Beverley Knight was born on Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973 and is an English singer, songwriter, actress and radio personality.
65 Facts About Beverley Knight
2.
Beverley Knight released her first album, The B-Funk, in 1995.
3.
Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin, Knight has released eight studio albums.
4.
In 2006, Beverley Knight solidified her transition into the mainstream by starring in the BBC music TV series Just the Two of Us, a role she reprised in 2007.
5.
Beverley Knight has hosted the BBC Radio 2 show, Beverley's Gospel Nights, which explored the origins and impact of gospel music.
6.
Beverley Knight is an ambassador for many charities such as Christian Aid and has travelled to areas affected by disease and poverty to help raise awareness.
7.
Beverley Knight is an active campaigner for anti-Aids organisations such as the Stop AIDS Campaign and The Terrence Higgins Trust and is a vocal campaigner against homophobic lyrics in urban music.
8.
On 4 December 2009, at the invitation of Sarah Jane Brown, wife of the then prime minister Gordon Brown, Beverley Knight performed the two songs "Shoulda Woulda Coulda" and "Gold" to an invited audience at 10 Downing Street in support of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood Million Mums charity.
9.
In September 2005, Beverley Knight was made an honorary Doctor of Music by the University of Wolverhampton.
10.
Beverley Knight supported Prince during The Earth Tour: 21 Nights in London and performed at the concert after parties.
11.
In February 2008, Beverley Knight was flown to Los Angeles, by Prince to perform at his prestigious post Oscars party, at the singer's purple home, in front of and with A-list stars including Stevie Wonder, she received a standing ovation from stars that included Quincy Jones, particularly for her rendition of Rock Steady.
12.
The performance was praised, and a recorded version by Beverley Knight reached No 101 on iTunes, her first charting single since "Soul Survivor" and highest since "Beautiful Night" in 2010 and 2009, respectively.
13.
Beverley Knight has been nominated for two Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Actress in a Musical in 2015 and 2022 for her performances in Memphis and The Drifters Girl; she won in 2023, on her third nomination, the Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Sylvia.
14.
Beverley Knight made her first foray into musical theatre in September 2013, replacing Heather Headley as Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard.
15.
In 2019, Beverley Knight celebrated 25 years in music with the release of the live album BK25 which was recorded with the Leo Green Orchestra.
16.
Beverley Knight attended Woodfield Infant and Junior Schools, and Highfields School in Wolverhampton.
17.
Beverley Knight was born to Jamaican parents and grew up in a strict Pentecostal household where church attendance was an important element in the life of the family.
18.
Beverley Knight began writing her own songs at the age of 13; however, it was not until she turned 17 that she began to take it seriously.
19.
Beverley Knight began performing the songs she had written on stage in local clubs in her home town.
20.
Beverley Knight was adamant that her education should come first and that she should have something to fall back on, and so went to Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education to study theology and philosophy.
21.
In late 1994, Beverley Knight signed a record deal with Dome Records, a small, independent label.
22.
In February 1997, Beverley Knight left Dome Records after disagreements, and signed a new four-album deal with EMI-controlled Parlophone.
23.
In February 2006 Beverley Knight consolidated her move into the mainstream audience by appearing on BBC1 music show, Just the Two of Us.
24.
Nevertheless, it provided a platform for Beverley Knight to reach out to a bigger audience and demonstrate her talent by performing a different array of songs than she would otherwise be known for.
25.
In October 2006, Beverley Knight recorded her fifth studio album, Music City Soul, in Nashville.
26.
Between August and September 2007 Beverley Knight supported Prince during his residency at the O2 Arena and performed at the concert after parties.
27.
On 23 March 2009 Beverley Knight announced via her official web site that she had left Parlophone records after 11 years and would be releasing new material through her own label, Hurricane Records.
28.
Beverley Knight announced that her sixth studio album would be released in summer 2009, having a more contemporary feel in comparison to previous retro soul album Music City Soul.
29.
On 31 March 2009 Beverley Knight confirmed that she would be releasing her sixth studio album in September through her own record label, Hurricane Records.
30.
In 2010, Beverley Knight made six guest appearances as a panellist on ITVs flagship show Loose Women.
31.
In March 2011, Beverley Knight announced in that she would be releasing her seventh studio album later that year and that it would be a collection of British soul covers.
32.
Beverley Knight announced a one-off gig to be held at Porchester Hall, London, which would be filmed for her first live DVD, to be included with the album release.
33.
Beverley Knight confirmed the album would be entitled Soul UK at the Porchester Hall show.
34.
In 2013, Beverley Knight appeared on the 2013 album from The Overtones, entitled Saturday Night at the Movies, which reached the UK albums chart top 5.
35.
On 9 September 2013, Beverley Knight took over the role of Rachel Marron from performer Heather Headley in the musical adaptation of The Bodyguard.
36.
Beverley Knight was nominated for Best Takeover in a Role at the Whatsonstage.
37.
Beverley Knight's run performing the role finished on 31 May 2014.
38.
In January 2015 producers announced that Beverley Knight would extend her performing in Memphis until July 2015.
39.
Beverley Knight performed a song from Cats as part of the 2015 Royal Variety Performance.
40.
Beverley Knight returned to the West End in The Bodyguard musical on 15 July 2016 for a limited six-month run.
41.
Beverley Knight was one of the guest artists at a BBC Prom in 2017, celebrating the soul music of Stax Records.
42.
In 2017, Beverley Knight teamed up with British singer Cassidy Janson and American actress Amber Riley to form a musical theatre supergroup, known collectively as the "Leading Ladies".
43.
In 2019, Beverley Knight was announced to star as Faye Treadwell, the manager of The Drifters, in the new West End-bound musical The Drifters Girl.
44.
Beverley Knight received her second Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical in 2022.
45.
On 8 November 2019, Beverley Knight released a live album, BK25 which was recorded in May 2019 at the Royal Festival Hall in London with the Leo Green Orchestra.
46.
On 13 November 2020, Beverley Knight performed as part of BBC Children in Need 2020 singing Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here".
47.
Beverley Knight performed a concert with a small audience at the London Palladium in Summer 2021, which aimed test new measures limiting the spread of COVID-19 in theatres.
48.
From February 2022, Beverley Knight was part of the judging panel on ITV's Starstruck, a revived and reformatted version of Stars in Their Eyes.
49.
In October 2022, it was announced that Beverley Knight would be returning to the West End to star as Emmeline Pankhurst in a hip-hop inspired musical, Sylvia, based on the Suffragette movement and Sylvia Pankhurst's life.
50.
Beverley Knight appeared on a 13 January 2023 episode of The Graham Norton Show to promote the production.
51.
Beverley Knight entered the gospel choir of her local church at just four years of age and eventually became the musical director before she left in her late teens.
52.
In 2005, Knight revisited her childhood when she hosted Beverley's Gospel Nights, a BBC Radio 2 series exploring gospel music.
53.
The first artist to make an impact upon Beverley Knight was one of the true founders of contemporary gospel and soul music, Sam Cooke.
54.
Beverley Knight's was the first voice that directly had a big impact on me, vocally.
55.
Beverley Knight really was a major influence on my life.
56.
The impact of Cooke can be seen throughout Beverley Knight's career as she has often performed and recorded Cooke classics, the most notable of which is "A Change Is Gonna Come".
57.
Nevertheless, the song illustrated Beverley Knight's determined effort not to become boxed in and "ghettoised".
58.
Beverley Knight appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2006 Birthday Honours for services to music.
59.
On 7 January 2010 Beverley Knight won an edition of the BBC's television quiz series Celebrity Mastermind, answering questions on "The Life and Times of Prince".
60.
Beverley Knight's chosen charity for the show was the Terrence Higgins Trust.
61.
Beverley Knight performed "I Am What I Am" on Wednesday 29 August 2012 at the Paralympics Opening Ceremony.
62.
On 16 May 2018, Beverley Knight was presented with the Freedom of the City of Wolverhampton.
63.
Beverley Knight has achieved outstanding international success as a recording artist, performer, West End star and charity ambassador.
64.
Beverley Knight deserves this honour not only for her achievements, but for the positive and exemplary manner in which she conducts herself, she has never forgotten her roots and is passionate about Wolverhampton and its people.
65.
Beverley Knight is a keen supporter of home city football club Wolverhampton Wanderers FC Knight married her boyfriend, James O'Keefe, on 8 September 2012.