Beyonce Giselle Knowles was born in Texas in 1981. She grew up
singing and dancing and quickly developed the qualities that would
make her an international superstar. Her talents were discovered by
her dance teacher while she was a church choir soloist. She took
Beyonce to local talent competitions, where she won no fewer than 30
of them.
Beyonce decided to form a singing group. She asked her best friend
LaTavia Roberson to join her. She also invited along a cousin and a
friend and together they formed a quartet called 'Destiny's Child'.
Beyonce’s father saw their potential and quit his well-paid job to
become the group’s manager. They shot to fame as the most
successful female group of all time.
It was touch and go at the beginning whether or not her father’s
financial risk would pay off. In 1997, they signed with Columbia
Records and their debut single, ‘Killing Time’, was the soundtrack to
the film ‘Men In Black’. They recorded hit after hit and won dozens of
awards. Beyonce went solo in 2000 and her career continued to take
off.
Knowles won five awards at the 2004 Grammy Awards and a BRIT
Award for International Female Solo Artist. She has recorded with the
biggest names in music. Her career also went off in different
directions. She became the first singer ever to model for ‘Sports
Illustrated’ magazine and appeared in many movies. In April 2008, she
married her long-time sweetheart, rapper Jay-Z