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The former Destiny's Child singer was convinced she would be more successful if her brown skin was fairer.

Kelly told website Essence.com: "It's said that brown skinned girls don't sell magazines and that's so sad.

"I remember wishing I was more fair skinned, but Tina Knowles, Beyoncé's mom, would say, 'Don't you know how beautiful you are?' She made me come into my brown beauty. I didn't get it, but now I do."

Thanks to Tina's advice, Kelly insists she was able to accept herself for who she really is and be proud of her heritage.

The 26-year-old star said: "I am chocolate and beautiful and loving it!"

Jay-Z has proposed to long-term love Beyoncé Knowles.

The hip-hop star popped the question during a romantic getaway to Cannes, and the singer-and-actress said yes.

The pair are now planning to marry in Hawaii in the autumn.
Beyoncé said: "I want to get married and really want a family - in a perfect world I'd have two boys and a girl.

"You know someone loves you by the way he treats you and respects you. Me and Jay respect each other."

Jay-Z flew to London last night (03.06.07) to watch Beyoncé perform at Wembley on the latest leg of her UK tour.

The 37-year-old hip-hop mogul even canceled his own promotional tour of his business empire Roc-A-Fella to surprise his 25-year-old fiancée.

Sources say Jay-Z promised Beyonce "the biggest diamond she can fit on her finger".

A source said: "This will be the hip-hop wedding to end all hip-hop weddings."

Beyonce, who is rumored to be engaged to rapper Jay-Z, doesn't think she could cope with the demands of motherhood at present.

She said: "I think I have a long way to go before I'd be able to handle looking after a child. I probably will have a baby one day, but not for a while."

Beyoncé, 25, recently admitted she was put off having children after watching her sister give birth.

The singer's sister Solange has a three-year-old son Daniel, and Beyoncé admits she found it quite harrowing watching him come into the world.

She said: "I was there when Solange gave birth and I swear it was enough to put anyone off for life!

"The doctors had to give me drinks because I was turning purple.

"It was crazy but, at the same time, quite beautiful.

"When I was watching I thought, 'I'm never going to have a baby'. But now, when I see my nephew, I think he's the best thing in the world. He's so cute and clever - I love him so much."

Beyonce Knowles pictured doing a spot of shopping in Milan, Italy on May 11 with her younger sister Solange.

Beyonce, who has dated rapper Jay Z for five years - says women who are not overly sexual are the most attractive.

Beyoncé told Cosmopolitan magazine: "I like to walk around my house with bare feet and messy hair, but that can be sexy, too.

"I have an old-fashioned view on sexuality, in that I don't think it should be in your face.

"It's the opposite of who I am on stage."

Beyoncé Knowles is set to be the face and voice of Giorgio Armani's new perfume, Emporio Armani Diamonds.

The 'Dreamgirls' star will lend her looks and vocal talents to a TV advertising campaign, after being handpicked by the revered Italian designer.

A source told the New York Post newspaper: "They have known each other for seven years, and Armani feels Beyoncé represents the glamour and glitz of the fragrance."

The 25-year-old beauty will reportedly sing "an old American song" in the commercials.