BEYONCÉ

Dec. 17, 2006

She first performed in public at her school talent show in Houston when she was seven. Within three years, she did 35 local talent shows and formed her own group, Girls Tyme, soon to be renamed Destiny’s Child. “When I was little I told my mother I wanted to be Michael Jackson,” she told Parade. “Like him, I was born to perform. It was just so natural—maybe because I was lonely and shy.” She went on to create a stage persona that was assertive and fearless. “That person on the stage is not me!” said the woman who’s won 28 Grammys so far.