Beyonce Knowles

Date of Birth
4 September 1981, Houston, Texas, USA

Birth Name
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles

Nickname
JuJu
Mothe
Bee

Height
5' 7" (1.70 m)

Mini Biography
Beyoncé's father, Mathew Knowles, manages Destiny's Child. Her mother, Tina Knowles, designs their glittering costumes. Solange Knowles, her sister (they're about 5 years apart), has released her debut album. She dances with her big sister during DC-3 concerts.

She and her group were discovered by Whitney Houston. One of her favorite songs is "Lovefool" by The Cardigans. Her favorite item of clothing is a pair of path work metallic boots. She writes & produces many of the group's songs, including smash hits "Jumpin Jumpin", "Bootylicious", "Nasty Girl", "Independent Women", "Happy Face" and "Apple Pie a la mode".


Spouse
Jay-Z (4 April 2008 - present)

Trade Mark
Big, heavy earrings

Skimpy clothes


Trivia
Lead singer of the singing group Destiny's Child.

Toured with Christina Aguilera as her opening act. (2000)

Toured with TLC as their opening act (1999)

Has a cat named Master P

Attended The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas.

Older sister of singer Solange Knowles.

Once appeared on "Star Search" (1983).

In 2001 she became the first African-American woman to ever win the ASCAP Pop Songwriter of the Year Award.

Is a fan of Middle Eastern music and dance.

Her biggest hit to date is song "Crazy in Love." [2005]

The Radio Music Awards, MTV Europe Video Music Awards and Billboard Awards are among the awards shows she has performed on in 2003. She also performed at a South African AIDS benefit show in November 2003, organized by Bono of U2 to combat the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa.

Won 5 Grammys, including Best Contemporary R & B Album for "Dangerously In Love", she took home the most awards for this year's (2004) show. [8 February 2004]

She has Creole heritage on her mother's side of her family.

Has been quoted as saying that to get over her shyness she developed a stage persona named "Sasha".

Was voted number 1 on VH1's 100 Hottest Hotties

Her favorite rapper is Wyclef Jean.

She and Jay-Z are buying a house in Miami as well as in London, England.

Daughter of Mathew Knowles and Tina Knowles.

Ranked #7 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World" (2002).

Aunt of Daniel Julez J. Smith, son of her sister, Solange Knowles and her husband, Daniel.

Sister-in-law of football player, Daniel Smith.

Her name came from her mother's maiden name.

Attended Welch Middle School in Houston, Texas.

Sang three of the five Oscar-nominated songs at The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005) (TV), including one completely in French. [2005]

One of People Magazine's "50 Most beautiful People" for most wanted lips (2004)

She and the other members of Destiny's Child announced that they will disband after their tour ends in the fall. [June 13th 2005]

Ranked #1 on E!'s 50 Steamiest Southern Stars

Along with Nicole Richie, Veronica Webb, Kelly Osbourne, Angie Everhart, Alexandra Richards, Irina Pantaeva, Marisa Miller, Wyclef Jean, Rachel Hunter, Naomi Campbell, and Janice Dickinson, she participated in the "Fashion for Relief" show on 16 September, 2005 in New York, a benefit for AmeriCares to support victims for Hurricane Katrina. Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale were among the celebrities who attended.

Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2003 Razzie Award nominating ballot. She was suggested in the Worst Supporting Actress category for her performance in the film Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), however, she failed to receive a nomination.

Attended the same high school Seattle Supersonic Rashard Lewis attended.

Launched a clothing line, "House of Dereon", with her mother, Tina Knowles, in 2005.

Named #17 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list.

Has known R&B singer Alicia Keys since she was 14.

Along with her Destiny's Child members, she and they were honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame [March 28, 2006].

Is a big fan of Aishwarya Rai.

Named #17 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement. (2005)

Was featured as #3 in Maxim Magazine's "Hot 100 of 2002" supplement. (2002)

She and her boyfriend Jay-Z own three apartments in South Beach

Studied acting with Ivana Chubbuck.

Among the guests at her 25th birthday were Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs, Nicole Richie, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

Named #18 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement. (2006).

First female artist to reach number one position on both singles and albums chart simultaneously in the United States and the United Kingdom. [2003]

Won Best International Female Solo Artist, Brit Awards. [2004]

Was officially in the BAFTA longlist (Equivalently, the semi-finals) for Best Actress in a Leading Role, for her role in Dreamgirls (2006), which consisted of 15 finalists for each category (except Animated Film). However, she was eliminated in the next round, which the five official nominees were selected. [2007]

Beyonce and Shakira are collaborating on a song called "Beautiful Liar". The song will appear on a special-edition reissue of Beyonce's solo album, "B'Day".

Ranked #13 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list.

Ranked #16 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists.

Winner of the Gold Media Prize, BRAVO Supershow, Germany. [2007]

Best friends with Kelly Rowland since they were children.

Good friend of Gwyneth Paltrow.

Was featured on the "Most Overrated of 2006" list.

Ranked #14 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2008 list.

Ranked #4 in the 2008 Forbes The Celebrity 100 list.

The Brazilian electro-pop/rock group Cansei de Ser Sexy, famous for their song 'Music is my Hot, Hot Sex' used in an Apple commercial, took their name from a reported quote from 'Beyonce' in which she stated she was tired of being sexy. Cansei de Ser Sexy is Brazilian Portuguese literally meaning "tired of being sexy".

Won Best International Female Artist, NRJ Radio Awards, Europe. [2004]

Nominated twice for International Female Artist of the Year (2007 and 2009), NRJ Music Awards, France.

Before her trio became Destiny's Child they were known as Girls Tyme.

Mother Tina Knowles used to run a hair salon.

She and Destiny's Child were awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

Chosen by American music-magazine, "Billboard", as Woman of the Year. [2009]

Won three awards for Best Female Artist, Best Song (for "Halo") and Best Video (for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"). She won the most awards at the 2009 ceremony. She was also nominated for Best Live Act. MTV Europe Music Awards. [2009]

Nominated for International Album of the Year (for "I Am... Sasha Fierce"), NRJ Music Awards, France. [2010]

Winner of "World's Greatest Popstars" season, voted by the public - T4/4Music, United Kingdom. [2009]

The gold and diamond nail rings for the music video "Sweet Dreams" is valued at $36,000. It was made by Bijules designer, Jules Kim.

According to a TV interview with Steve Jones for Beyonce: For the Record (2009) (TV), Beyoncé said the music video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" was the cheapest video made, of all her singles released. This was because most of the budget was used for the single "If I Were a Boy".

Received NRJ Award of Honor, NRJ Music Awards, France. [2010]

In 2010, she launched her new fragrance "Heat" at Macy's in Manhattan. On the TV commercial for the fragrance, Beyoncé sang "Fever," a song most popularized by Peggy Lee.

Her victory at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards (Jan. 31, 2010) set a record for a female artist: 6 Grammy wins in a single year, including Song of The Year (for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"), Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for "Halo"), Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song and Best Contemporary R&B Album (for "I Am... Sasha Fierce").

Sang "At Last" (immortalized by Etta James) at the first presidential inaugural ball as Barack Obama and Michelle Obama danced cheek-to-cheek. Other featured artists in the venue included, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Sting, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Faith Hill, Maroon 5's Adam Levine, etc. [Jan. 20, 2009]

In her song Get Me Bodied from her b'day album she says four numbers at the start of her sing, 9,4,8 and 1. These numbers are her birth date. The 4th of September (9th month) and 8 and 1 because she was born in 1981.

At the 2008 MTV Video awards she won the Video of the Year award and allowed Taylor Swift to finish her acceptance speech for Best Female Video after Kanye West interrupted her.


Personal Quotes
There's plenty of days when I'm like 'Oh God, why?' But that's just life. It's every job, not just mine. Every moment is not perfect. But it's definitely more good times than bad. You can't even compare. And when I'm on stage it feels incredible. There are certain nights that you know you hit that crazy note and you know that spin spinned extra fast. And you look out and people are just into it and you've worked so hard and now it's paying off and you can see why you dedicated your life to this.

"It doesn't annoy me, no, because I respect J-Lo. I like her, I think she's great. And I know that I'm over a decade younger than her, it's so flattering that I'm so young and people are comparing me to someone who has accomplished so much. But I don't think I'm like anyone else and really, I'd rather not be compared to anyone else." - on comparisions to J-Lo

"I wrote that because, at the time, I'd gained some weight and the pressure that people put you under, the pressure to be thin, is unbelievable. I was just 18 and you shouldn't be thinking about that. You should be thinking about building up your character and having fun and the song was just telling everyone just forget what people are saying, you're bootylicious. That's all. It's a celebration of curves and a celebration of women's bodies." - on her song 'Bootylicious'

Who I am on stage is very, very different to who I am in real life. But I don't see that having a sexy image when you are on stage means that you don't love God. No one knows what I'm really like from that. I like to walk around with bare feet and I don't like to comb my hair. I'm always so glammed up and so diva on stage and that's what they see. People don't understand that... No one knows my personal relationship with God and it's not up to me to prove that to anyone.

For me, it's about the way I carry myself and the way I treat other people. My relationship and how I feel about God and what He does for me, is something deeply personal. It's where I came from, my family, I was brought up in a religious household and that's very important to me. But I understand the mentality of people. I know that people judge others based on certain things. I know how celebrities really are. I've done it too. You meet people - rock stars, rappers, whoever - who you have seen on television and you go into their homes and they are regular people, just like everyone else.

"Not because one person wants to go solo. Or not because we don't like each other. Or because we're not selling records anymore. But because it has to end at a certain point." (When asked about the disbanding of Destiny's Child - June 2005)

"We all have our imperfections. But I'm human and you know, it's important to concentrate on other qualities besides outer beauty".

"One of the things that kept me out of trouble was doing something creative - creativity can't be judged".

On Bollywood cinema: "I'm a fan of a few Bollywood films. I have seen Devdas (2002/I) and Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001), both great films. I loved Devdas (2002/I) - the actress was amazing! I cried towards the end of the film. Indian films are very colorful. It can be fun to do a film like that at least once. Given a chance, I'd love to do an Indian film" (December 2004).

On her religious faith and the categorizing of gay society: "Well, you know, I grew up going to church, but I was raised by my uncle who passed away with AIDS a couple of years ago. He was my mother's best friend. And my mother's cousin. He brought me to school every day. He helped me buy my prom dress. He made my clothes with my mother. He was like my nanny. He was my favorite person in the world. And you know, I never really mixed Christianity with how I felt about him. I am about faith and spirituality more so than religion. Doing right by others and not judging."

If I weren't performing, I'd be a beauty editor or a therapist. I love creativity, but I also love to help others. My mother was a hairstylist, and they listen to everyone's problems - like a beauty therapist!


Salary
The Fighting Temptations (2003) $1,500,000
Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) $3,000,000

Where Are They Now
(June 2003) Releasing her first solo album, "Dangerously In Love".

(January 2004) Starring in a Pepsi ad with Pink and Britney Spears. The girls star as gladiators while singing the Queen hit "We will rock you". Amr Diab plays an evil Roman emperor.

(April 2004) Beyonce and Jay-Z were one of the main headliners at the Prince's Urban Trust.

(December 2005) She's currently in rehearsals for her next film, Dreamgirls (2006), due out December 2006.

(September 2006) Released her sophomore solo album, 'B'Day', on September 5th - her 25th birthday, hence the album's name.

(November 2007) She is currently touring the world to promote her sophomore album B'Day. She is also in the studio recording her next album which is set to have productions by Timbaland and Freemasons. The album is due sometime next year.

(February 2008) In addition to recording her third album, she is in preparations to play Etta James in a film called Cadillac Records (2008), which follows the story of Leonard Chess and the artists he managed. She is set to act and executive produce the film, and record three tracks for the soundtrack. A portion of her earnings from the film will be donated to charity.