Beyonce – Long before She became the most famous celebrity she is now

April 3, 2021 239 Comments

                             September 2003 By Philip Berk

Rumor has it that Jennifer Lopez fired her longtime publicist when she found out he had taken on Beyonce as a new client.

One look at her latest video explains why.

Not only does she look like Jennifer she sounds like her.

At 22 Beyonce (Knowles) is certainly as beautiful as Jennifer and undoubtedly the better singer.

But does she have Jennifer’s smarts?

You judge for yourself.

At her press conference in New York for The Fighting Temptations, she’s slim and glamorous, unlike the hometown girl with dreadlocks that she plays in the movie.

Why the name Beyonce? I ask her. 

“It’s my mom’s maiden name. Growing up I was very mad at her. ‘Mom, why this crazy name?’ but she wanted to keep the name going because there were no more men in her family.”

She had a successful career as a singer, so what made her want to go into acting?

“I saw it as a new challenge and because Diana Ross and Cher and Barbra Streisand were able to do it, I hoped I could also.”

Was she surprised when her first movie turned out to be a comedy (Austin Powers in Goldmember, for which she shared equal billing with Mike Myers)?

“I had no idea I could do a comedy. I was very nervous but obviously the director saw something in me.”

Where does she get that drive to want to do everything?

“My mom helps. I remember my first reading with Mike Myers. I was so nervous I was speechless. Thank God my mom came with me. She did a majority of the talking because I didn’t know what to say.

Is she as close to her father, who manages her career?”

“I’m very very close to both my parents. Family is very important to me. I stay grounded because they tell me the truth. They tell me when I’m wrong, they tell me when I’m right. It’s important to have people around you who are not looking for a paycheck.”

And a few of them actually work for her?

“Besides my father, yes, my mother is my stylist and designer, and my cousin is my assistant. I surround myself with my family because I haven’t forgotten that when we first started my father stopped working to become my full time manager. We downsized our house to an apartment. We downsized our three cars to two and then one. It was a strain on my parents’ marriage. At the time because I was young I didn’t quite understand it, but fortunately it all paid off.”

With all the success she’s having, not just the platinum records, the hit movies, and the lucrative endorsements (L’Oreal and Pepsi,) is her father up to the job of managing her career?

“When you start in this business, the first thing you have to do is find someone you can trust. And usually with a manager it’s very hard because you don’t know what their motivations are. I’m fortunate because my father loves me. I know he would never make a selfish decision. And he wants me to succeed.”

But does he know the business?

Naively she answers, “He actually took a class for a couple of years before he started managing me. I think we’ve made a couple of right moves. I don’t think I’d be where I am right now if he didn’t know what he was doing.”

With all the money she’s earning, what is she buying for herself?

Apologetically she answers, “I’ve been working non stop since I was fifteen. Since my first single came out I really haven’t had a break and I really haven’t bought anything yet for myself. Of course I buy clothes.I love vintage clothes.”

But didn’t she buy a house recently?

“I did buy a house in Miami but it will not be ready for a couple of months yet.” 

Why Miami?

“I love the water. I love the ocean, I love the weather. I’m from Texas so I love the humidity. I know that sounds crazy but that’s what I’m used to.”

So is that where she’ll make her home?

“I don’t know exactly where home is. Right now, when I have time off I still go to Houston where my parents live. I stay in hotels in New York and Los Angeles. I guess technically I still live with my parents even though I’m never there.”

Destiny’s Child made her famous. But would she ever pull a Diana Ross and walk away from the group?

“No, not at all. The difference between the Supremes and Destiny’s Child is we grew up together. Kelly was my best friend and now Michelle is. We support each other. We don’t fight. We argue about things, but we don’t fight. I’m not in this group for any other reason but my love for the girls and because we have this chemistry. None of us is as strong individually as we are as a group. The beautiful thing is we support each other in whatever we do. Michelle for instance has the number 2 gospel album in America. It’s called “Heart to Yours” hint, hint, hint. Kelly has done sitcoms and she has an album out. She had a hit with Nelly. We all realize when we do individual things it helps Destiny’s Child and it makes the group a lot stronger. It takes us to another level”

She neglects to mention that two of the original members of Destiny’s Child left the group involuntarily and their subsequent replacements were also let go!

It’s been almost three years since their last album?

How come?

“We actually did a song for the soundtrack of Fighting Temptations. We got together in the studio and in fact we have a performance next week together. And next year we start recording the next Destiny’s Child album. A reunion of Destiny’s child.”

How autobiographical are the songs she’s written?

“Just about all my songs for Destiny’s Child were taken from personal experience and from things I’ve learned, like watching other people.” 

“Survivor” and “Independent Woman” are about female empowerment.

What inspired her to write them?

“I was fed up listening to songs about women wanting guys to take care of them, ‘Buy me this, buy me that.’ There are people like that out there, but there are a lot of women who work hard, single mothers and even married women, who are independent but still have their own things. And I thought that should be celebrated in a song. I’ve worked for what I’ve achieved and it’s not because of anybody else. A lot of people can relate to that, so I wrote a song which ended up in the Guinness book of Records as the biggest number one, the longest number one song in music history.” 

How does she balance a music career, an acting career with trying to have a personal life? 

“It’s difficult, but it helps when you have people around you who can tell you when you need a break. ‘Do something fun that has nothing to do with this.’ So I paint, I do oil paintings, abstract paintings. The studio is like therapy for me.  And that’s the great thing about writing songs. I write whatever I feel. I also have a strong relationship with God and it also keeps me sane. I love to go to church whenever I feel stressed, and I’m rejuvenated when I leave.” 

How about boy friends?

“It’s very difficult for me to find a boyfriend. I’m single and everybody’s trying to hook me up. Everywhere I go they’ll have a guy there. I’m like, ‘What are you doing? I thought I was coming for dinner?’ I have  friends but I don’t have a boyfriend yet.”

How come?

“You know how it is. You meet your husband either at your job or at parties at school. I didn’t get to go to school and my job is very strange. I’m traveling and touring. But now that I’m doing movies and able to be around the same people and develop relationships, hopefully it will happen.”

So the stories that Beyonce has a fiance (Jay Z) are not true?

“Well, Beyonce doesn’t quite have a fiance, not yet. I have a while for that.”

The tabloids were filled with stories of a torrid romance.

“Jay Z helped me a lot on my album, and he appeared in a couple of my songs on my album along with other great artists I respect. And I don’t talk about my relationship personally with him. My private life and my personal life I love to protect. I don’t talk too much about that.” 

There were also stories linking her with Mos Def who’s since become an important actor. Were they ever a twosome?

“We were friends. We worked together on Carmen, A Hip Hopera which we did for MTV. A lot of people that started in that movie are doing real well. I know Joyd Brian is also.”

Would she date someone who wasn’t African American?

“I’m definitely open to it.”

What does she find romantic?

“I am an old fashioned girl. When guys get too aggressive, I get a little scared. I like a guy to sing to me.” 

What would the perfect guy be like?

“He would definitely have to be smart, make great conversation because a lot of the time I’m  out of the country and I need someone who’s able to make good conversations. I’d want us to be friends. He’d have to have his own career but still support mine, yet not be in competition with me. And he’d have to be funny. That’s very important. And romantic.”

How does she maintain her figure?

“It’s a struggle. I have to be strong because I love to eat. That’s my weakness, Chocolate covered strawberries, fried chicken, soul food. I have to lay off all that. On the set of Austin Powers Goldmember all the men were eating popcorn and chips, and I’m having to eat fruit. I was just tortured, but it worked out. I also exercise. I run four miles a day on the treadmill. I do sit ups, I do squats, and light weights. “

Any beauty secrets?

“The important thing is to be beautiful on the inside. Then your beauty shines through. Also I think beauty fades but if you have character, if you’re kind and nice to everyone, that makes a beautiful person. And that’s what I want to be.”  

Is she really planning to go to college, as she’s been quoted?

“I wasn’t able to go to regular school — I had to be home tutored which is rather boring. I did attend a high school for a couple of months, but then when we got our record deal and moved to L.A., I had to quit, but I did graduate. I’d like to experience what I missed growing up; so when I get a little older and have a little more time, I plan to go to college. I want to learn. I want to know as much as I can. I love art and I know this sounds crazy but one day I’d like to teach an art class.” 

What was she like as a child

“I was very shy, kind of quiet, but when I got on stage I morphed into this other person — my parents didn’t even recognize me. I always loved performing. I remember putting on shows in my house when I was small. My mom’s  friends didn’t want to come to the house because me and my sister would force them to watch these shows we put on, fashion shows, tap shows, dance shows. And of course we made them buy tickets!”

What type of fan mail does she get? Who are her audiences?

“They range from four-year-olds to their mothers to their grandmothers. When we have sign-ins, it’s amazing to see the many generations of people who come to see us.”

Are the letters addressed to her or the group?

“Some are addressed to each member, others to the group. I don’t answer all of mine, but I read them all, and ones with telephone numbers I call. No one believes it’s me. I had to read them their letter before they believed me, and I got many hang ups.”

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