Beyonce Knowles: Celebrity Profile

Job: Singer/Actress

Born: Beyonce Giselle Knowles, September 4, 1981, in Houston, TX

Personal: Single

Career Highlights:

• Beyonce began singing at the age of eight and soon joined her cousin, Kelly Rowland, and two high school friends to form the singing group which would later become Destiny's Child.
• Beyonce's father, Matthew, became the group's manager in 1990. The group first performed in the Houston area; the girls then appeared on Star Search.
• They lost the competition but won a recording contract with Columbia Records and released "Killing Time" for the Men in Black soundtrack in 1997.
• Their self-titled first album debuted shortly afterward and sold over a million copies.
• The group's sophomore effort, The Writing's on the Wall, released in 1999, debuted at number five on the album charts, generated three top-10 singles, and sold more than nine million copies worldwide.
• In 2000, amidst lawsuits, two of the original members of the group left, another joined, and Destiny's Child became the current line-up of Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams.
• Their smash hit "Independent Women, Part I" from the Charlie's Angels soundtrack went to number one on singles charts around the world.
• In 2001, Beyonce turned to acting when she debuted in the title role of MTV's hip-hop production of Carmen.
• She landed a bigger role as Foxxy Cleopatra in 2002's Austin Powers in Goldmember.
• Beyonce is also a spokesperson for L'Oreal hair color and cosmetics.
• The title song of Destiny's Child's latest album, Survivor, earned the trio a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group. They won the same award in 2000 for the single, "Say My Name."

Did You Know?

• Beyonce's father is Destiny's Child's manager and her mother is their costume designer.
• The name of the group is biblically inspired and comes from the book of Isaiah.
• Beyonce has produced and co-written many of Destiny's Child's hit songs.
• She attended the High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, TX.
• Her younger sister, Solange, sometimes dances with the group in concert.
• She is allergic to perfume.