Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, known mononymously as Beyoncé, is an R&B and pop singer-songwriter, fashion designer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child and rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of R&B girl-group Destiny's Child. Managed by her father Mathew Knowles, the group became one of the world's bestselling girl groups of all time. Their hiatus saw the release of Beyoncé's debut album, Dangerously in Love, which established her as a solo artist worldwide; it sold 11 million copies, earned five Grammy Awards, and featured the Billboard #1 singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy."

Following the disbandment of Destiny's Child in 2005, she released her second solo album, B'Day, which contained hits "Déjà Vu," "Irreplaceable," and "Beautiful Liar." Beyoncé also ventured into acting, with a Golden Globe-nominated performance in Dreamgirls, and starring roles in The Pink Panther and Obsessed. Her marriage to rapper Jay-Z and portrayal of Etta James in Cadillac Records influenced her third album, I Am... Sasha Fierce, which saw the birth of her alter-ego Sasha Fierce and earned a record-setting six Grammy Awards in 2010, including Song of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)." In 2016, she released her sixth studio album, Lemonade, which would become the bestselling album of 2016. Lemonade is a concept album widely believed to be about her husband Jay-Z's infidelity. In addition to the album itself, Lemonade was a one-hour film that aired on HBO.

Beyoncé starred in the voiceover role of Nala in the live-action remake of The Lion King, which was released on July 19, 2019. Earlier that same year, Homecoming, a documentary and concert film focusing on Beyoncé's historic 2018 Coachella performances, was released by Netflix and was accompanied by the surprise live album Homecoming: The Live Album.

Black Is King, a visual album based on the music of The Lion King: The Gift, premiered globally on Disney+ on July 31, 2020. The film was written, directed, and executive produced by Beyoncé, and Disney described it as "a celebratory memoir for the world on the Black experience."

Beyoncé is the most nominated woman at the Grammy Awards and has the second-most wins for a woman with a total of 24, including her work with Destiny's Child. She is also the most awarded artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, with 24 wins, including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.

In 2014, she became the highest-earning Black musician in history and was listed among Time's 100 most influential people in the world for the second year in a row. Forbes ranked her as the most powerful female in entertainment on their 2015 and 2017 lists. She occupied sixth place for Time's Person of the Year in 2016, and in 2020, was named one of the 100 women who defined the last century by the same publication. Beyoncé was also included on Encyclopædia Britannica's 100 Women list in 2019, for her contributions to the entertainment industry.

In 2024, Beyoncé released the anticipated album, Cowboy Carter. It became the most-streamed album in a single day in 2024 on Spotify, making it the 6th highest first-day stream count for any female album and the highest for any album by a Black woman. The album also marks the most first-day streams for a country album by a female artist in the history of Amazon Music.