By Arafat Ayofe
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter born September 4, 1981 in Houston, Texas, is an American singer, songwriter and businesswoman. Dubbed as “Queen Bey” and a prominent cultural figure of the 21st century, she has been recognized for her artistry and performances, with Rolling Stone naming her one of the greatest vocalists of all time.
Beyoncé was raised Methodist and attended St. John’s United Methodist Church. She went to St. Mary’s Montessori School in Houston, and enrolled in dance classes there. Her singing was discovered when dance instructor Darlette Johnson began humming a song and she finished it, and was able to hit the high-pitched notes.
Beyoncé’s interest in music and performing continued after winning a school talent show at age seven, singing John Lennon’s “Imagine” to beat 15/16-year-olds.
She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of the R&B girl group Destiny’s Child, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Their hiatus saw the release of Beyoncé’s debut album, Dangerously in Love (2003).She then followed with the US number-one solo albums B’Day (2006), I Am…Sasha Fierce (2008), and 4 (2011).
After creating her own management company, Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé achieved critical acclaim for the experimental visual albums Beyoncé (2013) and Lemonade (2016), which explored themes such as feminism and womanism.
With her Black queer-inspired dance album Renaissance (2022), she became the first female artiste to have their first seven studio albums debut at number one in the US.
Beyoncé’s most successful songs on the US Billboard Hot 100 include “Crazy in Love”, “Baby Boy”, “Check On It”, “Irreplaceable”, “If I Were a Boy”, “Halo”, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”, “Drunk in Love”, “Break My Soul”, “Cuff It” and “Texas Hold ‘Em”.
She is the only woman in history to achieve at least 20 top 10 songs as a solo artiste, and 10 as a member of a group. Her collaborative music ventures include ‘Everything Is Love” 2018, an album with her husband Jay-Z.
She has starred as an actress in films such as Austin Powers in Goldmember, The Pink Panther, Dreamgirls, Cadillac Records, Obsessed and The Lion King .
Having sold 200 million records worldwide, Beyoncé is one of the best-selling music artistes of all time. Her accolades include a record 32 Grammy Awards, as well as 26 MTV Video Music Awards (including the 2014 Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award), 24 NAACP Image Awards, 35 BET Awards, and 17 Soul Train Music Awards – all of which were more than any other artiste in the music industry.
In February 2024, Beyoncé launched her hair care brand Cécred. Still in February she announced the second instalment of her trilogy project and released its first two songs, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages”.
“Texas Hold ‘Em” became her highest chat debut in her career, her ninth solo number-one and her thirteenth across all credits on the Billboard Hot 100.
Beyonce is married to JayZ and has 3 children.
