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 Early Life

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born September 4th, 1981 in Houston, Texas, United States. Her father, Mathew, is a music executive who has managed Beyoncé throughout her career and her mother, Tina, is a fashion designer who runs the family clothing line the House of Deréon. She has a younger sister, Solange, who is also singer/songwriter and actress. Beyoncé attended the St. Mary's Elementary School in Texas where she showed a passion for performing, taking dance classes in ballet and jazz. In the fall of 1990, Knowles enrolled in Parker Elementary School, a music magnet school in Houston, where she would perform onstage with the school's choir. She also attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston and later went to Alief Elsik High School, located in the Houston neighbourhood of Alief. In 1990 at the age of eight Beyoncé attended a audition for a all girl group in Houston managed by Andretta Tillman. She was immediately signed up along with five other girls and were called Girl's Tyme. The group, fronted by Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland, were soon noticed by the R&B producer, Arne Frager, who entered them into Star Search, a national TV talent show. Although they failed to win the competition they showed enough talent to persuade her father to resign from his job as a medical-equipment salesman to manage them full time.

The group would go through several line up and name changes over the next few years while rehearsing at the family home. Eventually Beyoncé along with Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett were signed to Columbia Records under the name of Destiny's Child in 1997. Their self-titled debut album was moderately successful, but it was the release of The Writing's on the Wall, their second studio album in 1999, that launched the group into mainstream recognition with such singles as "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Bug a Boo" and "Say My Name". However, despite critical and commercial success, the group was plagued by internal conflict and Roberson and Luckett left the group. They were replaced by Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin, however, in 2000, Franklin also parted from the group, and Beyoncé, Rowland and Williams continued as a trio. Their third album, Survivor, saw the success of their previous effort continue, with the worldwide hits "Independent Women", "Survivor" and "Bootylicious". Survivor debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, selling over 663,000 copies in its first week. Within three months of its release, the album was certified three-time platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In 2002 the trio announced a temporary hiatus stating they all planned to pursue solo careers.

Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in June 2003. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number one, selling 317,000 copies in its first week. It was certified 4x platinum on August 5, 2004 by the RIAA and has sold 4.2 million copies to date in the United State alone. On July 12, 2003, Knowles became the first female artist (and the fifth artist ever) to top both the singles, with her debut single "Crazy in Love",and album chart simultaneously in the United States and the United Kingdom, following The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Rod Stewart, and Men at Work. The following year, she won Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best R&B Song, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Crazy in Love", Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for "The Closer I Get to You" with Luther Vandross and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Dangerously in Love 2" at the Grammy Awards.

In November 2004, three years since their album, Survivor, Destiny's Child released their fourth and final studio album, Destiny Fulfilled. The album hit number two on the Billboard 200 and peaked at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for two weeks. The album also spawned "Lose My Breath", "Soldier", "Girl", and "Cater 2 U" as notable mainstream singles. In support of the album, Beyoncé, Rowland and Williams, embarked on the 2005 Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It world tour, which started in April and ran through September. In June during a live show, in Barcelona, Spain, Rowland announced before 16,000 spectators that it would be their last European tour, revealing their formal disbandment.

September 2006 saw Beyoncé release her second solo album B'Day. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling more than 541,000 copies in the first week, her highest first week sales mark as a solo artist. The album has since earned a triple platinum certification in the United States. B'Day spawned the UK number one single "Déjà Vu", the album's lead single, featuring Jay-Z. "Ring the Alarm", the second single, became her highest-charting single debut, opening at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100. The fourth single to be released from the album, also peaked at number one on December 16, becoming her fourth number one single as solo artist. At the 2007 Grammy Awards Beyoncé won the Best Contemporary R&B Album award. B'Day was re-released on April 3, 2007 as an expanded double-disc deluxe edition.

Beyoncé released her third solo studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, in November, 2008. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making it her third consecutive number one album. By the end of 2008 I Am… Sasha Fierce had sold over 1.4 million copies in the U.S. alone. The albums first single "If I Were a Boy" became Knowles' fourth UK number one single while "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" went on to top the Hot 100 chart, for four non-consecutive weeks, giving Knowles her fifth number one single in the U.S. in late 2008 Beyoncé announced that she will conduct a 26-date world tour to promote the album beginning on April 26, 2009 in Zagreb, Croatia.

2003 Dangerously in Love

2006 B'Day

2008 I Am… Sasha Fierce

2003 "Crazy in Love" (featuring Jay-Z)

2003 "Baby Boy" (featuring Sean Paul)

2003 "Me, Myself and I"

2004 "Naughty Girl"

2004 "Dangerously in Love 2"

2006 "Déjà Vu" (featuring Jay-Z)

2006 "Ring the Alarm"

2006 "Irreplaceable"

2006 "Upgrade U"

2007 "Beautiful Liar" (with Shakira)

2007 "Get Me Bodied"

2007 "Green Light"

2008 "If I Were a Boy"

2008 "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"

• At the age of seven, Beyoncé won her first talent show, singing John Lennon's "Imagine".
• In 2005 she was ranked #1 on E!'s 50 Steamiest Southern Stars.
• 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.
• In 2008 Beyoncé donated $100,000 to the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund, which benefits victims of Hurricane Ike in the Houston area.
• She and her husband, American hip hop artist, Jay-Z own three apartments in South Beach, Florida.
• Ranked #4 in the 2008 Forbes The Celebrity 100 list.

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