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(born 1981). American singer-songwriter and actress Beyoncé achieved fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B group Destiny’s Child. She then launched a successful solo career.

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Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born on September 4, 1981, in Houston, Texas. At age nine she formed the singing-rapping girl group Destiny’s Child (originally called Girl’s Tyme) in 1990 with childhood friends. In 1992 the group lost on the Star Search television talent show. Three years later Destiny’s Child was dropped from a recording contract before an album had been released. In 1997 the group’s fortunes reversed with a Columbia recording contract and a debut album, Destiny’s Child. It yielded three hit singles, including the Top Ten hit “No, No, No Part 2.” The follow-up album, The Writing’s on the Wall (1999), earned the group two Grammy Awards and sold more than eight million copies in the United States. By July 2000 the group had been reduced from a quartet to a trio. They recorded “Independent Women, Pt. 1” which became the theme song for the film version of Charlie’s Angels. Released in October, the single spent 11 weeks at number one and was included on the group’s third album, Survivor (2001). The album also soared to the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart.

Beyoncé’s duties in the group extended beyond the role of lead singer as she began writing and producing. She helped write hit songs for Destiny’s Child such as “Bootylicious” and the aforementioned “Independent Women.” Eventually, the group parted ways to pursue individual projects. Beyoncé used her songwriting talents to coauthor her first solo album, Dangerously in Love (2003). The album debuted to rave reviews, and it eventually topped the charts. In 2004 Beyoncé won five Grammy Awards, including best contemporary R&B album and best female R&B vocal performance.


In 2006 Beyoncé released her second solo studio album, B’Day, which featured several coproducers, including the Neptunes. The album’s first single, “ Déjà Vu,” was a number one hit. In 2008 she married rapper Jay Z, and the union made them one of the top-earning couples in the entertainment industry. Later that year Beyoncé released the double album I Am…Sasha Fierce. While I Am was a collection of introspective ballads, Sasha Fierce contained dance tracks familiar to most of her fans. The album generated five Billboard Top 20 singles, including the number one “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” and it contributed to Beyoncé’s dominance of the 2010 Grammy Awards. Her six awards, which included those for song of the year, best female pop vocal performance, and best contemporary R&B album, amounted to the most Grammys collected by a female artist in a single night. Days after a triumphant headlining performance at England’s Glastonbury Festival, Beyoncé released 4 (2011), a genre-bending mix of ballads and dance tracks.

In January 2013 Destiny’s Child reunited for a halftime appearance at the Super Bowl. The following month Beyoncé collected a Grammy Award for the single “Love on Top.” She returned later in the year with the confidently expressive album Beyoncé. It boasted brand-name producers and appearances from, among others, the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and the singer’s toddler daughter, Blue Ivy. The record was initially offered exclusively on iTunes. It was promoted as a “visual album,” with music videos made to accompany each track. The single “Drunk in Love,” which featured Jay Z, was awarded several Grammys, including best R&B song.

Beyoncé focused on themes of betrayal and perseverance in the expansive and musically varied Lemonade (2016). Conceived as another visual album, it debuted as an HBO television special. Lemonade was Beyoncé’s sixth album to top the Billboard 200 chart. Lemonade attracted considerable acclaim, and it netted Beyoncé two Grammys, including a best music-video award for the anthemic “Formation.”

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In 2001 Beyoncé made her acting debut in the television movie Carmen: A Hip Hopera, which aired on MTV. Her role as Foxxy Cleopatra in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) made her a film star. This performance led to parts in the movies The Fighting Temptations (2003) and The Pink Panther (2006). In 2006 Beyoncé landed the coveted role of Deena Jones in Dreamgirls, the film adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical about a 1960s singing group. Beyoncé’s performance was nominated for a Golden Globe, and her song “Listen” was nominated for an Academy Award. She later starred in the film Cadillac Records (2008), in which she portrayed singer Etta James, and the thriller Obsessed (2009). In the animated film Epic (2013), Beyoncé provided the voice of a fairylike forest queen.