--- title: Beyoncé Knowles Birthday 33: She Wanted to Be Older description: In 2003, the star shared some thoughts about her age with TIME canonical: https://time.com/3268076/beyonce-birthday/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-04T16:27:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:07:47.816Z article:section: History og:title: Why Beyoncé getting older is a wish come true og:description: In 2003, the star shared some thoughts about her age with TIME og:url: https://time.com/3268076/beyonce-birthday/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt797c14c8d5dcbe82/6986a1f3cd804db17eccc9bb/beyonce.jpeg?branch=production&width=841&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 841 og:image:height: 473 og:image:alt: Beyonce in 2003 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Beyoncé getting older is a wish come true twitter:description: In 2003, the star shared some thoughts about her age with TIME twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt797c14c8d5dcbe82/6986a1f3cd804db17eccc9bb/beyonce.jpeg?branch=production&width=841&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Beyoncé Getting Older Is a Wish Come True > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Sep 4, 2014 4:27 PM UTC  Beyoncé at MTV Studios on May 23, 2003, shortly before her first solo album was released Beyoncé at MTV Studios on May 23, 2003, shortly before her first solo album was released Dimitrios Kambouris—WireImage / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Sep 4, 2014 4:27 PM UTC Everybody gets older — even Beyoncé, who celebrates her 33rd birthday Thursday. But while it’s a common stereotype that female celebrities want to stay young forever, the truth may be just the opposite for her. (And not just because she makes sure to remind listeners not to forget the date 9-4-81 on songs like “[Get Me Bodied](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RioOJ7dZxuw).”) In 2003, when the singer’s debut solo album, _Dangerously in Love_, was just about to hit shelves, she suggested in an interview with TIME that she was actually interested in getting older, not younger. It wasn’t the first time her name appeared in the magazine: In 2001, an article about Destiny’s Child’s Grammy nominations and intra-group disputes stated that she had officially “earned the right to go by a single name.” But even after she struck out on her own, the then-21-year-old was still worried about making the right impression. “If you listen to the album, you’ll see that I’ve evolved into a woman,” the singer, who was already rumored to be linked to her now-husband Jay Z, told TIME — but writer Josh Tyrangiel observed that some of the songs sound like they’re about what she “imagines women go through” and that at times “it’s as if she mistook seriousness for maturity.” But, she said, that was what she was going for: --- > “” ---  From the June 30, 2003, issue of TIME So, happy birthday, Beyoncé. As with every birthday, it comes with getting older, which is just what you wanted. Leave it to Queen Bey to make being a [grown woman ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkD8eOj2iz4)desirable in an industry that worships youth — and to have started on that track even before she was a grown woman herself. And now that you have one wish settled, check out TIME.com’s list of[ 33 more birthday wishes for Beyoncé.](http://time.com/3268055/beyonce-birthday-wishes/) **_Read the full 2003 interview with Beyoncé here, in TIME’s archives:_** [Destiny’s Adult](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1005114,00.html) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3268076/beyonce-birthday/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3268076/beyonce-birthday/"},"headline":"Why Beyoncé Getting Older Is a Wish Come True","datePublished":"2014-09-04T16:27:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:07:47.816Z","description":"The star shared some thoughts about her age with TIME in 2003","url":"https://time.com/3268076/beyonce-birthday/","keywords":["History","Music","Beyonce","Beyonce Knowles","Birthday","Culture"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt797c14c8d5dcbe82/6986a1f3cd804db17eccc9bb/beyonce.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt797c14c8d5dcbe82/6986a1f3cd804db17eccc9bb/beyonce.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Beyonce in 2003","caption":"Beyonce in 2003","creditText":"Dimitrios Kambouris—WireImage / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3268076/beyonce-birthday/","name":"Why Beyoncé Getting Older Is a Wish Come True"}}]}] ```