Women’s rights have come a long way…But for many of us that now means lots of choices and opportunities and a question of ‘Can I have it All?’. Well, if you were using Beyonce as a benchmark then the answer is a resounding YES! She has a glittering music career (both in a group and solo); has close family relationships, has perfume lines, a movie career and a fashion business and is married to a very famous Rap Star and producer Jay-Z. As Beyonce led up to her 30th Birthday (4th Sep), many of us were thinking there’s only one thing left – children. As many of you will no doubt know on the night of the MTV Video Music Awards she announced that they were pregnant.
So just where did it all go right, and can we follow in her footsteps and have a family life, children and a career. Without the infrastructure to support and money that no doubt goes with their lives?
Beyonce grew up inHouston,Texaswith Tina (Mum), Matthew (Dad) and younger sister Solange. From an early age she knew she wanted to be in show business and her father took an early role in shaping her career, starting with local talent contests and leading to the formation of Destiny’s Child – one of the most successful girl groups of all time. Beyonce had the hit ‘No, No, No’ at just 16 years old; followed by massive hits like Independent Women and Survivor. In 2005 the group disbanded; unusually this was all quite amicable and each has gone on to solo success and they have been supportive of each other since.
Beyonce’s rise to super stardom had already begun though in 2003 with her first solo venture with the album ‘Dangerously in Love’. She was only 22 when her real ‘break-out’ song hit the charts – ‘Crazy in Love’ and it went on to net her 5 Grammys. But more than that it was also where she met Jay-Z who she went on to marry in a very private ceremony in 2008.
Beyonce continued to collaborate with Jay-Z, for example on track Déjà vu from her 25th Birthday album titled B’Day which also gave her the largest first week sales of her solo career. Her follow up album ‘I am…Sasha Fierce’ saw the arrival of her alter ego and produced one of her most iconic songs ‘Single Ladies’. If the public wasn’t already enamoured with her then this was the turning point; you only have to put the title into You Tube to see how many copy cat videos that spawned. The album also awarded her another 6 Grammys. In fact at this point she is the proud owner of 16 Grammys and is only behind Alison Krauss who holds 25 and Aretha Franklin who has 18.
Of course that only deals with her music career to date; not content with that she has also had an acting career with roles in Austin Powers and Dreamgirls. She has her own fragrance line and recently has set up a fashion line called ‘The House of Derion’ with her mother. Along side endorsement deals with L’Oreal, Pepsi and Armani to name a few. It’s not surprising then that her net worth is believed to be around $300milllion and her earnings in 2010 were $87million.
So after all of that, does Beyonce feel that she has done enough? Well in a recent article for In Style magazine she said “When you’re young – 18 or 19 – you have the energy and drive. That’s the time to work as hard as you can…Now I’m a woman, and because I gave it my all, I can focus on my marriage…I can decide I want to have kids. I can be the mother I want to be and dedicate myself to my children”. Whilst that suggests that she feels she has achieved enough to allow herself a break to take time to start and raise a family; her drive has definitely not got up and left her and she already has projects lined up – such as starring in the film ‘A Star is Born’ with Clint Eastwood, so keen is he to have her on the project that it has been delayed due to her baby. She is still promoting her recent album ‘4’ – and maybe a world tour will follow…
Well I know we are not all destined to be pop stars, but I think Queen B is a shining example of what working hard, having drive and determination and of course a little bit of talent and a little bit of luck can get you.
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