Knowles was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Mathew Knowles, a successful record manager, and Tina Beyincé, a costume designer and hair stylist. Knowles' father is African American and her mother is of Creole African-American , Native American, and French) descent. Knowles was baptized after her mother's maiden name, as a tribute to her mother and to prevent the name from becoming obsolete, since only a few of the Beyincé males carry the name. Her maternal grandparents, Lumis Albert Beyincé and Agnéz Deréon, were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles. She is the older sister of Solange Knowles, a singer-songwriter and actress.
Knowles was schooled at St. Mary's Elementary School in Texas, where she enrolled in dance classes, including ballet and jazz. Her talent was discovered when her dance instructor began humming a song and she finished it, hitting the high-pitched notes. Although Knowles was a shy girl, her interest in music and performing began unexpectedly after joining in a school talent show. Once she had a moment on the stage, she overcame her shyness and wanted to become a singer and performer. By age seven, Knowles had entered her first talent show, singing John Lennon's "Imagine". She won the contest and was honored with standing ovation.

In the fall of 1990, Knowles enrolled in Parker Elementary School, a music magnate school in Houston, where she would perform on-stage with the school's choir. She also attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston and later went to Alief Elsik High School, located in the Houston neighborhood of Alief. Knowles was a soloist in the choir of her church, in St. John's United Methodist Church. She only lasted in the choir for two years, however, because she was preoccupied with her newfound career.At the age of eight, Knowles met LaTavia Roberson while in an audition for a girl group.

They, along with Knowles' friend Kelly Rowland were placed into a group that performed rapping and dancing. Originally named Girl's Tyme, they were eventually cut down to six members. With Knowles and Rowland, Gyrl's Time attracted audience nationally. West coast R&B producer, Arne Frager, flew into Houston to see them. He eventually brought them to his studio—The Plant Recording Studios—in Northern California, with Knowles' vocals being featured because Frager thought she had personality and the ability to sing. As part of efforts to sign Gyrl's Time to a major label record deal, Frager's strategy was to debut them in Star Search, the biggest talent show on national TV that time. They participated, but lost the competition because the song they performed was not good, as Knowles herself admitted. Knowles had her first "professional setback" after that defeat, but regained confidence after knowing that then-pop stars Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake had also experienced the same fate.


To manage the group, Mathew Knowles (who was at that time a medical-equipment salesman) resigned in 1995 from his job. He dedicated his time and established a "boot camp" for their training. The move reduced Knowles family's income by half and her parents separated because of the pressure. Not long after the inclusion of Rowland, Mathew cut the original lineup to four, with LeToya Luckett joining in 1993. Rehearsing in Tina's salon and their backyards, the group continued performing as an opening act for other established R&B girl groups of the time; Tina contributed to the cause by designing their costumes, which she continued to do throughout Destiny's Child era. With the continued support of Mathew, they auditioned before record labels and were finally signed to Elektra Records, only to be dropped months later before they could release an album.