Beyoncé << bee YAWN say >> (1981-…) is a popular American singer and actress. She first gained fame as a member of the singing group Destiny’s Child. In the early 2000’s, Beyoncé established herself as a successful solo performer. In 2023, she broke a record for the most Grammy Awards won by any artist, with 32 awards. 
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born on Sept. 4, 1981, in Houston, Texas. At the age of 9, she began singing with an all-girl group called Girl’s Tyme. The group changed its name often before the members settled on Destiny’s Child and recorded a number of hit songs, notably “No, No, No” (1998) and “Independent Women Part I” (2000). Destiny’s Child disbanded in 2005.
Beyoncé had begun performing on her own while still singing with Destiny’s Child. Her first album, Dangerously in Love (2003), was an international hit. It was followed by the hit albums B’Day (2006), I Am…Sasha Fierce (2008), 4 (2011), Beyoncé (2013), Lemonade (2016), Renaissance (2022), and Cowboy Carter (2024). With Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to top Billboard magazine’s “Hot Country Albums” chart. The single “Texas Hold ‘Em” (2024), included on the album, was the first song by a Black woman to top Billboard’s “Hot Country Songs” chart.
Beyoncé’s other popular singles include “Crazy in Love” (with rap singer Jay-Z, 2003); “Irreplaceable” (2006); “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (2008); “Drunk in Love” (also featuring Jay-Z, 2013); “Formation” (2016); and “Break My Soul” (2022). In 2008, she married Jay-Z. The couple released their first joint album, Everything Is Love, in 2018.
As an actress, Beyoncé made her debut in the made-for-TV musical motion picture Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001). She also appeared in the movies Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), Dreamgirls (2006), Cadillac Records (2008), and Obsessed (2009). Beyoncé provided her voice for a character in the animated feature film Epic (2013). She also voiced the lioness character Nala in The Lion King (2019), a computer-animated remake of the 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. Beyoncé curated (selected the songs for) The Gift (2019), a soundtrack album to the 2019 version of The Lion King. The album features artists from the United States and Africa. Beyoncé also wrote and directed Black Is King (2020), a musical film companion to The Gift.
In 2018, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to headline (be engaged as a leading performer at) the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival held in Indio, California. She directed the documentary concert film Homecoming (2019), about her and her performance at Coachella. Upon the film’s release, Beyoncé released a live concert album titled Homecoming. The concert film Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé was released in 2023. It features footage from Beyoncé’s 2023 Renaissance World Tour.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, is also a singer and songwriter. In 2021, at age 9, Carter became the second youngest person to win a Grammy Award. She won for best music video for the single “Brown Skin Girl.” Carter received a writing credit for the song with her mother and other collaborators. Leah Peasall, of the country music trio the Peasall Sisters, was the youngest person to win a Grammy Award, in 2001, at the age of 8.
