Beyoncé and her younger sister, Solange both entered the entertainment industry at a very young age, and both are still very successful. Of course, Solange always lived in her sister’s shadow, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t find her own path to success as she still creates art every day.
And as for Beyoncé, do we even need to say anything? The singer became the epitome of a successful, strong boss lady, and she inspired so many other artists out there with her songs, dances, and fashion. As we mentioned, today’s list gives us a glimpse into the sisters’ childhoods and what their life was like before becoming famous.
The two grew up in Houston, Texas, and if there’s one thing that we can with certainty claim, it’s that they both worked hard on their dreams since day one. Eventually, all the hard work paid off, as they both started reaching their goals while still teens. A big chunk of that success has to be attributed to their parents, Tina and Mathew, who have been there every step along the way, pushing their girls to do what they love.
Here they are, 15 photos of Beyoncé growing up, and 5 of her younger sister, Solange!
20. HERE’S A BABY BEYONCÉ SERVING US GIRLY LOOKS
Alright, we’re going to kick our list off with some Beyoncé baby pics. The future bootylicious diva was born on September 4, 1981, in Houston, Texas, and let us tell you — the world was so not ready! In the two shots above you can see the little star posing for her very first professional photo shoot, and we can all agree she was a natural talent in front of the camera since day one. Little Beyoncé was serving us some adorable girly looks as if she knew what a bright future was ahead of her! Also, a little side note — doesn’t her daughter Blue Ivy look quite a bit like her in these pics?
19. AND HERE SHE IS WITH HER FATHER, MATHEW
How adorable is little Beyoncé with her daddy Mathew back in the ’80s? Of course, by now we know Mathew would play a major role in Beyoncé’s future as a singer, as he was the manager not only of Destiny’s Child but also Beyoncé and Solange later on. In the photo above he’s just a regular father excited to see his daughter grow up and find her happiness. However, we do know that Beyoncé and Mathew’s father-daughter relationship hasn’t always been the best and according to Fader, Beyonce even wrote the song “Daddy Lessons” referring to her dad. In the song, she sings how her dad taught her to be tough and not trust men like him.
18. HERE SHE IS GIVING US SASS IN A VIDEO
Alright, alright — here’s a bit of that Beyoncé we all know and love shining through! You can tell from the video still frame that little Beyoncé almost had as much swag and sass as grown-up Beyoncé does. Also, we are loving the late ’80s and early ’90s vibe with the colorful top and the cute high side-ponytail! She looks absolutely fantastic, but why are we even surprised — obviously Beyoncé always had an impeccable fashion sense. Oh, and here’s a random little fun fact: Beyoncé’s name is actually a tribute to her mother Tina’s maiden name. How cute is that?
17. MIDDLE SCHOOL BEY ALREADY KNEW HOW TO SMIZE
Now let’s move on to a slightly older Beyoncé serving us sassy looks in middle school. At this age, you can definitely already recognize the superstar, as well as her iconic smizing pose. While attending school in Houston, Beyoncé actually enrolled in dance classes and — you’ve guessed it — she found one of her passions. What’s interesting that her singing talent was recognized by her dance instructors who noticed Beyoncé singing along to songs and hitting all the right notes. According to Biography, Beyonce started to compete in plenty of local talent shows and ended up winning many of them by impressing the audience with her singing and dancing abilities.
16. QUEEN B GREW UP DOING PHOTOSHOOTS
Obviously, Beyoncé did photoshoots early on. Heightline writes how Beyoncé’s parents influenced her from a young age on, as they always pushed their daughter to follow her dreams. And with a natural talent for singing, dancing, and knowing how to strike a pose — it was only a matter of time before Beyoncé would begin her journey into stardom. And now let’s all take a moment to appreciate how amazing her look here is! The dramatic shoulder pads, the high half-ponytail (Ariana Grande who?), and all the blue accent details! It was obvious even then that Beyoncé would be big one day!
15. HOW ADORABLE IS SHE IN THIS PRINCESS DRESS?
Let’s move on to another gorgeous look young Beyoncé gave us: a flawless, light pink gown that just screams “diva”! We already mentioned Beyoncé’s parents were always super supportive of their daughter, and we also know that they eventually worked with her a lot. Her mother Tina, who was the owner of a hair salon prior to becoming Destiny’s Child’s stylist and eventually a fashion designer, was always there for support and her father Mathew who was a sales manager prior to becoming the group’s manager helped her a lot along the way. And judging from these pics, it seems to us as if Beyoncé had a really fun childhood!
14. NEEDLESS TO SAY, BEY ALWAYS LOVED DRESSING UP AND DANCING
Beyoncé grew up to become a major fashion icon who influenced so many others, as well as one of the best female dancers of her generation. Some of those dance moves she did with Destiny’s Child as well as on her solo path are still copied by artist’s worldwide, and this diva still hasn’t stopped inspiring. However, it all started with costumes like the ones in the photos above, and dance classes which Beyoncé, as we already mentioned, attended from a very early age on. Beyoncé was clearly always very talented, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t put a ton of work into making sure her abilities and talent shine through!
13. HERE’S BEYONCE WITH HER FIRST GIRL GROUP GIRL’S TYME BACK IN 1993
Most people know Beyoncé started becoming famous with Destiny’s Child, but only true fans will know that Beyoncé was actually in a girl band before that! Yup, Girl’s Tyme was Beyoncé’s first girl group, and as you can see fellow Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland was also a member of that one as well. We also have to mention that even back then the girls had their very own coordinated signature style, and we have a feeling Tina Knowles might be to blame for that! Either way, these photos of a teenage Beyoncé serving sassy and colorful looks are giving us life!
12. AND HERE SHE IS GETTING HER HAIR DONE
As we already mentioned, Beyoncé’s mom Tina had her own hair salon prior to becoming Destiny Child’s stylist, which explains why Beyoncé’s hair always looked absolutely fabulous growing up. Tina made sure her daughters love getting ready and pampering themselves, and you can definitely tell they still do. Also, this is another photo of a young Beyoncé that immediately makes us think how her daughter Blue Ivy looks a lot like her. We can’t wait to see what little Blue grows up to become, and we’re sure that with parents like hers we will see a lot more of her!
11. HIGH SCHOOL BEY WAS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS
Now let’s move to a slightly older Beyoncé looking absolutely amazing for her high school’s picture day. Beyoncé attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and later Alief Elsik High School in Houston. Outside of school, Beyoncé was also a member of the choir at St. John’s United Methodist Church as a soloist for two years, but once she started dedicating more time to her girl group, fame came pretty quickly. Anyway, for now, let’s focus on Beyoncé’s hair once again — don’t both hairstyles look absolutely perfect on her? It’s clear by now that this diva can pull anything off!
10. HERE SHE IS WITH HER BESTIE AND FELLOW GROUP MEMBER KELLY ROWLAND
Beyoncé and Kelly were groupmates not only in one girl group but in both Girl’s Tyme and Destiny’s Child. And after the group split up both of them ended up becoming successful solo artists, but of course, Beyoncé is without a doubt in her own league. Either way, let’s go back to a young Beyoncé and Kelly. The two met after Kelly relocated to Houston at the age of eight, and soon afterward joined Girl’s Tyme. A fun fact about the group is that they participated in Star Search, one of the biggest talent shows on national TV at the time but actually lost the competition to another group. As we know, that didn’t stop the girls.
9. AND HERE ARE BOTH AT THE COLUMBIA RECORDS CONTRACT SIGNING PARTY FOR DESTINY’S CHILD
Destiny’s Child was formed in 1996 in Houston, Texas, when Beyoncé was fifteen years old. The group’s manager Mathew Knowles helped in negotiating a record deal with Columbia Records, and the group got signed the same year. The photo you can see above is from the contract signing party, and we bet all of the girls had no idea what’s about to come. Once again, they were sporting coordinated outfits, which soon afterward became Destiny’s Child’s signature look. The two girls in the middle between Beyoncé and Kelly are LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett, who as we know didn’t stay in the group for too long.
8. YUP, THAT’S WHEN ONE OF THE BIGGEST GIRL GROUPS EVER WAS BORN
Here’s our last photo of Destiny’s Child on this list. As you can tell, the group was in its original formation, but any Destiny’s Child and Beyoncé fan knows that in early 2000, both LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett left the group and were replaced with Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin. Only a couple of months after joining the group, Farrah left, making Destiny’s Child a trio. And as we know, that is the formation the group peaked in, and many of us are still hoping Beyoncé, Kelly, and Michelle surprise us with another glorious reunion of Destiny’s Child one day.
7. OH, AND HERE IS A STUNNING BEYONCE GIVING US ULTIMATE PROM VIBES
Before we wrap up the Beyoncé part of our list, we wanted to mention this stunning photo of a prom-ready queen Bee. Honestly, that dress screams Beyoncé, and the diva looks absolutely fabulous. She went to prom with her childhood sweetheart Lyndall Locke, who revealed for The Sun that the two have even discussed marriage. Of course, we know Beyoncé took a different path and is now married to one of the biggest rap artists in the world, but that doesn’t mean we can’t swoon over this cute pic. The two were definitely a good-looking couple, and we bet they had plenty of fun at prom.
6. NOW LET’S MOVE ON TO HER YOUNGER SISTER, SOLANGE
Okay, now it’s time to move on to Beyoncé’s (slightly less) famous sister. Solange Knowles was born on June 24, 1986, in Houston Texas, making her five years younger than Beyoncé. As you can see from the photo above, Beyoncé was thrilled to have a younger sister, and the two have always been super close. Now that both of them are mothers, we bet that bond is even stronger, and we honestly wished the sisters shared more pics from their family gatherings. But either way, we are super glad these childhood pics of the two exist because they definitely made our day!
5. BEING BEYONCÉ’S YOUNGER SISTER COULDN’T HAVE ALWAYS BEEN EASY
According to Biography, Solange started performing as a backup dancer for Destiny’s Child when she was only 13 years old and still wearing braces on her teeth. Just like her older sister, Solange also grew up taking dance lessons and singing whenever possible. It was obvious from the beginning that little Solange was going to follow in her sister’s footsteps and go after her dreams. At 15, Solange replaced a dancer for Destiny’s Child on tour, and pretty much ever since she has been in the spotlight as well. The two cuties from the photo above both made it big in the industry!
4. BUT IT MUST HAVE ALSO BEEN EXTREMELY EXCITING
Now we do believe that having Beyoncé as a sister definitely made it easier for Solange to become noticed and appreciated as an artist. When Solange was 16 years old, her father Mathew, signed her to his recording company Music World Entertainment. At the same time, Solange was also signed to Columbia. While she may have been in her sister’s shadow for a while, Solange really found herself in songwriting, and she wrote songs for Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams after Destiny’s Child went on break. But in the photo above you can see her and Beyoncé just being careless and happy kids posing and having fun!
3. HERE ARE BOTH GIRLS SERVING US ULTIMATE CUTENESS WITH THEIR HOLIDAY LOOKS
If you thought this list couldn’t get any cuter, you were definitely wrong. A young Beyoncé and Solange are adorable, but a young Beyoncé and Solange in holiday dresses ready for Christmas are on a whole different level! We are so happy the two decided to share these gems from the family album with their fans and give us a glimpse into their childhood. The photos are truly amazing, but we didn’t expect any less from the Knowles Family’s holiday photos. Again, you can tell how Tina’s coordinated fashion was a thing very early on, and we actually wouldn’t be surprised if she made these dresses for the two herself!
2. AND LASTLY, HERE ARE 19-YEAR-OLD BEYONCÉ AND 14-YEAR-OLD SOLANGE AT THE 2000 BILLBOARD AWARDS
And finally, to wrap things up we chose this image of Beyoncé and Solange. And while you may be asking yourself what are they doing all grown up on this list, we have to tell you — you’re wrong, both are still in their teens! Yup, Beyoncé was already a big star when she was only nineteen years old, and Solange was only fifteen and slowly becoming famous herself. We are so grateful that the world gets to witness these sisters in their full artistic glory, and we can’t wait to see what both of them give us these next couple of years — we’re convinced that whatever it is it will be absolute perfection!
1. CAN YOU SPOT THE SINGER IN THIS 1992-1993 CLASS PIC?
It’s always fun to see a famous person’s school photo as it reminds us that these people we admire and look up to used to be just regular kids like the rest of us. Here’s Beyoncé in her school book photo in the early ’90s — can you spot the famous singer? Yup, that’s our queen, Bee, in the middle, wearing a colorful hoodie and a very high ponytail — which by now we can conclude was young Beyonce’s go-to look. To be honest, we kind of can’t imagine Beyoncé going to school, doing homework and stressing about exams at all!