Background informationBirth name : Beyoncé Giselle Knowles
Also known as : Beyoncé
Born : September 4, 1981 (1981-09-04) (age 27)
Origin : Houston, Texas, United States
Genre(s) : RnB, pop
Occupation(s) : Singer-songwriter, record producer, actress
Instrument(s) : Vocal
Voice type(s) : Mezzo-soprano
Years active : 1990–present
Label(s) : Columbia, LBW, Sony Wonder, Sony BMG
Associated acts : Destiny's Child
Website : BeyonceOnline.com
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981), commonly known as Beyoncé (pronounced /biːˈɑn.seɪ/), is an American RnB singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. 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 1990s as the lead singer of girl group Destiny's Child and went on to sell over 50 million records worldwide with the group.
After a series of commercial successes with the group, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in June 2003. The album became one of the most-successful albums of that year, spawning the number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy". It earned Knowles five Grammy Awards in a single night in 2004, and its reception signaled her viability as a solo artist. The disbandment of Destiny's Child in 2005 facilitated her continued success; she released her second album, B'Day, in 2006, which contained the UK number-one singles "Déjà Vu" and "Beautiful Liar", which she performed with Shakira, and the worldwide hit "Irreplaceable". Knowles released her third solo album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, on November 18, 2008.
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. In 2006, she starred in the comedy film The Pink Panther, and, in the same year, played the lead role in the film adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical Dreamgirls, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. Knowles launched her family's fashion line, House of Deréon, in 2004, and has been engaged to endorse such brands as Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger, and L'Oréal. Knowles has been with husband Jay-Z since 2002, though they have been discreet about their relationship. After much speculation, they married on April 4, 2008. Knowles has sold more than 75 million albums throughout her career, counting her album sales with Destiny's Child. She was the second highest paid musician between June 2007 and June 2008, with earnings of US$80 million (UK£53 million).
Personal life
During the turmoil of Destiny's Child in 2000 (when she was 19 years old), Knowles had admitted in December 2006 that she had experienced depression from an accumulation of difficult 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 long standing boyfriend (that she had dated from age 12 to 19 years) leaving her.
The depression was so severe it had last for a couple of years, while she had kept herself in her bedroom for days and refused to eat anything. Knowles states 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, 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 and Clyde". In spite of persistent rumors about their relationship, they remained discreet about it. In 2005, 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 September 2007, 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 April 4, 2008, Knowles and Jay-Z were married in New York City. It became a matter of public record on April 22, 2008, but Knowles did not publicly debut her wedding ring until the Fashion Rocks concert on September 5, 2008 in New York City. Knowles finally revealed their marriage during an opening montage video at the listening party for I Am... Sasha Fierce in Manhattan's Sony Club.
Discography
Dangerously in Love (2003)
B'Day (2006)
I Am… Sasha Fierce (2008)
Filmography
Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001), Carmen Brown – television film
Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), Foxxy Cleopatra
The Fighting Temptations (2003), Lilly
Fade to Black (2004), herself – documentary about Jay-Z
The Pink Panther (2006), Xania
Dreamgirls (2006), Deena Jones
Cadillac Records (2008), Etta James
Obsessed (2009), Beth Charles
After a series of commercial successes with the group, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in June 2003. The album became one of the most-successful albums of that year, spawning the number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy". It earned Knowles five Grammy Awards in a single night in 2004, and its reception signaled her viability as a solo artist. The disbandment of Destiny's Child in 2005 facilitated her continued success; she released her second album, B'Day, in 2006, which contained the UK number-one singles "Déjà Vu" and "Beautiful Liar", which she performed with Shakira, and the worldwide hit "Irreplaceable". Knowles released her third solo album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, on November 18, 2008.
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. In 2006, she starred in the comedy film The Pink Panther, and, in the same year, played the lead role in the film adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical Dreamgirls, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. Knowles launched her family's fashion line, House of Deréon, in 2004, and has been engaged to endorse such brands as Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger, and L'Oréal. Knowles has been with husband Jay-Z since 2002, though they have been discreet about their relationship. After much speculation, they married on April 4, 2008. Knowles has sold more than 75 million albums throughout her career, counting her album sales with Destiny's Child. She was the second highest paid musician between June 2007 and June 2008, with earnings of US$80 million (UK£53 million).
Personal lifeDuring the turmoil of Destiny's Child in 2000 (when she was 19 years old), Knowles had admitted in December 2006 that she had experienced depression from an accumulation of difficult 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 long standing boyfriend (that she had dated from age 12 to 19 years) leaving her.
The depression was so severe it had last for a couple of years, while she had kept herself in her bedroom for days and refused to eat anything. Knowles states 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, 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 and Clyde". In spite of persistent rumors about their relationship, they remained discreet about it. In 2005, 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 September 2007, 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 April 4, 2008, Knowles and Jay-Z were married in New York City. It became a matter of public record on April 22, 2008, but Knowles did not publicly debut her wedding ring until the Fashion Rocks concert on September 5, 2008 in New York City. Knowles finally revealed their marriage during an opening montage video at the listening party for I Am... Sasha Fierce in Manhattan's Sony Club.
Discography
Dangerously in Love (2003)
B'Day (2006)
I Am… Sasha Fierce (2008)
Filmography
Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001), Carmen Brown – television film
Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), Foxxy Cleopatra
The Fighting Temptations (2003), Lilly
Fade to Black (2004), herself – documentary about Jay-Z
The Pink Panther (2006), Xania
Dreamgirls (2006), Deena Jones
Cadillac Records (2008), Etta James
Obsessed (2009), Beth Charles
Source : en.wikipedia.org
