Beyonce

= Beyonce = = Monique Sewell =

Biography
Beyonce was born Beyonce Giselle Knowles on September 4, 1981 in Houston Texas. As a child she loved to sing and dance and entered into many competitions and pageants. She won her first talent show at the age of seven, proving to her parents Mathew and Tina Knowles that she was serious in wanting to become a star. She was enrolled in Parker Elementary School, a music magnet school and later attended Alief Elsik high school and The High School for Performing Arts in Houston Texas. She continued to build on to her talents by playing the piano and singing in her church’s choir. At the age of eight, Beyonce joined a female group called Girl’s Tyme with members LaTavia Roberson and Kelly Rowland. They competed in Star Search, a televised talent competition where they lost to another group. After a dreaded period of disappointment, Beyonce and the other members moved on to form their own group called Destiney’s Child in nineteen ninety-three. Destiney’s Child was signed to Columbia Records in nineteen ninety-seven. The girls moved on to make their first album, which included the hit, “No,No,No.” They made their second album titled The Writings on the Wall in nineteen ninety-nine. The Writings of the Wall became a multi-platinum album, causing them to win the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or group with Vocals and The Best R&B song at the two thousand and one Grammys. After unfortunate turmoil between the members of Destiny’s child, there was a final addition of a new member to the group. Destiney’s Child moved on to make more hits with songs like: Independent Women Part 1, Survivor, Bootylicious, and The 8 Days of Christmas. The group made more multi-platinum records and won more awards, making them become well known worldwide. Although Beyonce loved being in the group, it was time for her to shine. Beyonce went on to become a solo artist in two thousand. Her first single Crazy In Love topped the charts, causing her own talents to be recognized as she toured throughout the country and the world. She moved on to make solo albums such as: B’Day and I Am…Sasha Fierce. Beyonce also won grammy’s and other awards as a solo artist. Not only was Beyonce a big star in the music business, she was emerging in her career as an actress. Beyonce played lead roles in films like: Carmen:A Hip Hopera, Austin Powers in Goldmember, The Fighting Temptations, Obsessed and DreamGirls where she was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards. She played supporting roles in The Pink Panther and Cadillac Records as well. With all of the success, there was no end to the ambitions and dreams of Beyonce. She went on to launch the popular clothing line The House of Dereon with her mother, whose clothes are geared towards young women of all shapes and sizes. Beyonce also gives back to the community. Along with fellow member and friend of the former Destiney’s Child group Kelly Rowland, Beyonce founded the Survivor Foundation, a charity project that raises money to provide housing for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Beyonce met and fell in love with the very successful rapper Jay-Z. They got married on April 4, 2008 in a private ceremony. Beyonce has become a household name. People of all ages around the country and in the world are familiar with and are in love with her songs. Even our President Barack Obama loves her, as she was invited to sing at his inauguration.

Trait Perspective
Using the Big Five Dimension of the Trait Approach Perspective is a great way to assess the personality of Beyonce. It helps us to organize her overall personality through the complexity of her actions, attitudes, and behaviors through the media. Beyonce seems to be a moderately extroverted person. Although Beyonce is energetic on stage, very enthusiastic about her career, and is known to be a very dominant force in the entertainment business, Beyonce is still a very shy person. The Beyonce we all see as she belts out her songs, wears revealing outfits, and dances around stage with an attitude of a true Diva, is very different from the Beyonce we see through her interviews. In Beyonce’s interviews, she is soft spoken and very humble. When asked by a fan how it felt to have one of the best bodies in the world, she humbly responded by saying that she did not view herself as having one of the best bodies because she is aware that she has some flaws, just like everyone else. Beyonce has a high level of agreeableness. She is very cooperative and friendly in her interviews as she opens up to fans about her life. While other celebrities are afraid to show their weaknesses and emotions during interviews, Beyonce answers with honesty and humor when asked certain questions such as her most embarrassing moments and her pet peeves. Beyonce is also low in neuroticism. She never seems uncomfortably nervous, tense, or moody. Her poise and demeanor while in the spotlight shows that she is very comfortable in her own skin and in her success. Beyonce is a highly conscientious individual. Her conscientiousness is evident through her many roles as a leader. Beyonce was the lead singer to one of the most successful and well known female groups of all time, Destiney’s Child; she also played the lead role as Deena Jones in the movie DreamGirls. She is very dependable and responsible. Beyonce makes it to almost all of her shows on time and makes sure that her fans get what they want. She practices day and night with her background dancers, singers, and band. She will not do a show if she believes that it is not up to the standards of her fans. Beyonce is also very cautious of her actions and behaviors. She does not have scandalous and reckless party photos as other celebrities like Britney Spears and/or Paris Hilton. Beyonce is aware that she is a role model to many girls and young women and is very conscientious in maintaining her image. Lastly, Beyonce has a high level of Openness. Openness also known as Openness to experience, culture, or intellect, applies to people who are witty, original, artistic, and appears to be imaginative. As an entertainer with many talents and abilities Beyonce fits this description perfectly. She sets many trends and styles in various aspects such as: clothes, music, and our overall culture as Americans. Her songs range from pop, to hip-hop and r and b, and even rock, captivating audiences everywhere. Her songs and dance moves are very creative and catchy. Men love her, women admire her, and children strive to be just like her.

Neo-Analytic and Ego Perspective
When we see celebrities like Beyonce we often wonder if their personalities on camera are the same as off camera. We also wonder what struggles they face within, as they live non-private and hectic lives. Are they the same care free, happy, and busy individuals while in the privacy of their own homes as on camera? Or are their on camera personalities just a persona covering many insecurities within? Carl Jung tackles these issues. One of his most famous theories is of the mind having three parts: The Ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. The collective unconscious is the deeper level of the unconscious shared with the rest of humanity. The archetypes, which are components of the collective unconsciousness, are emotional symbols that all individuals share. The animus/anima archetype is one that Beyonce often exhibits. It is in this archetype that the male element in a woman is portrayed, or the female element in a man is portrayed. Although it is not appearant due to her graciousness, Beyonce displays some male traits that are stereotypically known to be possessed by men in our society. She is very assertive and dominant when it comes to her career. In a mostly male dominated business, Beyonce breaks barriers by working her hardest-day and night to get what she can get accomplished. She also reveals her inner aggressiveness, as seen in her role in the movie Obsessed, where she physically fights off an intruder in order to protect the welfare of her family. Beyonce is also an entrepreneur right along with other male moguls, such as Sean P. Diddy Combs and her husband Sean Jay-Z Carter, as she is the head to her own clothing line labeled The House of Dereon. Beyonce is also associated with the complexes archetype. In the complexes archetype, a group of emotionally charged thoughts that are related to a particular theme are expressed. Beyonce is very versatile in her personality. Beyonce has dubbed the name Sasha Fierce as her alter ego, showing that there are different sides to her: the entertainer/performer and the average women. When Beyonce is on stage, she is Sasha Fierce- a woman with spice, fierceness, and attitude. When she is Beyonce in an interview, she is intellectual and honest. When she is back at home in Texas, or around her family and close friends, she is silly, fun, and even a little immature.

Beyonce’s ability to adapt to any environment, as the complexes archetype analysis has shown, is what helps her survive in the vicious circle of the paparazzi and the media that comes along with the atmosphere of being famous. She is however still a human being and is at times bothered by the negative aspects of fame that she faces. We can see through the Big Five Dimension of The Trait Approach, that through her moderate extroversion and high agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and low neuroticism, her personality is similar to ours. The neo-analytic and ego aspects of personality is a good tool on the assessment of personalities, especially in the case of celebrities, as it expresses how everyone has an outer appearance that changes in certain situations and that the outer may not be a great indicator of a person’s inner personality.

=References= Beyonce Knowles. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from [] Fieldman, Howard S., Miriam W. Schustack. (2006) //Personality:Classic Theories and Modern Research//. Boston: Pearson A& B. pgs. 113, 267