Beyonce is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and she has performed in many singing and dancing competitions as a child. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B group Destiny’s Child. Take a look below for 30 more interesting and bizarre facts about Beyonce.

1. When she was 7 years old, Beyonce beat 15 and 16 year olds in a talent show by singing John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

2. During Destiny’s Child rise, she experience a period of depression. This came from a combination of the media fallout and an intense work schedule.

3. She’s the most nominated woman in Grammy history and has won 22 awards, as a solo artist and with Destiny’s Child, so far in her career.

4. Her biggest musical influence is Michael Jackson, whom she studied and imitated as a young girl. She wrote on her website on the five year anniversary of his death, “Michael Jackson changed me, and helped me to become the artist I am. Thank you Michael.”

5. While growing up, kids in school made fun of her ears, claiming that they were bigger than her head.

6. Her name is a tweaked version of her mother Tina’s maiden name Beyince. Through her mother’s Louisiana Creole background, Beyonce has a mix of African, French, Native American and Irish ancestry. She’s also a descendant of the Acadian leader joseph Broussard who was considered a hero in the 18th century French and Indian Wars.

7. In the early 2000s, she made an alter ego named Sasha Fierce to remind herself that her stage persona is different than who she really is. However, in 2010, Beyonce admitted that she didn’t need to make the distinctions anymore because she was older and had a stronger sense of who she was.

8. In 2007, she appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue, which makes her the first non supermodel and non athlete to be on the cover.

9. Her favorite number is 4. She titled her fourth studio album “4, her mother and Jay-Z were born on the 4th day, and she and Jay-Z got their ring fingers tattooed with the Roman numeral “IV”.

10. In 2010, she was named The World’s Most Beautiful Woman by People magazine.

11. Beyonce’s singing talent was discovered when she was 8 years old. Her teacher found that when she was singing a song, she could hit all the high notes.

12. She served as an ambassador for the 2012 World Humanitarian Day.

13. Beyonce established the Beyonce Cosmetology Center at the nonprofit Phoenix House in Brooklyn, New York.

14. Her style icon is the British supermodel Kate Moss.

15. When she was 8 years old, she met her future Destiny’s Child band mates Kelly Rowland and LaTavia Robertson in an audition. They were placed with 3 other girls as part of the all girl group Girl’s Tyme.

16. Some of her nicknames are Bey B, Queen B and Princess of Pop.

17. Beyonce and her former Destiny’s Child bandmate, Kelly Rowland, created the Survivor Foundation, which provides relief to victims of natural disasters. She also built the Knowledge Temenos Place Apartments in the greater Houston area.

18. In 2010, Guinness World Records named Beyonce and Jay-Z the Highest Earning Power Couple, after earning $122 million that year.

19. Her mother, Tina Beyonce, is a hairstylist and a costume designer. Her father, Matthew Knowles, is a record manager.

20. Her pregnancy announcement earned the Guinness World Record title for most tweets per second.

21. Jay Z once rapped that he and Beyonce had a miscarriage before Blue Ivy. She even talked about it in her documentary.

22. Their first daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, was born on January 7, 2012. Two days later, Blue became the youngest person to be on the Billboard charts when her cries were recorded on the Jay-Z song “Glory.”

23. She started painting when she was 17 years old and she was inspired by Vincent van Gogh.

24. When Target refused to stock her self-titled album because she didn’t give them the first week exclusive, she went to Walmart and handed out $50 gift cards to everyone in the store.

25. Beyonce’s ex boyfriend, Lyndall Locke, cheated on her multiple times. In her album Lemonade, she also made hints that Jay-Z has cheated on her as well.

26. She and Jay-Z talked on the phone for a year before they went on their first date.

27. Her mother said that Beyonce had imaginary friends when she was a child. She said, “At lunchtime, I’d go to her school and she’d be pushing an empty swing, acting like there was somebody on it.”

28. According to her sister, Solange Knowles, Beyonce was very protective over her while growing up. She said, “I can’t tell you how many times in junior high school, how many boys and girls can say Beyonce came and threatened to put some hands on them if they bothered me.”

29. She records and archives every single interview she does so that she can never be misquoted.

30. Beyonce once walked out on a shoot with the famous photographer David LaChapelle after he told her to strip and cover her body in honey.