Beyonce Knowles: Biography and Life Story

Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter was born in Houston, Texas on September 4, 1981 to her parents, Matthew and Tina Knowles. She also had a sister, Solange, who she grew up with. Throughout her life, she has been an actress, songwriter, singer, dancer, and record producer. Beyonce didn’t always have her confident attitude, however. When she was younger, she was very shy and had a select amount of friends. Knowles’ parents enrolled her in dance classes, hoping to break through her shield of shyness. They couldn’t imagine that from there, their little, shy girl would blow up and become a super-star sensation.

At the age of seven, Knowles had her first dance performance. She had started to feel real confident and even enjoyed performing. Her parents had discovered that she had real talent. Even though Knowles gained more confidence, she still remained humble. She often said, “My main accomplishment is achieving peace and happiness. Sometimes you think it is success, and you think that it’s being a big star. But I want respect, and I want friendship and love and laughter, and I want to grow.” Over time, she continued to grow as a performer through pageants and dance recitals. In 1990, Knowles auditioned for the girl group, Girl’s Tyme. She ended up winning a spot and began singing at local events. After tons of rehearsals, the group was finally signed to Silent Partner Productions in 1995. The deal eventually fell through. Later on, in 1997, the group had renamed themselves Destiny Child and signed with Columbia Records.

Beyonce ascended as she participated in the popular singing group, Destiny’s Child, that her father managed. As the group progressed, it became one of the many best girl groups in the world. While the group worked together, they made a host of songs and made a lot of videos that really made people love them. Some of their hits included: “No, No, No”, “Bills, Bills, Bills”, and “Say My Name”. Eventually, Knowles decided that she wanted to pursue a solo career. While working on her solo jobs, she also tapped in her acting side. In 2001, she starred in MTV production of Carmen: The Hip-Hopera, which was her first acting gig. As she starred in more films, Knowles improved her acting skills. She always wanted to improve herself as an actress. While working on the movie, The Fighting Temptations, she told the director, “Make sure you are happy with what you get from me.” She did not want to be babied or tiptoed around just because she was Beyonce. In 2003, Knowles released her first debut album titled, Dangerously in Love. She had a new, completely different sound. Her music became more mature, spontaneous, and even sexy. Her songs, “Crazy in Love”, “Naughty Girl”, and “Baby Boy” instantly became major hits. She put out music that sounded like hip-hop, 70’s R&B, and garment-rending ballads. It sold close to 3 million copies in the first 6 months. She won 5 Grammy Awards in 2004. She also won the NAACP Award for Entertainer of the year. All of these accomplishments were just the start of Knowles’ outstanding solo success. In 2004, she released her second album B’s Day. After releasing her second album, she starred in the hit movie, Dreamgirls. She starred with Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx, and Eddie Murphy. As a younger girl, Knowles couldn’t imagine that she would ever be on the big screen with such incredible stars that were actors and singers, just like her. After Beyonce starred in Dreamgirls, she also starred in Obsessed with Idris Elba. Following her appearance in Obsessed, she made her third album, which was called I Am… Sasha Fierce. The name of that album was based off of her acting in the movie, Cadillac Records, and the fact that she’s Jay Z’s wife. That album alone got her six grammy awards in 2010 and she also got a song of the year award for her song, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”. During Beyonce’s successful career, she sold over 100 million records as a solo artist and about 60 million records with Destiny’s Child. Beyonce has also won 22 Grammy Awards over the span of her career and she has, unsurprisingly, been the most nominated woman in the music industry’s history.

Over the course of Beyonce’s career, she has made 7 amazing albums that have really made her success increase dramatically over the years and they have also made her a role model for most people. Most of Beyonce’s songs are based on female-empowerment and her own personal motivation. Her songs “Independent Women” and “Survivor” was two of the songs that fall in those categories. Beyonce became the first black woman and second female artist to win the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Pop Music Award in the early 2000s. Beyonce once said that Michael Jackson was her most prominent musical influence. She credits Diana Ross and Whitney Houston as her “all-around entertainer” influences. Beyonce also credited Aaliyah, Prince, Lauryn Hill, Sade Adu, Janet Jackson, and a host of other celebrities as her inspirations. Knowles has stated that she is personally inspired by US First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey as well. As we all know, Beyonce is married to a award-winning superstar himself, which is Jay-Z. Beyonce has also stated that Jay-Z has played an important role in her successful career. Beyonce has been with Jay-Z for almost 15 years and the spark of their relationship started with their collaboration on the song, Bonnie & Clyde, in 2003. In April of 2008, Beyonce and Jay-Z decided to tie the knot without making it public. In 2014, Beyonce and Jay-Z announced that they had 300 million albums as a whole. Of course everyone is aware that Beyonce and Jay-Z’s relationship is private, but people is still inspired by it because they always tend to make things happen. It is well known that Beyonce and Jay-Z, are one of the most famous married couples on the face of the planet. Yet, them having a very intensely most private relationship there is rarely allowing any of their personal information to be leak out into the public.

The couple only let the public see the blissful, happy, and peachy side of the marriage, not know that their marriage is slowly crumbling apart. Jay-Z opens up in an emotional toll about their marriage in his recent album “4.4.4” He talks about how their marriage was based on nothing but the truth and he also states when the rumors started to become known it began to start crumbling. Jay-Z also stated that he allegedly cheated on Knowles with the one and only, Robyn Rihanna Fenty. Rihanna is a very talented and she’s a very passionate singer, songwriter, and actress. She has been in close nature with Jay-Z for about 12 years, he even calls her his protege. Over past few years, the rumors focus sharply on the supposedly precarious relationship of Beyonce and Jay-Z. Jay-Z attempted to piece back together his marriage many times. For instance, he apologizes and try to explain himself. He has tried multiple times to sit down and have a decent conversation about the situation between he and his wife. He even tried to express his feelings about the situation throughout many of his songs. Beyonce also opened up about the cheating accusation that occurred in their relationship. Two years ago, Knowles made her hit album “Lemonade,” the reason to believe why she made it was because she wasn’t sure if would last until their next anniversary. Knowles didn’t fully trust Jay-Z, so there were time when the two would barely speak to one another. They’ve been going through a lot of trouble since the rumors and they have also had endless amounts of counseling.

After the rumors, 3 years later at the Met Gala incident, Solange, Knowles’s little sister, assaults Jay-Z in the elevator at an after party. Shortly after the incident, security cameras showed Solange kicking and fighting Jay-Z. Rumors spread around saying that Solange was standing up for her sister, after discovering Jay-Z was cheating. The cheating rumors were eventually confirmed true by the couple’s artistic expression. Although Knowles has endured many obstacles in her life, her life has been an amazing success and despite the downs in her marriage, her and her husband has exceeded to be a billionaire couple and they have welcomed three blessings from the lord into the world.

Works Cited

1. "Beyonce: Life is But a Dream" [Documentary film]. (2013). HBO.
2. Chambers, V. (2019). Queen Bey: A Celebration of the Power and Creativity of Beyonce Knowles-Carter. St. Martin's Press.
3. Tinsley, O. N. (2018). Beyonce in Formation: Remixing Black Feminism. University of Texas Press.
4. "Beyonce: The Ultimate Performer" [DVD]. (2010). Columbia Records.
5. Beyonce. (2016). Formation [Music video]. Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records.
6. Knowles-Carter, B. (2016). Lemonade [Visual album]. Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records.
7. "Beyonce: The Formation World Tour" [Concert film]. (2016). Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records.
8. "Beyonce: Coachella 2018" [Documentary film]. (2019). Netflix.
9. Panevska, J. (2019). Beyonce: A Biography. Independently published.