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Pop singer Beyoncé Knowles made her name as part of the superstar R & B-pop trio Destiny's Child, but has emerged as a singular talent. A veteran performer before her pre-teens, Knowles was rehearsing while her schoolmates were goofing around. The payoff came with a string of Grammy and Billboard awards, number-one singles, and platinum-selling records for the group, including "No, No, No," The Writing's on the Wall, "Bills, Bills, Bills," "Bugaboo," "Jumpin' Jumpin'," "Say My Name," and Survivor. After selling more than 28 million records worldwide, Knowles maintains her place in the group but has stepped out on her own, starring in the blockbuster comedy Austin Powers in Goldmember and working on a solo album, Dangerously in Love.

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born in Houston, Texas, on September 4, 1981, to Mathew and Tina Knowles. A quiet girl, Knowles shocked her parents when she took the stage at a school talent show and belted out a version of John Lennon's "Imagine." "I wanted to be a performer," Knowles told the Chicago Tribune. "I was a shy girl until I was performing." She cites her influences as Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Sheila E. She had collected a roomful of talent competition trophies before it dawned on her parents that their little girl could really have what it takes to become successful in music. The Knowles's were very different from the stereotypical overbearing stage parents--they only encouraged their daughter to have fun. They began taking her performances more seriously, however, and working with her on her dance and singing performances, her mother designing costumes. Before Mathew Knowles became manager of Destiny's Child, he was a successful salesman. Tina Knowles worked in a bank for years before opening her own hair salon--which became the biggest salon in Houston--before becoming the group's stylist and clothing designer.

Driven to Pop Stardom

Knowles's work ethic was strong, even as a girl--she dedicated herself to a regimen of dance and vocal classes. Her parents never made her practice or attend class, but they were always clear with her about the payoffs for hard work. "I thought of rehearsing as fun," Knowles wrote in Soul Survivors. "It was my time to create dance routines and vocal arrangements. It seemed like playtime."

Things got more serious in 1990, when Knowles went up against 50 other girls to audition for a new female singing group called Girl's Tyme. With an ever-changing lineup--about 100 girls were in and out of the group--Knowles performed at banquets and other Houston events. Kelly Rowland joined Girl's Tyme around 1991, and she and Beyoncé became friends. Rowland and her mother--a nanny and single parent--struggled financially and moved often, until the Knowleses took Kelly in, giving her a stable home. After Kelly moved in, she and Knowles were like sisters. Girl's Tyme got more serious when the group appeared on the TV talent show Star Search in 1992.

The six members of Girl's Tyme rehearsed for months before appearing on Star Search. They were all about 12 years old at the time, and thought the show was going to be their big break. They were crushed when they lost, but maintained frozen smiles in front of the cameras, and all cried uncontrollably once they got backstage. "We almost went crazy from crying," Knowles wrote in Soul Survivors. "A lot was riding on that performance." It was at that point that Mathew Knowles decided to become the girls' manager, "because he couldn't stand to hear me bawling anymore," Knowles wrote. After the loss, the girls decided to call it quits--they were done with show business. Mathew Knowles convinced them to reconsider their hasty decision.

After the demise of Girl's Tyme, the group reorganized several times, with different lineups and new names, including Somethin' Fresh, Borderline, Cliché, the Dolls, and Destiny. At this point a quartet, they were asked to record "Killing Time" for the Men in Black movie soundtrack in 1997, and were forced to stick with the name Destiny's Child. The lineup consisted of Knowles, Rowland, LaToya Luckett, and LaTavia Roberson. The girls were tight-lipped about the group--it was some time before even Knowles' childhood sweetheart knew she was a performer. They felt that their music was very personal, and that it was nobody's business but their own.

Redoubled Their Efforts

Mathew Knowles eventually quit his job to manage the group, and invested the family's money in helping his daughter succeed. The stresses of Mathew being a husband, father, and manager took their toll on the family, and Knowles's parents separated briefly when she was 14. Her mother moved with her, her little sister Solange, and Rowland into a small apartment. Her parents eventually reunited, and remain married. "The stability and support my parents provided when we were growing up at home has a lot to do with why Kelly and I are still around today," Knowles wrote in Soul Survivors.

It took six years for Destiny's Child to secure a recording contract, and it was a tough road. One of the most difficult things for Knowles, then still just a girl, was the strict diet regimen she and LaTavia had to follow. While Rowland and Roberson were wiry and could eat as they pleased, Knowles and Luckett were forced to eat nonfat foods and to abstain from fattening junk food. "It's a shame that a kid would have to worry about her weight," Knowles wrote in Soul Survivors, "but I was trying to get a record deal and that was a reality."

Mathew Knowles worked hard to raise record company interest in his girls. They traveled to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland, California, regularly to perform in talent showcases, and lived in San Francisco for a couple of months to record their demo tape. Finally, when Knowles was about 14, Destiny's Child signed with Silent Partner Productions, an Elektra imprint. The four girls moved to Atlanta, where Silent Partner was based. They continued their academic studies with a tutor in the mornings, and spent the rest of the day in the recording studio. The deal with Elektra was short-lived--just a "little taste of a career," Knowles wrote in Soul Survivors. The group was dropped, but rallied and redoubled their efforts to get signed. A contract with Columbia Records followed in 1996, soon after the Elektra debacle.

Debut Album Worth the Wait

Destiny's Child's first album of the same name, took two years to finish, with hot hip-hop producer Wyclef Jean at the helm. It was during this time that Columbia hired a team of stylists to spruce up the girls' looks--to a disastrous and trendy result. Tina Knowles stepped in and became their official stylist and costume designer at this point. Not only did the girls know and trust Tina Knowles, but she also knew their personalities better, and was able to design stylish clothes that both flattered them and reflected their personal style.

The first single from Destiny's Child, "No, No, No," sold more than three million copies and pushed the album to gold certification for record sales. The album's great flaw, however, was that it did not present a singular style for the group; listeners were confused about whether the group was straight R&B or hip-hop. Knowles stopped attending high school a few months into her ninth-grade year to record, rehearse, and tour. She continued her education with tutors until finishing her high school requirements in 2000.

The group's follow-up album, The Writing's on the Wall, released in 1999, made the serious impact that their debut had not. It featured a string of number one hits, including "Bills, Bills, Bills," "Bugaboo," and "Jumpin' Jumpin'," which was Knowles's first serious attempt at writing and producing. Fueled by the hit single "Say My Name," the album went on to sell more than ten million copies.

1999 was a very tumultuous year for Knowles. Both Luckett and Roberson left Destiny's Child, leaving a swirl of rumors and litigation in their wake. The media pitted them against Rowland and Knowles, and turned it into a no-holds-barred drama. Knowles remains mum on the subject other than to say that egos, emotions, competition, and money were the roots of their problems. "Once Destiny's Child started to get successful, that's when we found out who our friends really were," Knowles wrote in Soul Survivors. "Our whole world changed, and that makes friendship way more complicated. Sometimes I still get mad about it, and sometimes it hurts, but it's now to the point where it's ridiculous," she told Ebony. "All I want to do is go into the studio, write my music, do my movies and perform. I'm not trying to hurt anybody, or offend anybody."

Controversy Drew Attention, Boosted Sales

If there was an up side to the split, it was media attention. The media had overlooked Destiny's Child before, but with scandal and drama attached, they became a hot commodity. "Destiny's Child was always very talented," Knowles told Newsweek, "but I think the thing we were lacking was controversy. I think in order for your group to be successful your story has to be interesting. Our story was very squeaky clean, so I thank God for the controversy. I'm happy because it helps me sell records." They appeared on numerous magazine covers and record sales soared. Because they were in the public eye, however, they needed to replace Luckett and Roberson swiftly, before the split upset their growing popularity. Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin rounded out the quartet in early 2000, and Destiny's Child was back on track. Franklin left the group five months later during a publicity tour. Destiny's Child hit the stage as a threesome at an Australian concert soon after, and never looked back. They have toured with such hit acts as Christina Aguilera and TLC.

After the media blitz about yet another Destiny's Child lineup change died down, Knowles set to work on Survivor, the group's third album, which she both produced and co-wrote. Knowles penned the album's title track after a wise-cracking morning DJ quipped harshly that being a member of Destiny's Child was like being on the reality-TV show Survivor. She wrote "Happy Face" about the face she has to put on when she gets down. "There are so many people out there who want to be in my shoes," she wrote in Soul Survivors. "Of course, they don't realize my shoes are uncomfortable and they give me blisters--but I can't complain. People think I live in an MTV Barbie World, but I don't. I am by no means a living doll."

Knowles wrote the song "Independent Women Part I" even before the director of the film Charlie's Angels asked the girls to contribute to the movie's soundtrack. The song salutes hard-working women who provide for themselves rather than depending on handouts from others. It broke records worldwide and was one of the biggest-selling singles in history. Knowles was nominated for a Grammy award in 2000 for writing the song. "It seems that the songs I write because of extreme anger, happiness, or sadness become the biggest hits," Knowles wrote in Soul Survivors. "I guess that's because a lot of other people can relate to them. For me the studio is where I got to get stuff off my chest.... It's my therapy." Out of five Grammy award nominations in 2000, Destiny's Child took home two--one for best R&B song for "Say My Name," and one for best R&B performance by a duo or group.

Hit Big Screen as Foxxy Cleopatra

2001 was a banner year for Knowles. Destiny's Child won two Grammy awards and five Billboard awards, taking home the award for artist of the year for the second year in a row. The day after the Billboard awards show, however, the press was reporting the group was through. The media pounced on a remark Knowles made about needing a break from four non-stop years of touring, recording, and promoting Destiny's Child, and twisted it into headlines that the group was breaking up. Destiny's Child did not break up, but the girls did take a break. Williams and Rowland each released a solo album and Knowles began developing an acting career and working on her own solo album, released in 2003.

Knowles made her acting debut as Carmen in the MTV production of Carmen: The Hip-Hopera to favorable reviews in 2001. Her major Hollywood break came with Austin Powers in Goldmember, starring comedian Mike Myers. In it, Knowles played Meyers' sexy sidekick, secret agent Foxxy Cleopatra, who was an amalgamation of the black action film heroines of the 1970s. She also performed the film's theme song, "Hey Goldmember." According to the film's producer, John Lyons, Knowles "can do anything and have this amazing career in both music and film," he told Jet. "If she wants it."