10 min readWhen Beyoncé announced she was pregnant with first child Blue Ivy Carter at the MTV Video Music Awards, her fans were ecstatic. The singer was three years into her marriage to Jay-Z and touched her stomach during her performance. She told the crowd, “I have a surprise.”
Blue was born on Jan. 7, 2012, and what’s no surprise is what a talented and accomplished young woman she has become in the last 14 years. She has followed in both her mother and father’s footsteps as an award-winning singer, dancer, and artist. She made her acting debut at 12 as well, voicing Kiara in Mufasa: The Lion King. She’s also a big sister to her twin siblings, Rumi and Sir, who were born in June 2017.
Here’s everything to know about the eldest Carter and her path so far.
Who is Blue Ivy Carter?
Blue is Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s oldest daughter. She was born in Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, so she is a native New Yorker just like her dad. Beyoncé and Jay-Z debuted their first pictures of her on their Tumblr HelloBlueIvyCarter with a handwritten note that read, “We welcome you to share in our joy. Thank you for respecting our privacy during this beautiful time in our lives.”
It was signed: “The Carter Family.”
Jay-Z was very quick to release a song about Blue called “Glory,” and it featured B.I.C. (Blue Ivy Carter) with samples of Blue crying at the end of the track.
“Most amazing feeling I feel, words can’t describe the feeling for real,” he rapped. “Baby I paint the sky blue, my greatest creation was you, you. Glory.”
In the lyrics, he mentions that Blue was conceived in Paris, and then got more serious and talked about the anxieties he suffered during Beyoncé’s pregnancy.
“False alarms and false stops, all made better by the sound of your heart / All the pain of the last time, pray so hard it was the last time.”
Now 13 years old, the teen already has a number of flourishing careers in entertainment and fashion. She has even dabbled in book narration.
What have her parents said about her?
After being named the World’s Most Beautiful Woman in People in 2012, Beyoncé discussed how motherhood changed her feelings about herself.
“I feel more beautiful than I’ve ever felt because I’ve given birth,” she said. “I have never felt so connected, never felt like I had such a purpose on this earth.”
On LeBron James’ show, The Shop: Uninterrupted, Jay-Z also discussed how fatherhood changed him.
“It’s amazing. It’s a very grounding thing,” he said. “I didn’t learn how to swim until Blue was born. There goes everything you need to know. This is a metaphor for our relationship. If she ever fell in the water, and I couldn’t get her, I couldn’t even fathom that thought. I gotta learn how to swim. That’s it. That was the beginning of our relationship.”
Beyoncé shared a bit about the actual childbirth in a 2013 interview with Vogue, saying, “My family and my closest people were there when I gave birth. Everything that scared me just was not present in that room. So for me to really let go and really appreciate every contraction … It was the best day of my life.”
Though Blue has already shown an interest and talent in many facets of entertainment, Jay-Z told The Sunday Times that he and Beyoncé don’t want to push her toward anything.
“Feeling loved is the most important thing a child needs, you know?” he said. “Not, ‘Here’s this business that I’m going to hand over to you, that I’m creating for you.’ What if my child doesn’t want to be in music or sports?”
He added, “I have no idea, right? But as long as your child feels supported and feels loved, I think anything is possible.”
Does Blue Ivy sing, too?
After her debut on “Glory,” the young star received a Guinness World Record award for being the youngest person to have a song appear on a Billboard chart. The song charted for U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
She later achieved another world record, this time for “youngest individually credited winner at the Grammy Awards,” when Beyoncé’s track “Brown Skin Girl” from The Lion King: The Gift won Best Music Video in 2021. Blue sings in the song and has a writing credit. She was only 9 years old at the time.
She raps too, making appearances on her dad’s 4:44 album.
When did Blue Ivy start dancing on the Renaissance Tour?
Blue started dancing early in life and has appeared in Beyoncé’s music videos for “Spirit” and “Formation.” In 2022, she danced at the Academy Awards when her mom performed “Be Alive” from the movie King Richard.
Fans were still surprised and thrilled when she made her first appearance on stage alongside her mom in 2023 during Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour. She first danced in Paris during “My Power” and “My Parade.”
“Give it up for Blue,” Beyoncé said as the crowd went wild. Later, Beyoncé made a rare comment on Instagram to celebrate her daughter’s achievement. She wrote, “My beautiful first born 🙏🏾 I’m so proud and thankful to be your mama. You bring us so much joy, my sweet angel.”
Blue continued to make appearances throughout the tour. In July 2023, her grandmother Tina Knowles told People, “She’s having the time of her life, and I couldn’t be more proud of her because she really worked hard. She is 11 years old, and she had one week to prepare, and she’s just getting better and better. So, I’m the proud grandma, always.”
What are some other major public appearances Blue Ivy has made?
This February, Blue walked onstage with Beyoncé at the 2025 Grammy Awards as her mom accepted her first-ever Album of the Year award for Cowboy Carter. Blue held Beyoncé’s hand as she took the stage and then stood proudly beside her while she spoke.
In February 2024, she also appeared onstage at the Grammys when her dad accepted the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. During his acceptance speech, he compared the award to a “sippy cup.”
“I used to say it was a sippy cup for Blue, but Blue’s grown up now she doesn’t take sippy cups. And she has her own Grammys,” he joked.
About a week later, they headed to the Super Bowl together.
In November 2023, Tina Knowles shared a clip of Beyoncé and Blue as they walked the red carpet for the London premiere of Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé. She captioned the post, “This has me in tears right now.”
In 2019, Beyoncé and Blue Ivy wore coordinating outfits to the premiere of Disney’s The Lion King.
In 2018, the family made an adorable trio at the Grammys.
When her dad was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Blue was included in a video tribute of friends and colleagues reciting some of his lyrics.
“Congrats S. Carter, ghost writer / You paid the right price, so we just make your hits tighter,” Blue rapped.
What are some of Blue Ivy’s other interests outside of singing and dancing?
Tina Knowles has offered most of the intel on how Blue spends her time when she’s not in the limelight.
“You can sing dance, play basketball, play volleyball, paint, draw, sculpt, sew, write poetry, write songs, create, act, play the piano! I could go on and on,” the proud grandma wrote on Instagram for her granddaughter’s birthday. “Because there’s really nothing that you can’t do.”
She’s also been a huge fan of makeup from a young age.
“She’s quite a makeup artist. She’s amazing,” Knowles told Entertainment Tonight. “She puts stones (on her eyes) and does all this fancy stuff. She can do a perfect cat eye. She’s a little artist.”
Blue has appeared as a model for her mom’s IVY PARK x adidas clothing collection, which is named after her. In 2020, it was announced she’d be narrating the Hair Love audiobook, written by former football player Matthew A. Cherry. The picture book is a story about a Black father who learns to help his daughter with her hair while his wife is in the hospital.
Has Blue done any acting?
Blue had a big voice acting role. In April 2024, Disney released the teaser trailer for The Lion King prequel Mufasa: The Lion King. The company revealed that Beyoncé, who voiced Nala in the 2019 remake of the film, would reprise her role. Blue joined the cast as Kiara, the daughter of Nala and Simba (voiced by Donald Glover).
The film came out on December 20.
Did Blue win any awards in 2024?
On June 30, Blue became a two-time BET Award winner, taking home the ceremony’s YoungStars Award. She first won a BET Award in 2020 when she, Beyoncé, Wizkid, and SAINt JHN were honored with the BET Her Award for their song “Brown Skin Girl.”
Beyoncé shared a congratulatory message to Blue on her Instagram Story, reposting Parkwood Entertainment’s post fêting Blue’s achievement. “Congratulations to Blue Ivy Carter on winning the 2024 BET YoungStars Award!” Parkwood wrote.
What is Blue like?
Blue’s grandmother, Tina Knowles, offered quite a bit of detail about Blue on July 1, 2024. She shared Blue is very artistically talented and an impeccable singer on Instagram.
Knowles wrote:
Congratulations my Blue Blue! I marvel at your talent, your beauty, your intelligence, but I am most proud of your kindness and down to earth attitude. Never attention seeking, just cool and chill as a cucumber all the time. Yesterday you played the piano for just me like someone who has been taking lessons for years. But you are self taught. One day I hope you will let me post it and brag like other grandmas get to do. But for now you made me swear to not share 😂 You play sports, play the piano, dance like a pro in front of 80k people. Paint like a fine artist, draw so well, sing so beautifully. (Voice like an angel). Voiced an award-winning, best-selling children’s book. You are also in a soon to come blockbuster movie Lion King. One of the youngest recipients of a Grammy Award. And you turned only 12 years old a few months ago. And in spite of all the challenged adults who struggle with the green-eyed monster disease, in true Carter/Knowles/Beyince tradition it just motivates you to keep it moving. Congratulations BIC you deserve everything you work hard to get. Thank you BET #betawards for this honor. ❤️❤️❤️❤️🔥🔥🔥🌹🌹🌹👍🏽👍🏽👏🏽👏🏽
How does Beyoncé view Blue’s talent?
Beyoncé told GQ for its October 2024 issue that Blue is a “natural” and gifted in several disciplines.
“Blue is an artist,” Beyoncé began. “She has great taste in music and fashion. She is a fantastic editor, painter, and actress. She has been creating characters since she was three. She’s a natural, but I did not want Blue onstage. Blue wanted it for herself. She took it seriously, and she earned it. And most importantly, she had fun! We all watched her grow more and more every night before our eyes.”
She added that generally, she has worked “extremely hard on is making sure my kids can have as much normalcy and privacy as possible, (and) ensuring my personal life isn’t turned into a brand. It’s very easy for celebrities to turn our lives into performance art. I have made an extreme effort to stay true to my boundaries and protect myself and my family. No amount of money is worth my peace.”
What did Blue wear to Mufasa: The Lion King L.A. premiere?
Blue celebrated her acting debut in two gold dresses. She arrived on the red carpet in a custom Christian Siriano ball gown with a sweetheart neckline. Inside, she changed into a sparkly gold minidress.
What did Beyoncé say about Blue’s Mufasa premiere night?
Beyoncé posted an Instagram with photos of Blue in her first Christian Siriano gown. The singer wrote to her daughter, “My gorgeous baby girl. This is your night. You worked hard and you did such a beautiful job as the voice of Kiara. Your family could not be prouder. Keep shining.”
Has Blue won any awards in 2025?
Yes. On February 19, Blue won the Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance award at the 2025 NAACP Image Awards for her role as Princess Kiara in Mufasa: The Lion King. The honor was announced during the show’s non-televised pre-show ceremony.
Beyoncé also took home two awards, winning Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Album for Cowboy Carter.
What has Blue’s extended family members said about her?
In February 2025, Blue’s grandmother Tina Knowles shared new insights into Blue’s personality and career ambitions. During a February 24 appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Knowles joked that the 13-year-old is “the manager” of the family, referencing Blue’s viral moment at the 2025 Grammys when she appeared to tell Beyoncé to stand up after winning Best Country Album. “She’s a bossy little Capricorn like her grandma,” Knowles quipped.
Knowles said it’s too soon to tell whether Blue will become a musician like her parents. “She’s a jack of all trades,” Knowles explained. “She can do so many things, so we don’t know—she’s only 13.”
Has Blue performed on the Cowboy Carter Tour?
Blue joined Beyoncé onstage during opening night of the Cowboy Carter Tour in Los Angeles. She danced in several songs, including “America Has a Problem” and “Deja Vu.” She also appeared during “Protector” with her younger sister, Rumi, who made her stage debut. They continued to appear with their mother throughout the tour.
How did Blue’s family celebrate her 14th birthday?
The family fêted the occasion privately in January 2026, but her grandmother Tina Knowles shared a public tribute to Blue, featuring photos from every year of her life.
Knowles wrote about Blue’s growth in her caption:
I remember the day that we found out about you being in your mom‘s womb. We could not have been more excited! We were told that you were the size of a blueberry and that is where your name came from! We all prayed together for you every single day till you were 12 weeks old in your moms belly! Then we prayed individually until you arrived months later. It was apparent that you were a fighter from the beginning, and you talked very early. And you were always smart as a whip we played princess and Barbie dolls all the time, and your imagination was incredible. To say that I’m a proud grandmother is an understatement! Even with all of your accomplishments and success, you remain a very sweet, kind humble human being. ❤️ To my manager, makeup artist, fashion adviser, my love. Happy Birthday ❤️
