Beyoncé Knowles: Queen of pop

With 20 Guinness World Records titles to her name, Beyoncé has created an iconic legacy. 

Throughout the years, her much-loved music has promoted female empowerment and focussed on telling stories from a woman’s perspective.

Life before stardom

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born in Houston, Texas, USA, on 4 September 1981.

As a child, she was quite shy, so her parents signed her up for dance classes in the hopes that Beyoncé would make some friends. 💃

Aged nine, Beyoncé entered the world of pop music with her group, Girls Tyme, which would later be known as Destiny’s Child.

Over the next few years, the girl group’s popularity in Houston grew. Destiny’s Child then became known around the whole world when they released their first album in 1998, when Beyoncé was 17. 🤩

Becoming Queen B

In 2002, aged 21, Beyoncé was the featured on a song (“'03 Bonnie and Clyde") with her future husband, Jay-Z. 🎤

The next year, she began her solo career, releasing her first album Dangerously in Love. The most popular single, “Crazy in Love”, featured Jay-Z and topped charts around the world. 

The album was so popular that Beyoncé won five Grammys and went on a world tour! 🌍

Beyoncé became known for her amazing performances on stage. Her energetic dancing has earned her a reputation as one of the best entertainers in all of pop music.

For over 20 years now, Queen B has continued to receive awards and break iconic records such as; most Grammy awards won by a vocalist, most Grammy nominations for a female artist and the most Grammy awards won by a female artist. 🏆

Here are all of Beyoncé's Guinness World Records titles:

RecordAchievementDate
Most BET Awards nominations for an individual7515 June 2022
Most wins at the MTV Video Music Awards3012 September 2021
Most BET Awards won by an individual3227 June 2021
Most Grammy awards won by a female artist 2814 March 2021
Most Grammy awards won by a married couple5114 March 2021
First female artists to win best Rap Performance at the GrammysFirst Place14 March 2021
Most Grammy awards won by a vocalist2814 March 2021
Most Grammy nominations for Record of the Year701 January 2021
Most Grammy nominations for a female artist7924 November 2020
Highest-grossing music tour by a duo (current year)$253,500,000 M04 October 2018
Most MTV Video Music Award nominations for video of the year716 July 2018
Most current Twitter engagements (average retweets) for a female musician31,61511 April 2018
Best-selling single (Spain)480,000 copies11 May 2017
First act to debut at No. 1 with their first six studio albums (USA)No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart14 May 2016
First artist-owned music streaming serviceFirst Place30 March 2015
Highest earning couple in Hollywood ever$175,000,000 M30 June 2014
Highest annual earnings for a female singer$115M (£77 million)30 June 2014
Highest-ranked female musician in Forbes’ “Celebrity 100” listFirst Place01 June 2014
Most Grammy awards won in a single year by a female artist612 February 2012
Most Grammy nominations in a single year for a female artist1001 January 2010

Acting career

Beyoncé is not just an amazing singer – she can act too!

During the early 2000s, she acted in three films in three years:

  • 2001 - Carmen: A Hip Hopera 
  • 2002 - Austin Powers in Goldmember
  • 2003 - The Fighting Temptations

However, her biggest acting role came in 2006, in the film Dreamgirls. Beyoncé won multiple Academy Awards for her performance in this film. 🤩

Singing, dancing, acting… is there anything Beyoncé can’t do?

The Carters

In 2008, Beyoncé married Shawn Corey Carter, aka Jay-Z, after years of dating. 💍

Together, the famous couple have earned record titles for the most Grammy awards won by a married couple, the highest earning couple in Hollywood ever and the highest-grossing music tour by a duo

Beyoncé and Jay-Z have three children: Blue Ivy Carter, born in 2012, and twins Rumi Carter and Sir Carter, born in 2017. 

Beyoncé's legacy

No one has had a career quite like Beyoncé, who has become the best in the world at everything she has put her mind to, whether it be singing, dancing, acting or modelling. 💃

It’s for this reason that she is so loved by her fanbase, the “Beyhive” all across the globe. 🐝 

Her songs are all about independence, equality and empowerment, which is why she is seen as a feminist icon. 

At the age of 41, Beyoncé shows no signs of slowing down and is still releasing some of her best music ever. When the time comes for her career to end, she will be remembered as one of the greatest pop musicians of all time.