LOS ANGELES — She may have been rising to fame, but Beyoncé says she and her fellow Destiny's Child bandmates were living a "sheltered" life, free of parties and indulging in their success.
"There are a lot of things I never did," the 27-year-old stars tells Elle, "because I believe in watching those true Hollywood stories and I see how easy it is to lose track of your life. Think about Marilyn Monroe."
Beyoncé credits much of that success to the days she spent sweeping the floor at her mother's Houston hair salon, a venue ripe for some juicy lyrics.
"Women in a hair salon are more open than men in a barbershop," she explains to the magazine. "They'll look at fashion magazines and listen to Anita Baker and talk about men cheatin' on them. That's juicier than any barbershop."
"I would be listening to what the women were saying, and I would give my two cents on what they should do. I would say, 'I think he's lying.' I was just a little girl, but I would say, 'That doesn’t sound right.' My mom would want to pop me upside my head, and she'd say, 'You better get out of here, girl!' "
Beyoncé is currently starring on the big screen as Etta James in "Cadillac Records." She quietly donated her salary from the film to charity, something her mother, Tina, says would have been a golden opportunity to promote so as to not come across as a "diva" in the public eye. Her "Cadillac" co-star, Idris Elba, says the musician was anything but that on set.
"She was open to anything that helped the work," he tells Elle. "With one scene, I'd be in her ear before it got going, and it was irritating the f*** out of her. But that helped her walk into the scene blazing."
At some point, Beyoncé brought her role of Etta home with her, which led to her husband of eight months, Jay-Z, suggesting, "You better go get a hotel."
As for what's next in her career, Beyoncé says mastering the art of relaxation just might be her next career move.
"Being this huge pop star is not my focus right now," she says. "I've done that. I wanted to sell a million records, and I sold a million records. I wanted to go platinum; I went platinum. I've been working nonstop since I was 15. I don't even know how to chill out."
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