Beyonce Knowles Biography:
Born in Houston in the fall of 1981, Beyoncé Giselle
Knowles started performing at age seven. From dance classes to singing in the
church choir, Beyoncé was a natural. She and cousin Kelly
Rowland met Latavia
Roberson during this time, and the trio formed a group with Letoya
Luckett. Mathew
Knowles, Beyoncé's father and Rowland's
legal guardian, signed on to be the girls' manager. This situation would
ultimately lead to the formation of one of the most popular female R&B
groups of all time -- Destiny's
Child.
Destiny's
Child made its debut 1990 and within ten years, the vocal act had
experienced personal and political highs and lows that fueled the group's desire
to make it big. Destiny's
Child sold 33 million albums worldwide by 2002 and earned a slew of Grammys
and additional music awards. "Jumpin' Jumpin'," "Bills, Bills,
Bills," "Say My Name," and "Survivor" were smash hits,
and the group appeared unstoppable.
In 2001, Beyoncé, Rowland,
and Michelle
Williams allowed themselves a break from the singing group and tried their
hands at individual solo careers. Before landing several movie roles, Beyoncé
became the first African-American female artist and second woman ever to win the
annual ASCAP Pop Songwriter of the Year Award. An appearance in the MTV drama
Carmen: A Hip Hopera quickly followed, but it was her role as Foxxy Cleopatra in
Austin Powers in Goldmember in 2002 that eventually moved Beyoncé from the
stage to the screen.
Her first single, "Work It Out," coincided with
the release of the Mike
Myers comedy and cemented her celebrity status. A guest spot on Jay-Z's
"'03 Bonnie & Clyde" was equally popular when it appeared in
October. In 2003, she rejoined Jay-Z for her proper debut single, the funkadelic
"Crazy in Love," as the press and fans christened her a bona fide
star. Beyoncé's debut album, Dangerously in Love, which appeared in June 2003,
featured collaborations with Sean
Paul, Missy
Elliott, and OutKast's Big
Boi. The multi-platinum album spawned a total of four Top Ten singles.
Nearly two years after another Destiny's
Child album (Destiny
Fulfilled), Beyoncé released her second album, B'day.
MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide