Beyonce Knowles burst onto the music scene in the late 1990s as part of the music group Destiny's Child, bringing a fresh and sexy take on R&B and girl groups that the public eagerly endorsed.
Beyonce Giselle Knowles was born on Sept. 4, 1981, in Houston, Texas, to parents Mathew Knowles and Tina Beyince.
Beyonce's father is African-American, and her mother is of Creole descent (French, African and Native American). Beyonce's maternal grandparents were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles, and Beyonce's name is a tribute to her mother's surname.
Beyonce Giselle Knowles was born on Sept. 4, 1981, in Houston, Texas, to parents Mathew Knowles and Tina Beyince.
Beyonce's father is African-American, and her mother is of Creole descent (French, African and Native American). Beyonce's maternal grandparents were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles, and Beyonce's name is a tribute to her mother's surname.
From an early age, Beyonce was a performer. By the age of 7, she was a soloist in the church choir, attending dance school and participating in competitions. Her dance instructor took a special interest in her, and helped her to win more than 30 local singing and dancing competitions.
Beyonce and her childhood best friend LaTavia Roberson met Kelly Rowland and LeToya Tuckett and the girls formed a quartet that would perform in Beyonce's mother's hair salon and in their backyards.
They soon entered "Star Search" under the name "Girl's Tyme," but unfortunately lost the competition, leaving them devastated.
Matthew Knowles, Beyonce's dad and Kelly Rowland's legal guardian, decided to quit his lucrative job as a Xerox salesman to manage the girls' group. This had a major effect on the family, cutting their income in half and forcing them to move into two separate apartments.
Beyonce attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, and later, Alief Elsik High School. In 1995, Destiny's Child was signed to Elektra, but dropped before they could release a debut album.
In 1996, they were signed to Columbia Records. They soon became famous with their first top 10 hit in 1998, "No, No, No Part 2."
Before their debut album was released, the group toured as an opening act for TLC. There was some turmoil among the group members, and the final group eventually became Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.
The 1998 debut album was produced by Jermaine Dupri and Wycelf Jean, and went platinum. Their second album, "The Writing's On the Wall," was released in 1999 and had two No. 1 hits, "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Say My Name." Their next album, "Survivor," became another huge success.
In 2001, Beyonce won the Songwriter of the Year award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Pop Music Awards. She was the first African-American woman and the second woman period to win the award.
