30 Reasons We Love Beyonce

Beyonce turns 30 today and in honor of the occasion, we've compiled a list of 30 reasons we love Queen B. On Sept. 4, 1981 in Houston, Texas, a superstar was born! Destiny's Child frontwoman, solo singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, clothing designer, philanthropist and soon to be mom, Beyonce Knowles has become one of the highest achieving and most celebrated entertainers of all time. Happy 30th Birthday Beyonce!

For Her Early Dedication to Her Craft
When Beyonce was still a baby-faced preteen, she made her national television debut on the original reality competition show, 'Star Search.' Baby B's performance with her R&B/hip-hop girl group Girls Tyme didn't fair well with the judges, but gave a preview of the greatness to come.

For Destiny's Child Girl Power
Beyonce and the ladies gave 'Independent Women' everywhere the strength to demand, 'Say My Name,' and come out on top as 'Survivor's no matter what the obstacle.

For Catchy Hooks
From 'No, No, No' to 'Bills, Bills, Bills,' to 'Jumpin', Jumpin',' Beyonce and the rest of the Destiny's Child girls were really good at getting their repetitive hooks stuck in our heads, as we sang the lyrics over and over again!

For Bringing 'Bootylicious'-ness Back in Style
Beyonce and her frequently photographed figure were at the center of media attention for going against the super skinny trends. Beyonce opted to flaunt her healthy curves, setting her apart from her waif-like female peers and helping to expand the definition of what was considered beautiful by the mainstream media.

For Inventing a New Word
Speaking of 'Bootylicious,' did you know the Beyonce-penned lyric made it into the Oxford English dictionary?! While the dictionary's origin attribution predates the 2001 hit, as far as were concerned, Beyonce deserves full credit for popularizing the portmanteau.

For Going Solo
We love Destiny's Child, that goes without saying, but it was about time for this songbird to leave the nest and fulfill her destiny as a solo superstar! In June 2003, Beyonce dropped her debut solo album, 'Dangerously in Love,' which debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 317,000 copies in its first week.

For Being a Style Icon
Beyonce has come a long way from her days in disastrously designed coordinated costumes with her Destiny's Child bandmates. We applaud Beyonce for ditching her mom-designed duds (sorry Tina) and becoming the glamorous and graceful style icon she is today. If it's any consolation, she did team up with Mama Knowles to co-design their own clothing line, House of Dereon.

For Sister Solange
We love our celebrity siblings, and Beyonce's 25-year-old little sis Solange is, herself, a top-charting solo singer and accomplished actress.

For Foxxy Cleopatra
B gave us a rare glimpse at her funny side when she played the sassy Studio 69 disco singer and undercover FBI angent, Foxxy Cleopatra, opposite Mike Myers in the 2002 Austin Powers flick 'Goldmember.'

For 'B'Day'
Her second solo album titled 'B'Day,' which she dropped on her birthday, doubled as the inauguration of Beyonce Day and the celebration of her 25th birthday. We can celebrate on every future Beyonce birthday to come!

For Dancing in Stilettos Like a 'Diva'
Beyonce continues to wow us with her excellently executed choreography while wearing dangerously high heels. "Since fifteen in my stilettos been struttin' in this game,' Beyonce sings in her hit single 'Diva.'

For Sasha Fierce
With her third studio album 'I Am ... Sasha Fierce,' Beyonce gave us a glimpse into her theatrical split personality disorder, inventing her stage alter ego Sasha Fierce, and unleashing her "over the top" inner diva.

For 'Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)'
As Kanye West notoriously put it at the 2009 MTV VMAs, Beyonce's 'Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)' video is "one of the best videos of all time!" The black-and-white, single-take video included some of the fiercest and frequently imitated choreography in viral video history.

For Working With First Lady Michelle Obama
Beyonce took her patriotic duties seriously when she made a custom music video for First Lady Michelle Obama's Lets Move! campaign against childhood obesity. Beyonce reworked her track 'Get Me Bodied,' renaming it 'Move Your Body' and created a flash mob-style workout video in a school cafeteria to go with it.

For Grammy Wins
Beyonce has earned herself a whopping 16 Grammy Awards -- 13 as a solo artist and three as a member of Destiny's Child.

For Golden Globe Nominations
Beyonce proved her versatility as an entertainer when she received three Golden Globe nominations: one for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and two for Best Original Song, for her starring role in the movie 'Dreamgirls.'

For Taking a Break ... and Coming Back Better Than Ever
Between albums 'I Am ... Sasha Fierce' and '4,' Queen B took a much needed break from her hectic career and the spotlight to recharge and reboot. During the nine-month hiatus from the biz, B dedicated herself to enjoying the "simple," "regular everyday things" in life, which reignited her creativity and became a source of "inspiration," as she put it.

For Being Classy
Poised under pressure, Beyonce handled the early internet leak of her '4' album with style and grace.

For Running the World
Beyonce's 'Run the World (Girls)' video only further solidified her status as "Queen B," as she went for world domination with her girl army.

For Waking Up Our Astronauts
Beyonce delivered a custom message to the Atlantis crew, the last US space shuttle crew to go into orbit, launching her heavenly voice into the greater galaxy!

For Inspiring Fan Freak-outs
Wherever Beyonce goes, her loyal fans are sure to scream their lungs out and suffer minor conniptions. All hail Queen B!

For Selling Out Shows in Less Time It Took Us to Write This Fragment of a Sentance
The first show of the performer's concert series, '4 Intimate Nights With Beyonce' at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, sold out in a matter of 22 seconds!

For Making Perfumes So We Can All Smell (Like) Her
Beyonce has bottled not one, not two, but three fragrances so that her fans may get a chance to see what Queen B herself smells like, and try to smell like her themselves!

For Not Being a Hater
"There is room on this earth for many queens ... I have no desire for anyone else's throne. I am very comfortable in the throne I've been building for the past 15 years," the wise and powerful Queen B once said.

For Inspiring Future Greats
Beyonce's influence on countless young up and coming performers is undeniable, and one of the biggest pop superstars today, Lady Gaga, gave Beyonce major props for fueling her own drive to the top.

For Glastonbury
Beyonce absolutely brought the house down putting on a historic performance at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival, as the first female to headline the festival since Sinead O'Connor in 1991.

For "Jayonce"
Or "Jay-B," or "Bey-Z." Whatever you call them, since Beyonce and rapper-entrepreneur Jay-Z got together in 2002, the 'Bonnie & Clyde' duo have given us countless hit collaborations and a reigning music industry power couple to gawk at. Beyonce and Jay married on April 4, 2008, and on Aug. 28, 2011, announced that they were pregnant with their first child together.

For Future Baby "Jayonce"
On the 2011 MTV VMAs red carpet and following her VMAs performance, Beyonce showed off her baby bump for the first time, revealing she was four months pregnant with husband Jay-Z's child and setting a Twitter record for most tweeted about topic per second.

For Her Psychic Abilities
... Or for being able to really keep a secret! During an interview that aired in June 2011, with CNN's Piers Morgan, Beyonce said, "'I always said I was going to have a baby at 30. I'm 29 now." She added, "But I also said I was going to retire at 30. So I don't know. I am not retiring, I tell you." Was Beyonce already pregnant at the time of the interview and was she aware of it, or does she posses the super psychic ability to see the future?

For Her Awe-Inspiring, All Around Greatness
"Sometimes you need perspective. You've been right in front of greatness so often that you need to step back and see it again for the first time," Jay-Z once said of his mega talented wife, and while we don't spend nearly as much time with Beyonce as Jay does (OK, we don't spend any time with Beyonce at all), his words ring so true!


Watch Beyonce's '1+1' Video