Blue Ivy Carter was born on January 7, 2012. She is an American singer, actress, and dancer. She is the first child of singer Beyoncé and rapper Jay-Z. Two days after her birth, the magazine Time called Carter "the most famous baby in the world." On the same day, her breathing, cries, and coos were included in Jay-Z's 2012 song "Glory." This made her the youngest person to have a song on a Billboard chart, according to the Guinness World Records. She has appeared in movies and TV shows, including impersonations on Saturday Night Live and RuPaul's Drag Race.
In 2019, Carter released a song called "Brown Skin Girl" with Beyoncé, Wizkid, and Saint Jhn. The song reached the Billboard Hot 100 and won Best Music Video at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. This earned her a second Guinness World Record as the youngest person to receive a Grammy Award as a main contributor and the second youngest overall. The song also won an NAACP Image Award and a BET Her Award, making her the youngest BET Award recipient. In 2024, Carter made her first movie appearance as a voice actress in Mufasa: The Lion King, where she played Princess Kiara.
Early life and education
On August 28, 2011, Beyoncé announced her pregnancy during a performance of "Love On Top" at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. She showed she was pregnant by unbuttoning her jacket and touching her stomach. Blue Ivy Carter was born on January 7, 2012, to Beyoncé and Jay-Z at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, New York. CBS said Carter was "possibly the world's most famous baby, aside from Prince George and North West." Two days after her birth, Time called Carter "the most famous baby in the world."
After her birth, Beyoncé and Jay-Z tried to get trademarks for their daughter's name on items like books, shampoos, and video games. Beyoncé said Carter is a "cultural icon" during the trademark process. Through her mother, Carter is the granddaughter of Tina and Mathew Knowles, a first cousin once removed of Angela Beyincé, and the niece of singer Solange Knowles. Media attention has focused on Carter since birth because of her famous parents and family. In 2018, Carter started first grade at the Center for Early Education, a private school in West Hollywood, California.
Career
Rolling Stone called Carter the "New Princess of Pop." She appeared on her father's song "Glory," which was released two days after her birth. She was crying and making sounds on the track. Because of "Glory," Carter became the youngest person to appear on the Billboard charts. In 2015, she sang with a group on the Coldplay song "Up&Up" from their album A Head Full of Dreams.
In 2020, Carter sang on the track "Brown Skin Girl," which received praise and awards. She was the youngest person to win a BET Award when she received the BET Her Award. She also won the Soul Train Music Award for The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award and the prize for Outstanding Duo, Group, or Collaboration at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards. In November 2020, Carter read aloud the book Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, which tells the story of an African American father braiding his daughter's hair for the first time. Variety suggested she might be nominated for a Grammy for her spoken word performance.
On January 21, 2023, Carter performed "Brown Skin Girl" with her mother onstage during a private show in Dubai. Starting May 26, 2023, she joined the Renaissance World Tour as a dancer and performed songs like "My Power" and "Black Parade" with her mother. She is currently a full-time dancer for the Cowboy Carter Tour.
Public image
In 2012, the town of Hvar in Croatia gave Blue Ivy Carter the title of honorary citizen. Before Carter was born, her parents visited Hvar, where Beyoncé thought about naming her daughter Blue Ivy.
In August 2014, Carter appeared with her father, Jay-Z, on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards. Together, they gave Beyoncé the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Carter has continued to attend music award events with her parents, such as the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, where she became famous for the cost of the clothes she wore.
In January 2020, just before Carter’s eighth birthday, rapper Megan Thee Stallion shared photos of Carter, Beyoncé, and herself on Instagram and Twitter. A writer for Vanity Fair named K. Austin Collins and an editor for Harper’s Bazaar named Violet Lucca commented on Carter’s appearance. Both later apologized and removed their posts after receiving criticism.
In February 2012, a comedy sketch on Saturday Night Live showed a baby Carter being sung to by the band Bon Iver, played by actor Justin Timberlake.
In January 2013, another sketch on the same show showed a depiction of Carter’s nursery, which was described as having one of Diana Ross’s most famous wigs.
In 2018, Carter was impersonated by drag queen The Vixen during an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race called "Snatch Game" on Season 10. A writer named Into said the portrayal focused on "brat" behavior without exploring more complex aspects of Carter’s character.
In 2023, the seventh episode of the Apple TV+ series Extrapolations, titled "The Going-Away Party," included a reference to an imagined holiday album by Blue Ivy Carter.