Solange Piaget Knowles, known professionally simply as Solange, was born June 24, 1986 in Houston, Texas. Solange is the younger sister of R&B star Beyonce, and has made her own successful efforts in the entertainment industry as an actress, singer-songwriter, producer, model, and dancer.
At age 14, Solange was asked by Beyonce to perform as a dancer with her group Destiny’s Child, after one of the dancers had bailed on the tour. She also temporarily replaced Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland during a performance when Rowland broke her toe backstage. Given her connections and her increasing exposure, it was only a matter of time before Knowles’s parents, Mathew and Tina Knowles, allowed her to begin her own recording career. Mathew signed Solange to his recording company, Music World Entertainment.
At 14, Solange began working on her debut album Solo Star, which she released in 2003. The album’s first single, “Feelin You (Part II)” went to number 3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales. The album debuted at 49 on the Billboard 200, and went to 23 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album chart. Following her own album, Solange contributed songs to Destiny’s Child and its members’ solo efforts, including Beyonce’s “Get Me Bodied.
Solange released her second studio album, Sol-Angel anf the Hadley St. Dreams. The lead single off the album, “I Decided” went to #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles charts.
Solange has also starred in the films Johnson Family Vacation (2006) and Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006), and helped launch an apparel line, Dereon, with Beyonce and their mother Tina. She also produced the CD Baby Jamz, a hip hop-rhythm inspired album for preschoolers.
Solange has a son, born in 2004, with her former husband, football player Daniel Smith.