General Background:

• Born: September 4, 1981 (36 years)
• Birthplace: Houston, TX
• Spouse: Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter
• Children: Blue Ivy Carter, Sir Carter, Rumi Carter
• R&B & Soul Singer
• Founded: Survivor Foundation, BeyGood

Childhood & Early Life:

• Daughter of sales manager, turned music manager, Mathew Knowles & hairdresser, businesswoman, and fashion designer Celestine “Tina” Knowles

Education & Performing Arts:

• Attended St. Mary’s Elementary school in Houston, TX where she originally learned how to dance
  • Enrolled in Parker Elementary school, a music magnet school in 1990 where she attended her first year of high school for the Performing and Visual Arts
  • Transferred to Alief Elsik High School

Music Career w Girl’s Tyme & Destiny’s Child:

• Auditioned for an all-girl entertainment group when she was 8 years old
  • Was selected along with Kelly Rowland and LaTavia Roberson and put in a group called Girl’s Tyme with three other girls
• In 1993, the group name Girl’s Tyme was changed to Destiny’s Child
  • In 1997, they released their first self-titled album
  • In 1999, they released their second album The Writing’s on the Wall
  • In 2001, they released their third and final album Survivor
    • Number 1 on Billboard 200
    • Nominated for several Grammies

Solo Artist Career:

• Beyoncé started her solo career in 2003 where she debuted her first solo album Dangerously in Love, since then, Beyoncé has released five more studio albums over the past decade, such as:
  • B’Day: Second album (Released 2006)
  • I Am… Sasha Fierce: Third album (Released 2008)
  • 4: Fourth album (Released 2011)
  • Beyoncé: Fifth album (Released 2013)
  • Lemonade: Sixth album (Released 2016)

Film Career:

• In addition to her music career, she has also appeared in several films that have allowed her to further channel her musical and acting talents:
  • Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001)
  • Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
  • The Fighting Temptations (2003)
  • Dreamgirls (2006)
  • The Pink Panther (2006)
  • Cadillac Records (2008)
  • Obsessed (2009)

Major Works & Achievements:

• Awarded 22 Grammy Awards, nominated for over 50
• Dangerously in Love was the one which successfully cemented her reputation as a solo artist
  • Debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart was a big commercial as well as critical success which earned her 5 Grammy awards
• The album B’Day registered her highest debut-week sales
  • This album was accredited multi-platinum in the U.S. and internationally
  • She has been nominated and awarded hundreds of awards

Methodology:

1. I conducted this research by finding scholarly journal articles that included not only background information on Beyoncé, but also her philanthropy and reasoning for being as successful as she is today. Her foundations, fan base, and even mentorship has influenced women worldwide and I learned a lot more about her based on those articles. I researched more of her as a mentor and influencer to young women and less of her as a renowned pop star. I was able to find more substantial evidence of how and why she is so successful in articles that talked more about her as a philanthropist than that of the articles who talked more about being a great singer.

Thesis:

1. Beyoncé only competes with Beyoncé. Beyoncé is, without a doubt, the most eminent, successful, and hardworking female artist of the 21^st

Bibliography Citations

Journal Article Online

Bradley, Regina, and Dream Hampton. “Close To Home: A Conversation About Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’.” NPR. NPR, 26 Apr. 2016. Web.

Journal Article Online

Dockterman, Eliana. “Beyoncé: Lessons in Modern Feminism.” Time. Time, 17 Dec. 2013. Web.

Journal Article Online

Goodridge, Tyler. ““LEMONADE”: BEYONCE’S ODE TO BLACK WOMEN…AND BLACK MEN?” Gnovis Journal. Georgetown University, 6 May 2016. Web.

Journal Article Online

Harris, Tamara Winfrey. “All Hail the Queen? What Do Our Perceptions of Beyonce’s Feminism Say about Us?” Bitch Media. N.p., 20 May 2013. Web.

Journal Article Online

Lasha. “Bell Hooks vs. Beyoncé: What This Feminist Scholarly Critique Gets Wrong about.” Salon.com. N.p., 17 May 2016. Web.

Journal Article Online

Miles, Corey. “Beyoncé’s Lemonade.” Humanity & Society. N.p., 7 Sept. 2016. Web.

Journal Article Online

Ray, Catherine Demi. “Queen B: A Modern Feminist Critique of Beyoncé.” Cal Poly: Digital Commons. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 2013. Web.

Journal Article Online

Shah, Neil. “Beyoncé’s Biggest Project Yet: CEO.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 22 Sept. 2016. Web.

Journal Article Online

Termini, Alyssa. “Crazy in Love with a Smooth Criminal: An In- Depth Look at Parasocial Relationships and How Celebrities A Ect the Relationship.” Johnson & Wales University ScholarsArchive@JWU. Johnson & Wales University, 2015. Web.

Journal Article Online

Wiliiams, Juliet. “Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’: A Complex and Intersectional Exploration of Racial and Gendered Identity.” U.S. Studies Online. N.p., 03 June 2016. Web.

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