A life in the spotlight: Beyoncé’s rise to superstardom in photos

Back to story
In 1998, 17-year-old Beyoncé and her newly formed girl group, Destiny's Child, were hoping to make it big on the music scene. (Photo by Fred Duval/FilmMagic)
The group was comprised of four original members – Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett. Beyoncé’s mom Tina served as the girls’ costume designer and they quickly became famous for their coordinating ensembles. (Photo by Fred Duval/FilmMagic)
After some much-publicized turmoil, Michelle Williams – alongside Farrah Franklin—officially joined Destiny’s Child in 2000, replacing LeToya and LaTavia without notice. The new group performed together for a Diana Ross tribute show in New York City. (Photo by Getty)
By the end of that year, Destiny’s Child had been whittled down to its final three members, with Beyoncé’s father, Matthew Knowles, still at the helm as manager. (Photo by Pam Francis/Getty Images)
Despite the drama, the group’s upheavals would eventually pay off. Destiny's Child took home three Grammys in 2001, including for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group for “Say My Name.” (Photo by David McNew/Newsmakers)
Beyoncé shone bright at the MTV Movie Awards in 2001 in a sexy yellow dress and a matching flower in her hair. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect)
On Sept. 7, 2001, Destiny’s Child took the stage to perform during Michael Jackson's 30th Anniversary Celebration. One month later, they would announce their hiatus. (Photo by KMazur/WireImage)
Branching out on her own, Beyoncé snagged a role in ‘Austin Powers 3: Goldmember’ opposite Mike Meyers as Foxxy Cleopatra. She also released her first solo single, “Work It Out,” from the film’s soundtrack. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
Wearing coordinating denim outfits, Jay Z and Beyonce made a joint appearance on MTV’s TRL in 2002. The pair released their first song together, "03 Bonnie & Clyde,” in October, further fuelling romance rumours. (Photo by KMazur/WireImage)
The philanthropic star attended the Give 1 Minute Of Your Life To AIDS Concert in 2003, where she met Nelson Mandela. (Photo by Jon Furniss/WireImage)
On her own at the 2004 Grammys, Beyoncé basked in the spotlight in a satin gold gown. The star became the fourth female artist to win four Grammy awards in one evening for her debut album, ‘Dangerously in Love.’ (Photo by Kevin Mazur Archive 1/WireImage)
Beyoncé and Jay Z attended the 2004 MTV Video Music awards arm in arm, confirming that they were, in fact, a couple. (Photo by KMazur/WireImage)
That year, Beyoncé became the face of Tommy Hilfiger's "True Star" fragrance. It was the first of many lucrative endorsement deals to come for the in-demand singer. (Photo by KMazur/WireImage for Aramis)
Beyoncé and her rapper beau made a dashing duo at the 2005 Oscars. The songstress turned heads in a black velvet Versace number and oversized chandelier earrings. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
In 2006, Beyoncé starred alongside Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose and Jamie Foxx in ‘Dreamgirls,’ a biopic about the 1960s girl group The Supremes. The film would go on to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and two Oscars at the 79th Academy Awards. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Getty Images)
She’s got friends in high places! Beyoncé mingled with the A-list at an after-party for Jay Z’s concert in 2006, posing for a photo with her famous pal, Gwyneth Paltrow. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)
At the 2007 Oscars, Beyoncé was a vision in mint-green Oscar de la Renta. (Photo by Dan MacMedan/WireImage)
The singer stunned at the 2008 Grammys, where she performed a powerhouse duet with Tina Turner before winning Record of the Year for "Irreplaceable.” (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
Dubbed “the song of the year” in 2008, Beyoncé started a dance revolution with her hit song “Single Ladies,” which she said was inspired by her secret marriage to Jay Z in April. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images for AMA)
At the 2009 Inaugural Ball, Beyoncé became a part of U.S. history when she serenaded Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, with “At Last” as they shared their first dance together after the President’s swearing in. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Beyoncé was the big winner at the 2010 Grammys, scooping up six awards – a new record for a female artist – for Song Of The Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best Contemporary R&B Album. (Photo by Getty)
Nobody knew that Beyoncé was secretly a few months pregnant when she performed on ABC's ‘Good Morning America’ on July 1, 2011. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
Beyoncé performed "Love on Top" at the 2011 MTV Movie Awards, saying, "Tonight I want you to stand up on your feet, I want you to feel the love that's growing inside of me.” At the end of her performance, Beyoncé dropped her microphone, unbuttoned her jacket and exposed her baby bump, thereby confirming her pregnancy. The announcement sent Twitter into a frenzy, receiving 8,868 tweets per second. "Beyoncé pregnant" was also the most Googled term the week of August 29, 2011. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)
In 2011, Beyoncé and her designer mom Tina launched their House of Deréon ready-to-wear fashion line. (Photo by Eamonn McCormack/WireImage)
Keen to prove her fashion prowess, Beyoncé showed just enough skin in a lacy black, sequinned Couture Givenchy gown for the Met Gala in 2012. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Her daughter, Blue Ivy, was born on January 7, 2012. The Carter family dotes on their precious little girl, with Beyoncé regularly taking to social media to show off photos of Blue with fans. (Photo by Marc Piasecki/FilmMagic)
For the second time, Jay Z and Beyoncé arrived at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration after he was re-elected in 2013. Beyoncé performed a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner over a prerecorded vocal track, which led to a minor scandal. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Beyoncé silenced her critics a few months later at the 2013 Super Bowl, where she delivered a high-intensity, seamless show that was widely praised. The ladies of Destiny’s Child joined her on stage for a brief reunion, in which they sang “Single Ladies” and “Independent Women.” (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Beyoncé is a proud feminist and a supporter of Chime For Change, a global campaign for girls' and women's empowerment. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Chime For Change/Getty Images for Gucci)
Hot on the heels of her electrifying Super Bowl performance, Beyoncé capitalized on the buzz by embarking on a whirlwind world tour. ‘The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour’ became the highest-grossing female and solo tour of 2013, Beyoncé's highest grossing tour to date and one of the highest grossing tours of the decade. (Photo by Larry Busacca/PW/WireImage for Parkwood Entertainment)
The mother of one showed off her trim figure in a peek-a-boo Michael Costello gown at the 2014 Grammys. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)
Beyoncé opened the Grammy Awards in 2014 with a super-sexy rendition of “Drunk In Love,” in which she sang and danced provocatively on stage with Jay Z and, naturally, stole the show. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)
Following a 20-minute performance of a medley of songs from her latest album, Beyoncé was presented with the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award at the 2014 MTV VMAs by none other than her husband, Jay Z, and her two-year-old daughter. Blue Ivy was then heard saying into the microphone: “Go Mommy.” (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
© 2001-2020, HELLO! - All rights reserved