Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter, simply known as Beyoncé is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Throughout her career, Beyonce has sold over 100 million records worldwide as a solo artist and a further 60 million records with Destiny’s Child, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Among numerous awards and accolades, Beyoncé has won 23 Grammy Awards and 24 MTV Video Music Awards.

Beyonce Early Life

Beyoncé was born on September 4, 1981, in Houston, Texas. She started singing at an early age. Her mother was a hairdresser and salon owner, and father was a Xerox sales manager.

Beyoncé attended St. Mary’s Montessori School in Houston, where she enrolled in dance classes. 

Her dance instructor Darlette Johnson discovered her singing talent, when Darlette  began humming a song and she finished it, able to hit the high-pitched notes.

As a child, she competed in local talent shows, and won many of these events by impressing audiences with her natural singing and dancing abilities.

Beyonce All-female Singing Group

Teaming up with her cousin, Kelly Rowland, and two classmates, Beyoncé formed an all-female singing group. Her father, Matthew Knowles, served as the band’s manager. 

The group went through some name and line-up changes before landing a record deal in 1997 with Columbia Records. 

Destiny’s Child soon became one of the most popular R&B acts, with the release of their first, self-titled album. 

Gaining momentum, the group scored its first No. 1 single on the pop charts with “Bills, Bills, Bills,” off their second album. The recording also featured another smash hit, “Say My Name.” 

While enjoying her group’s success, Beyoncé began exploring other projects. She made her acting debut in 2001 with a starring role in MTV’s Carmen: A Hip Hopera. 

She then co-starred with Mike Myers in the spy parody Goldmember the following year. On the musical front, Beyoncé took center stage as a solo artist, releasing her first album, Dangerously in Love, in 2003. 

The recording became a huge success for her, both commercially and critically. It sold millions of copies and won five Grammy Awards. 

On the album, Beyoncé worked with a number of different artists, including Missy Elliott, Sean Paul and Jay-Z. Destiny’s child released their last studio album, Destiny Fulfilled, in 2004 and officially broke the following year. 

Beyonce breakup of Destiny’s child 

LeToya Luckett and Roberson became unhappy with Mathew’s managing of the band and eventually were replaced by Farrah Franklin and Michelle Williams. 

Beyoncé experienced depression following the split with Luckett and Roberson after being publicly blamed by the media, critics, and blogs for its cause. Her long-standing boyfriend left her at this time. 

She had severe depression which lasted for a couple of years. She occasionally kept herself in her bedroom for days and refused to eat anything. 

Beyoncé 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. She would later speak of her mother as the person who helped her fight it. 

Beyonce going Solo

Beyonce on her own, continued to enjoy great success. Her second studio album, 2006’s B’Day featured such hits as “Irreplaceable” and “Beautiful Liar.” 

On the big screen, she starred opposite Jennifer Hudson, Jaime Foxx and Eddie Murphy in Dreamgirls. The film was adapted from the hit Broadway musical of the same name. 

In 2008, Beyoncé married rapper and music mogul Jay-Z in a small, private ceremony in New York City. The newly-wed continued to work as hard as ever, promoting her latest effort, I am… Sasha Fierce (2008). 

Beyoncé scored two big hits off the album—“Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” and “If I Were a Boy.” She also returned to the big screen that year, starring as R&B legend Etta James in Cadillac Records.

The following January, Beyoncé sang James’ trademark song, “At Last,” for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at his inaugural ball. 

Beyoncé found herself under fire for performing a private concert for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi On New Year’s Eve in 2010. 

She later donated her fee from the event to help victims of the Haitian earthquake. Later that year, Beyoncé reached the top of the album charts with her latest solo release, 4. 

Beyonce continued Success

At the 2010 Grammy Awards, Beyoncé walked away with six honors—the most wins in a single night by a female artist. Her record was matched two years later by pop/soul artist Adele. 

In 2010, she also tied the record for most No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Pop Songs chart, which is based on radio airplay. 

By 2013, Beyoncé had won 16 Grammys. Married to Jay-Z since 2008, Beyoncé was the subject of many pregnancy rumours over the years. In 2011, however, the notoriously private couple went public with the news of their impending new arrival. 

Beyoncé showed off her growing baby bump at the MTV Video Music Awards that August. Beyoncé and Jay-Z welcomed a baby daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, on January 7, 2012. The couple spared no expense to maintain their privacy during this special time, renting out an entire floor of New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital. 

Five months later, she performed for four nights at Revel Atlantic City’s Ovation Hall to celebrate the resort’s opening, her first performance since giving birth to Blue Ivy.

On February 6, 2016, Beyoncé released “Formation” and its accompanying music video exclusively on the music streaming platform Tidal. 

On April 16, 2016, Beyoncé released a teaser clip for a project called Lemonade. It turned out to be a one hour film which aired on HBO. Lemonade became her most critically acclaimed work to date. 

On June 13, 2017, Beyoncé gave birth to twins Rumi and Sir Carter at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

Beyonce Music

Beyonce’s music is generally R&B, pop and hip hop but she also incorporates soul and funk into her songs.

She has received co-writing credits for most of the songs recorded with Destiny’s Child and her solo efforts. 

Beyoncé has also received co-producing credits for most of the records in which she has been involved, especially during her solo efforts. 

However, she does not formulate beats herself, but typically comes up with melodies and ideas during production, sharing them with producers.

She has received co-writing credits for most of the songs recorded with Destiny’s Child and her solo efforts. 

Her early songs were personally driven and female-empowerment themed compositions like “Independent Women” and “Survivor”. However after the start of her relationship with Jay-Z, she transitioned to more man-tending anthems such as “Cater 2 U”. 

However, she does not formulate beats herself, but typically comes up with melodies and ideas during production, sharing them with producers.