The superstar singer reflects on turning 50, her status as a gay icon and how the world has changed in the last 30 years
INTERVIEW BY NIC CROSARA, IMAGES BY JULIAN BROAD
Beverley Knight is a woman who needs no introduction. The soul legend has forged an impressive decades-long career as a singer, songwriter and performer, earning the respect of greats such as David Bowie and Prince. She has even performed with the latter – which she credits as being “the most special thing” to happen to her onstage. In recent years, Beverley’s brought her magic to the world of theatre. Her West End debut saw her play The Bodyguard’s Rachel Marron, a character famously played by bisexual icon Whitney Houston. Last year Beverley won an Olivier Award for her portrayal of real-life feminist icon Emmeline Pankhurst in Sylvia. The Wolverhampton-born queen is also a certified gay icon. She’s beloved by the LGBTQIA community and she loves us right back.
Here’s your teaser for what she had to say to DIVA…
Beverley on…
Her LGBTQIA allyship: “Homophobia? I wasn’t having any of it. Everyone who felt that way, I sacked them”
What it was like entering the music industry as a Black female musician: “Being a woman, being Black, it meant I had to fight”
On entering her 50s: “I’m celebrating this age. It’s the most confident I’ve ever felt in my life.”
Want to read more about what Beverley had to say? Be sure to get your copy at divadirect.info.
DIVA magazine celebrates 30 years in print in 2024. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA media and keep us going for another generation. Your support is invaluable.
✨linkin.bio/ig-divamagazine ✨
