Beautiful and talented singer Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (1981) was born on this day in Houston, Texas. A Star Search contestant at age nine, she became the lead vocalist of Destiny's Child, the female R&B group that rose to fame in the 90s.

"We were very, very hungry," she recalled about the group's enormous success.

With hits such as No, No, No (1998), Bills, Bills, Bills (1999), Say My Name (1999), Jumpin' Jumpin' (2000), and Survivor (2001), the group celebrated the good things about being a woman.

"We’re about strength and empowerment for women," Knowles once explained.

In 2001, Knowles won the ASCAP Pop Songwriter Of The Year Award, the first African-American woman and the second woman ever to receive that honor. "Certain things are just from your heart, and when you're inspired by music, then you'd be surprised what comes out," she said.

That same year, the group tried solo careers with Knowles releasing the multi-platinum-selling Dangerously In Love (2003), which she described as having "a lot of soul... It's very urban, and it's very fresh and new" with a mix of hip-hop, rock, and jazz.

"I just wrote what I felt and wrote what I was going through," she said of her songwriting process. "I write from personal experiences that I see through my friends and my peers and my family... Everything was about love."

With dreams of having a successful movie career, the solo-flying Knowles also starred as Foxxy Cleopatra in the Mike Myers' shagadelic comedy, Austin Powers' Goldmember (2002) and co-starred with Cuba Gooding Jr. in Fighting Temptations (2004).

Stay humble. Let gratitude move your heart.