BEYONCE KNOWLES

I am the elder of two daughters born to Mathew Knowles and Tina Beyince in Houston, Texas. My father is African-American and my mother is an African-American of Louisiana Creole descent. my maternal grandparents, Lumis Beyince and Agnez Dereon (a seamstress), were French-speaking Louisiana CreolesI have an uncle, who is my mother's younger brother. I am the older sister of Solange Knowles, cousin to Angela Beyince, and aunt to Daniel Juelz Smith. My parents decided on my first name as a tribute to my mother's surname. By age seven, i attended a dance school and was a soloist in my church choir. my dance instructor took an interest in meand took me to star in various competitions. I went on to win over thirty local singing and dancing competitions.Me and my former best friend LaTavia Roberson met Kelly Rowland and LeToya Luckett. we formed a quartet that would perform in our backyards and in Tina Knowles' hair salon. After singing at local events, We got Our break when we entered Star Search.Our group, then named "Girl's Tyme", were disappointed after losing the competition. ,My father and Rowland's legal guardian, decided to help us reach their dreams of becoming singers. He quit his six-figure salary job as a multi-million dollar equipment salesman at Xerox to manage our group. This decision by my father eventually affected the whole family. Our income had been cut in half, causing us to move into two different apartments. When the group was signed to Columbia Records in 1996, it gave our entire family a second chance at making things work.