get to You", which was originally recorded by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway in 1977 (34 years ago). Their version won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals the following year, and Vandross' "Dance with My Father", which also features Knowles, won for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
2003: Dangerously in Love
After Williams and Rowland released their solo efforts, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in Jun. 2003 (8 years ago). Featuring many musical collaborators, the album contains a combination of uptempo and slow jam songs. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number one, selling 317,000 copies in its first week. Certified 4x platinum on Aug. 5, 2004 (7 years ago) by the Recording Industry Association of America, the album has sold 4.2 million copies to date in the United States.
The album yielded two number one singles. "Crazy in Love", featuring a guest rap verse from Jay-Z, was released as the album's lead single remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks and topping many charts worldwide. Knowles also successfully dominated the United Kingdom, simultaneously topping the singles and album charts there. The album's second single, "Baby Boy", which features dancehall singer Sean Paul, also became one of the biggest hits of 2003 (8 years ago), dominating U.S. radio airplay and spending nine weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100—one week longer than "Crazy in Love". Unlike "Crazy in Love", the final three singles attained more immediate commercial successes, propelling the album to the top of the charts and going a long way toward it being certified multi-platinum.
Knowles won five awards at the 2004 (7 years ago) Grammy Awards for her solo effort, which included the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Dangerously in Love 2", Best R&B Song for "Crazy in Love", and the Best Contemporary R&B Album. She shares this distinction with four other female artists: Lauryn Hill (1999, 12 years ago), Alicia Keys (12 walls) (2002, 9 years ago) Norah Jones (2003, 8 years ago) and Amy Winehouse (2008, 3 years ago). In 2004 (7 years ago), she won a BRIT Award for International Female Solo Artist.
2004-2005: Destiny Fulfilled and group disbandment
In 2004 (7 years ago), Knowles planned to release a follow-up to Dangerously in Love, which would feature some of the left-over recordings. However, her musical aspirations were put on hiatus due to conflicting schedules, including her recording with Destiny's Child for what would be their final album. Early in that year, Knowles performed the U.S. national anthem at Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium in Houston; she admitted it fulfilled a childhood dream.
Destiny's Child performing the 2000 (11 years ago) hit "Say My Name" during their farewell concert tour, Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It.After a three-year journey that involved concentration on individual solo projects, Knowles rejoined Rowland and Williams for Destiny Fulfilled, released in Nov. 2004 (7 years ago). The album hit number two on the Billboard 200, and spawned three top forty hits including "Lose My Breath" and "Soldier". In support of the album, Destiny's Child embarked on the 2005 (6 years ago) Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It world tour, which started in Apr. and ran through September. On the Barcelona, Spain visit, the group announced their disbandment after the end of their final North American leg. In Oct. 2005 (6 years ago), the group released a compilation album, entitled #1's, including all of Destiny's Child's number-one hits and most of their well-known songs. The greatest hits collection also includes three new tracks, including "Stand Up for Love". Destiny's Child was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Mar. 2006 (5 years ago). They were also recognized as the world's best-selling female group of all time.
Continuing her movie career, Knowles co-starred in the movie The Pink Panther, playing the role of Xania, an international pop star, opposite Steve Martin, who plays Inspector Clouseau. The movie was released on Feb. 10, 2006 (5 years ago), and debuted at number one at the box office, doing $21.7 million in ticket sales in its first week. Knowles recorded "Check on It" for the soundtrack to the film, featuring Slim Thug, and reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
In late 2005 (6 years ago), Knowles again put her second album on hold after she landed a role in Dreamgirls, the movie adaptation of the 1981 (30 years ago) hit Broadway musical about a 1960 (51 years ago) singing group loosely based on Motown all-female group The Supremes. In the film, she portrays the Diana Ross-based character Deena Jones. Knowles told Billboard magazine: "I'm not going to write for the album until I finish doing the movie." Released in dec. 2006 (5 years ago), Dreamgirls stars Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, and Jennifer Hudson. Knowles recorded several songs for the film's soundtrack, including the original song "Listen". On dec. 14, 2006 (5 years ago), Knowles was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for the film: Best Actress - Motion picture (wallpaper) Musical or Comedy and Best Original Song for "Listen".
2006-2007: B'Day
Knowles performing "Listen" from Dreamgirls, during The Beyoncé Experience tour in 2007 (4 years ago).Inspired by her role in Dreamgirls, Knowles worked on her second album without any specific plan, telling MTV News, "[When filming ended] I had so many things bottled up, so many emotions, so many ideas". Knowles worked with previous musical collaborators, including Rich Harrison, Rodney Jerkins and Sean Garrett, at the Sony Music Studios in New York City. She co-wrote and co-produced nearly all songs included in the album, which was completed in three weeks.
B'Day was released worldwide on sep. 4, 2006 (5 years ago) and on sep. 5, 2006 (5 years ago) in the United States to coincide with the celebration of her twenty-fifth birthday. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling more than 541,000 copies in the first week, her highest first-week sales mark as a solo artist. The album has been certified three-times platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album spawned the UK number-one single "Déjà Vu", the album's lead single, featuring Jay-Z." "Irreplaceable" was released in Oct. 2006 (5 years ago) as the album's second single worldwide and third single in the U.S. "Irreplaceable" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 consecutive weeks, giving Knowles her longest-running single to date. Although it was a commercial success, the relatively short-spanned production of the album was the subject of critical scrutiny.
Knowles re-released B'Day on Apr. 3, 2007 (4 years ago) as a deluxe edition, featuring five new tracks and Spanish-language versions of "Irreplaceable", and "Listen". Simultaneously, the B'Day Anthology was released featuring 10 music videos. In support of the album, Knowles embarked on her lengthy The Beyoncé Experience concert tour, visiting over ninety venues worldwide, which was made into the concert DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) The Beyoncé Experience Live!. At the 2007 (4 years ago) Grammy Awards, B'Day earned Knowles the award for Best Contemporary R&B Album. Knowles made history at the 35th Annual American Music Awards for being the first woman to win an International Artist Award.
2008-present: I Am… Sasha Fierce
On Feb. 10th, 2008 (3 years ago), Knowles performed a duet at the 50th Grammy Awards with one of her musical influences Tina Turner. Knowles introduced Turner as 'The Queen' and they performed one of Turner's signature songs 'Proud Mary', receiving very positive reviews from the press. Also in 2008 (3 years ago), Knowles released her third studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, on Nov. 18, 2008 (3 years ago). Knowles says that the name Sasha Fierce is the name of the persona she adopts when she performs onstage. "I have someone else that takes over when it's time for me to work and when I'm on stage, this alter ego that I've created that kind of protects me and who I really am." In an interview with producer Rodney Jerkins, he said that the style of the album kept switching and was inspired by the musical biopic film, Cadillac Records, in which Knowles had been cast to play famed blues singer Etta James. Her performance in the movie has received praise from critics. Knowles also starred opposite Ali Larter (30 walls) and Idris Elba in a thriller movie called Obsessed, which was in production since May 2008 (3 years ago). The movie received a poor critical response and has a rotten rank of 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the movie has so far proved to be a commercial success and was released in the United States on Apr. 24, 2009 (2 years ago), the movie grossed $11.1 million on its first day of release and ended its opening weekend at number one, with a total of $28.6 million.
Beyonce singing "America the Beautiful" during the inaugural opening ceremonies."If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", the first and second singles off I Am… Sasha Fierce, were released to radio on Oct. 8, 2008 (3 years ago), preceding the album's release on Nov. 18, 2008 (3 years ago). While "If I Were a Boy" topped numerous charts worldwide, mostly in European countries, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart, for four non-consecutive weeks, giving Knowles her fifth number one single in the United States. "Halo", the fourth single off I Am... Sasha Fierce, went on to peak at number five, becoming Knowles' 12th Top 10 single on the Hot 100 as a solo artist. This made Knowles the female artist with the most top tens on the Hot 100 this decade.
Knowles won the Outstanding Female Artist at the 2009 (2 years ago) NAACP image (wallpaper) Awards. Knowles performed on Jan. 18, 2009 (2 years ago) at the Lincoln Memorial festivities in honor of the inauguration of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States. Knowles also sang her cover of the R&B classic most famously sang by Etta James, "At Last", as President Obama and his wife Michelle had their first dance as President and First lady of America, on Jan. 20, 2009 (2 years ago) at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball.
Knowles embarked on her third world tour, I Am… Tour, starting in the Spring of 2009 (2 years ago), visiting venues all over the world from the America's, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. She concluded the North American leg of her tour with a four-day limited engagement at the very intimate 1500-seat Encore Theatre at Steve Wynn's Encore Resort in Las Vegas from Jul. 30 through Aug. 2, 2009 (2 years ago). Tickets for the event ranged from $250 to $1000, and the program was altered significantly to accommodate the small size of the venue. The modified performances included acoustic "unplugged" arrangements of the artist's hits, and a story of her rise to fame from age 9 to the present day through an exploration of her music as a member of Destiny's Child, a contributor to soundtracks, and a solo artist. The story began with a mention of her father taking her and the original members of Destiny's Child to an audition for Columbia Records which her father interrupted, noting that she must have been swimming that morning since her nose was stuffy and insisting that the girls leave and "weren't ready" for the audition. As Knowles said during the performance, "He was right. We weren't ready. We were 9."
Personal life
During the turmoil of Destiny's Child in 2000 (11 years ago), Knowles had admitted in dec. 2006 (5 years ago) 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 (9 years ago), 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 (6 years ago), 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 sep. 2007 (4 years ago), 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 Apr. 4, 2008 (3 years ago), Knowles and Jay-Z were married in New York City. It became a matter of public record on Apr. 22, 2008 (3 years ago), but Knowles did not publicly debut her wedding ring until the Fashion Rocks concert on sep. 5, 2008 (3 years ago) 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.
Filmography
Carmen: A Hip Hopera
Austin Powers in Goldmember
The Fighting Temptations
Fade to Black
The Pink Panther
Dreamgirls
Cadillac Records
Obsessed
Discography
2003 (8 years ago): Dangerously in Love
2006 (5 years ago): B'Day
2008 (3 years ago): I Am... Sasha Fierce
Awards and nominations
Black Reel Awards
Broadcast movie Critics Awards
Golden Globe Awards
MTV Movie Awards
NAACP image (wallpaper) Awards
NRJ Ciné Awards
Satellite Awards
American Music Awards
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), USA
BET Awards, USA
Billboard Music Magazine, USA
Black Reel Awards, USA
BRAVO Supershow, Germany
BRIT Awards, UK
Capital FM Awards, UK
Demand International Entertainer of The Year
Energy Music, France / Europe (NRJ)
Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year, UK
Grammy Awards, USA
International Dance Music Awards, World
Ivor Novello Awards
Meteor Music Awards, Ireland
Music of Black Origin Awards, UK (MOBO)
Music TV, World (MTV)
NAACP image (wallpaper) Awards
New Musical Express, UK (NME)
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
People Choice Awards, USA
Popjustice Readers Polls
Premios Oye, Mexico
Radio Music Awards, USA
Soul Train Music Awards, USA
Source Hip-Hop Music Awards, USA
Teen Choice Awards
The Record of the Year, UK (ITV)
VH1, USA
Vibe Awards, USA
Whudat Music Awards, USA
World Music Awards, World
Urban Music Awards
Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Beyonce Knowles's Video:
