Time flies when you’re taking the world by storm.
Believe it or not, baby Beyoncé, who debuted at the 2011 MTV VMAs, has grown into a beautiful teenager. Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z’s eldest child Blue Ivy Carter has officially turned 14!
Born on January 7, 2012, Blue Ivy has built up quite an iconic resume throughout her young life. She first hit the Billboard charts when she was just hours old, after Jay-Z sampled her screams and sang “Glory.” Since then, she’s won a Grammy, appeared in several of her parents’ videos, made her feature film debut, and toured the world with her superstar mom.
Below, check out some of Blue Ivy Carter’s biggest accomplishments to date, from touring with Beyoncé to starring in The Lion King.
She stole the show during Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour
Julian Dakuduk (via PictureGroup/Shutterstock)
Following her Mother’s Halftime Show performance and lively appearances on the Renaissance World Tour, Blue Ivy has stepped up her game for the 2025 Cowboy Carter Tour. Over three months and 32 shows, the then 13-year-old genius danced with her mother throughout the three-hour concert. She took center stage several times solo, including a viral dance cover of Beyoncé’s 2006 hit “Deja Vu,” which fans affectionately dubbed “Deja Blue.”
She performed at the NFL’s Christmas Day halftime show.
Alex Slits/Getty
When Beyoncé took to the lawn to perform at the Christmas halftime show in her hometown of Houston, she had Blue Ivy by her side. The 12-year-old performed with her mother and other dancers wearing a cowboy hat and a “Cowboy Carter” sash.
she starred in her first feature film
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Blue Ivy ended 2024 with a new milestone. She made her feature film debut as Kiara in the prequel to The Lion King, Mufasa: The Lion King.
“Her parents were not involved in her booking this film,” director Barry Jenkins tells PEOPLE.
“You know, she was reading this book, this audiobook, ‘Hair Love,’ with my friend Matthew Cherry, and I really loved her voice, because when this movie opens, it’s all voices. I could see that she brings this really wonderful innocence, but also the highly evolved cognitive abilities of a child,” he explained.
She joined Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour
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Even if you’re Blue Ivy, you can’t become Beyoncé’s backup dancer without trying.
Back in 2023, Blue Ivy joined Beyoncé on stage as one of her dancers during her Renaissance tour. Her multiple show appearances were scheduled for one night only. However, after reading negative comments about her first performance, the then 11-year-old insisted on trying again.
Just like her famous mother, Blue also went to work and put in even more rehearsal hours until she perfected her craft.
“I still get goosebumps when I see her get on stage,” proud father Jay-Z said in an interview with CBS Morning’s Gayle King.
“She was born into a life that she didn’t want. So from the time she was born, even as a little girl, she was in the spotlight, in the public eye, and everyone had an opinion about how she did her hair,” he said. “So when she stands on that stage and takes back her power, and the song is called ‘My Power,’ you couldn’t have written a better script.”
she danced at the oscars
Blue Ivy made a brief appearance at the 2022 Academy Awards while her mother performed the song “Be Alive” from the movie King Richard. Towards the end of the dramatic number, viewers spotted Beyoncé’s mini-me in the middle of the show (spot her at the 5-minute mark of the video). Like the other performers, Blue wore neon green and silver jewelry. The only evidence of her special status as Bey’s daughter were the sunglasses draped over her eyes.
She helped invite her father to the Rock Hall
In a pre-recorded video released in November 2021, Blue Ivy, then 9, joined her mother Beyoncé and other celebrities to commemorate her father’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by reciting some of his famous lyrics.
“Congratulations, Ghostwriter S. Carter/You paid the right price and we’ll only make your hits tighter,” she said with an adorable laugh as she read out a censored line from Jay-Z’s 1998 song “Ride or Die.”
she is a grammy award winner
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Blue Ivy Carter won her first Grammy at the 2021 Grammys when she won Best Video for “Brown Skin Girl” alongside her superstar mother. At the age of nine, she became the second-youngest Grammy winner in history.
The mother-daughter duo shared the award with ‘Brown Skin Girl’ co-creator Wizkid and the video’s director Jen Nkiru.
She’s also a BET Award winner!
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
In early 2020, Blue was nominated for and won her first BET Award. That summer, she won the Outstanding Duo/Group Award for her contribution to “Brown Skin Girl.”
She narrated the audiobook
Hair Love author Matthew A. Cherry announced on Instagram and Twitter on November 9, 2020 that Blue will be the narrator of the audio version of his children’s book.
Alongside the announcement, Cherry shared a short clip of Blue’s voice, in which Blue introduced the book and herself over the cover photo.
“Dreamscape presents ‘Hair Love’ by Matthew A. Cherry,” she said. “Narrated by Blue Ivy Carter.”
Hair Love is the moving story of a black father who learns how to do his young daughter’s hair while his wife is hospitalized. The young protagonist soon realizes that her father doesn’t quite know what to do with her hair, but they work together to find a solution.
she has a talent for makeup
Little Miss Carter’s makeup skills should not be questioned. Just ask my grandmother, Tina Knowles. The fashion designer and businesswoman shared a photo of her granddaughter’s amazing work on Instagram on Halloween, writing, “My Blue is an amazing makeup artist! She made me a skeleton grandma!!❤️❤️.”
In the photo, Knowles-Lawson was completely transformed into a creepy ghost with dark, hollow eyes and a crack in his skull.
she gives instructions to beyoncé
Beyoncé is a masterful director, but even she is willing to take notes from Blue Ivy. For her mother Tina’s 2020 Wearable Art Gala, Beyoncé was asked to submit her best “corny joke,” one of Tina’s signature parts.
In this clip shared by Waco Theater, Beyoncé can be seen interpreting the joke “Why does Snoop Dogg need an umbrella?” for the first time.
“Mom, you can’t use that voice,” Blue scolded her mother, eventually physically trying to stop her from speaking. This proves that even superstars can embarrass preteens.
The famous behind-the-scenes clip from the Renaissance World Tour also revealed that Blue had a say in her mother’s setlist. When the singer brought up the idea of cutting her song “Diva”, her daughter protested (successfully!).
she is a video star
Beyonce/Instagram
It was impossible to steal her mother’s charm in the Black Is King visual album, but Blue shined in multiple cameos and also showed off her impressive dancing skills.
Other notable cameos included the star’s younger brother, twins Rumi and Sir, his father Jay-Z, Naomi Campbell, Pharrell, Jesse Reyes, Lupita Nyong’o, Tiwa Savage, Tierra Whack, and numerous other black and African actors and Afrobeat stars.
She is a powerful role model for young girls around the world
Perhaps the most memorable part of Beyoncé’s “Spirit” video is the first part that features her little me. Less than a minute into the video, the singer was sitting alone in the middle of the desert when the camera suddenly flashed to Blue, who was wearing a dress almost identical to her mother’s gown. Blue is seen walking up to Beyoncé and staring off into the distance, the wind blowing in her hair, before coming into focus. Then she held out her hand to her mother and gave her a gentle smile.
She is an NAACP Award Winner
Queen Blue won the Outstanding Duo/Group Award at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards for their contribution to “Brown Skin Girl,” making them the youngest artists to win a major award. Tina Knowles praised her granddaughter’s big milestone on Instagram, writing, “Grandma is so proud of you ❤️❤️❤️ 8 years old!!!!🙏🏾❤️ You are giving a voice to all beautiful little brown girls ❤️.”
she has her own kind of animation
When his daughter revealed that she was a gifted freestyle rapper from an early age, her father Jay-Z found a way to highlight his daughter’s talent in time for her birthday.
The rapper posted a video titled “Blue’s Freestyle,” a 4-minute, 44-second cut from the album, on his daughter’s sixth birthday. The video, first published on his TIDAL service, shows a school talent show in progress, with little Blue waiting in the wings for a ballet routine to be introduced.
Her parents, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, and her siblings, Rumi and Sir, are seen watching her performance. Blue, wearing a pink ballerina outfit, performs a short routine, then looks up, raises her fist, catches the falling microphone in her hand, and begins freestyle rapping.
Blue has featured heavily in her father’s work, including the “Family Feud” music video, along with her mother and several other A-list stars.
She appeared on the “Billboard” chart as a newborn
Before the young star was even potty trained, her newborn cries were sampled in her father Jay-Z’s song “Glory.” Her lovely voice made her the youngest person ever to chart on the Billboard charts.
