Beyonc©♭ - Beyoncegraphica: a graphic biography of the genius of Beyonc©♭

Queen Bey strutting her stuff in Sacramento, performing songs from her album I Am Sasha Fierce in 2009.

We know that Queen Bey is at the top of her league when it comes to musical success, but how does she measure up against her fellow female artists when it comes to height? She reportedly stands at 5 foot 6.5 inches, so shes sitting pretty in the middle.

Iconic? Beyonc is as big as they get, and just keeps on getting bigger. I dont like to gamble, shes said, but if theres one thing Im willing to bet on, its myself.

The halo seems secure and the formation is solid. We can safely double down on Beyoncs stellar status and pop pre-eminence. Shes come a long, long way since her birth in Houston, Texas, as the Eighties kicked into gear, in September 1981.

Her dad, Mathew, a Xerox salesman, would famously go on to manage his daughter. Her mother, Celestine, owned a hairdressing salon. And her younger sister, Solange, has made her own headway. Unsurprisingly, Beyonc Giselle Knowles was a hit in dancing and singing classes at school, winning her first talent contest at age seven later attending a performing arts high school. She and young friend Kelly Rowland joined their first girl group, Girls Tyme, as kids, before Mathew decided to get serious and almost literally bet the house on his daughter becoming a star. We were waking up every morning, singing all day and loving every minute of it, Beyonc has said. A record deal finally gave the girls the platform they needed, and Beyonc turned that platform into a global stage.

I DONT LIKE TO GAMBLE, BUT IF THERES ONE THING IM WILLING TO BET ON, ITS MYSELF.

Destinys Child as they became known in 1994 first nibbled at the charts in 1997 with No, No, No Part 1 before receiving public affirmation with the likes of Say My Name, Bills, Bills, Bills and Jumpin, Jumpin. Line-up changes ensued and the trio of Knowles, Rowland and Michelle Williams hit the next level with international smashes and indelible pop hits such as Independent Women, Survivor (also the name of their third album) and Bootylicious.

Much like Diana Ross parting ways with The Supremes in an earlier era, Beyonc was encouraged to go solo. At first not every step was an unqualified success though her role as Foxxy Cleopatra in the Austin Powers franchise certainly raised her profile then, after a telling (in retrospect) feature spot on Jay-Zs 03 Bonnie & Clyde, the 2003 album Dangerously in Love pushed the green light on her superstar status. Crazy in Love led the charge, pursued by Baby Boy and Naughty Girl. Five Grammys and a tour alongside Missy Elliott and Alicia Keys sealed the appeal, and Houston had only one hometown heroine in mind to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl in February 2004.

The Destinys Child name was revisited for one more album, Destiny Fulfilled, before it became clear that Beyoncs star was too hot to contain within a collective. Her second solo album, BDay, coincided with her twenty-fifth birthday, and sold like, well, hot birthday cakes. Lead single Dj Vu featured that man Jay-Z. Further film roles followed, with the musical Dreamgirls loosely based on The Supremes story succeeding both commercially and critically.

She just kept ascending. Her marriage to Jay-Z in 2008 preceded the paradigm shift of the I Am Sasha Fierce album, which introduced the concept of Beyoncs extroverted alter ego, who she nurtured to overcome stage fright. As Beyonc herself has admitted, Im not like her in real life at all. It also gave us Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), an iconic song with, arguably, an even more iconic video. (It was this video that led to an unforgettable, slightly excruciating episode at an awards ceremony, involving Kanye West and Taylor Swift.) A duet with Lady Gaga (Telephone) provided another zeitgeist-capturing flourish before Beyonc took a nine-month break to travel and be inspired by things again.

When she returned her mystique had only grown and she was the one doing the inspiring. In 2011 she became the first female solo artist to headline the Glastonbury Festival in over twenty years. Her album 4 yielded the impactful Run the World (Girls), and 2012 began with another Carter girl introduced to the world as Beyonc gave birth to her first child, Blue Ivy Carter. The next world tour, which ran to 132 dates, bore the keenly debated name The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour.

Her exalted status was now such that she could ignore certain tried and trusted career path rules, and rewrite the textbooks. Her fifth album,