Celebrating Black Women’s Herstory - Beyoncé Knowles

Who Is Beyoncé Knowles?

Beyoncé Knowles first captured the public’s eye as lead vocalist of the R&B group Destiny’s Child. She later established a solo career with her debut album Dangerously in Love, becoming one of music’s top-selling artists with sold-out tours and a slew of awards. Knowles has also starred in several films, including Dream Girls. She married hip-hop recording artist Jay-Z in 2008, and the couple has three children. She also holds the record for most Grammy wins ever by a female artist with 28.

Quotes

• Whenever I’m out in public, I have to be put together. When I get home, I rebel against it, and I don’t want to take care of anything. I drop it. I’m relaxed. I don’t have any shoes on. No makeup.

• I feel that, especially now, with the internet and paparazzi and camera phones, it’s so difficult to maintain mystery.

• One of the reasons I connect to the Super Bowl is that I approach my shows like an athlete.

• I think people have an idea in their heads about entertainers [and] celebrities. I think they feel like their lives are so perfect, and it’s really hard to go through painful experiences when you are in the public eye because it’s hard to have closure.

• The best thing is looking back and realizing how good life is. If you don’t take the time to think about it, analyze it, you’ll never realize all the dots that are connected.

• We’re all going through our problems, but we all have the same insecurities and we all have the same abilities, and we all need each other.

• In my hardest moments, where I thought, “What am I doing? I’m not strong enough for this, I can’t get through this, I’m not ready.” I just have to say, “Jump!” because I know I’m gonna land in that water and swim back on the boat, and I’m going to jump again and land in the water and swim back to the boat. I have to trust myself.

• My life is a journey. It seems like I set a goal and, some kind of way, I accomplish it, and then I set another one. And my goal was trusting myself, and my goal was growth.

• Women have to work much harder to make it in this world. It really pisses me off that women don’t get the same opportunities as men do. Because, let’s face it, money gives men the power to run the show. It gives men the power to define our values and to define what’s sexy and what’s feminine and that’s bullsh–t. At the end of the day, it’s not about equal rights, it’s about how we think. We have to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves.

• I didn’t want to release my music the way I’ve done it. I am bored with that. I feel like I am able to speak directly to my fans. There’s so much that gets between the music, the artist and the fans. I felt like I didn’t want anybody to give the message when my record is coming out. I just want this to come out when it’s ready and from me to my fans.

• It’s difficult being a woman. It’s so much pressure, and we need that support sometimes.

We celebrate you Queen!