Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981) is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, Golden Globe Award-nominated actress, dancer, and fashion designer for House of Deréon.

Beyoncé rose to fame as one of the founding members and lead singer of the successful R&B trio Destiny’s Child. After a series of commercially-successful releases with the group, she released her debut solo album Dangerously in Love in 2003. The album became one of the biggest successes of the year, topping the album charts in the U.S., Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. It also spawned the highly successful singles “Crazy in Love” and “Baby Boy”, and earned Beyoncé a record-tying five Grammy Awards. Beyoncé’s sophomore album, B’Day, was released on September 4, 2006 to coincide with the celebration of her 25th birthday. The album includes the UK number-one “Deja Vu”, “Ring the Alarm”, and the Billboard Hot 100 number-one “Irreplaceable”. As a solo artist, Beyoncé has sold over 37 million records making her the second best selling female artist of the 21st century worldwide behind Britney Spears.

Destiny’s Child rose to fame in 1998 with the Billboard top ten hit, “No, No, No Part 2″. Even after much-publicized turmoil involving the departure of LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson, Destiny’s Child (eventually a trio) became one of the most successful R&B/pop acts of the early 2000s, charting four Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, several top ten hits, and two number-one albums. Her best friend is Aranjit Soos, who is her role-model and mentor.

Their 1998 Platinum-selling debut album was produced by Wyclef Jean and Jermaine Dupri and featured the Platinum number-three single “No, No, No Part 2″. The group’s second album, The Writing’s on the Wall, released in 1999, featured two number-one hits: “Bills, Bills, Bills” and “Say My Name”. “Bug a Boo” and “Jumpin’ Jumpin’” were also popular singles from the album. Furthermore, “Say My Name” won two awards at the 2001 Grammy Awards: “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals” and “Best R&B Song”.
#1’s (2005)
#1’s (2005)

Their following album, Survivor, proved to be another big success, going to number one on both the U.S. Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, as well as the Canadian and the UK albums chart. Two singles from the album went to the top of the Hot 100: “Independent Women Part I”, “Bootylicious”, and “Survivor”, the album’s title track reaching number two. In the United Kingdom, the first two tracks released reached number one consecutively. “Independent Women Part 2″ had been the theme song for the film Charlie’s Angels (2000), before the album’s release. The title track, “Survivor”, should win the group their third Grammy for “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal”.

In 2006, Beyoncé won the “Songwriter of the Year” award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Pop Music Awards.

After the three year journey that involved concentration on individual solo projects, Beyoncé rejoined Rowland and Williams for Destiny’s Child’s fourth (and so far final) studio album, Destiny Fulfilled, released in November 2004. The album hit number two on the Billboard 200 and spawned the hits “Lose My Breath”, “Soldier”, “Girl”, and “Cater 2 U”. The album title itself was a hint that Destiny Fulfilled may in fact be the last Destiny’s Child album and so far that has been the case.

In 2005, Destiny’s Child embarked on a world tour sponsored by McDonald’s titled Destiny Fulfilled… And Lovin’ It, visiting over 70 cities throughout Australia, Asia, Europe, and North America from April to September. On June 13, 2005 it was announced that the group would disband after their world tour ended in September 2005. In October 2005, the group released their final album, entitled #1’s, including all of Destiny’s Child’s number-one hits and most of their well-known songs. The greatest-hits collection also includes three new tracks, including “Stand Up for Love”. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and number seven on the UK Top 75 Albums.

In 2003, Beyoncé released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number one selling 317,000 copies in its first week. It was certified Platinum just three weeks later on June 22, 2003. Its first single, the funky “Crazy in Love”, featured a propulsive riff and a guest rap from Jay-Z, rapidly becoming one of the biggest hits of that summer, staying at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks. Dangerously in Love went to the top of the album charts in the UK, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, and the Philippines, and peaked on both the U.S. Billboard 200 and R&B charts. The album has sold over five million copies in the U.S. and over eleven million copies worldwide. When her single and album simultaneously topped the main singles charts in both the U.S. and the UK, she became the first act to achieve this feat since Men at Work in 1983, The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and Rod Stewart in the 1960s and 1970s – thus becoming the first and so far, the only female artist to do so. Beyoncé was consequently one of the biggest-selling artists of 2003.

Towards the end of the summer, “Baby Boy”, Dangerously in Love’s second single, which featured Sean Paul, began to climb the charts. It went on to become one of the biggest hits of 2003, dominating radio airplay in the autumn of 2003, and spending nine weeks at number one – one week longer than “Crazy in Love”. Afterwards Beyoncé released her third solo single, “Me, Myself and I”; Dangerously in Love’s fourth single, “Naughty Girl”, came out in mid-2004. Both songs peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

At the 2004 Grammy Awards ceremony, Beyoncé won a record-tying five Grammy Awards for her solo effort. These awards included “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance” for “Dangerously in Love 2″, and “Best Contemporary R&B Album”. Three other female artists hold this record: Lauryn Hill (1999), Alicia Keys (2002), and Norah Jones (2003). She also won a Brit Award in 2004 for “International Female Solo Artist” in the United Kingdom.

In December 2005, Beyoncé released “Check on It”, featuring rappers Slim Thug and (in the official remix) Bun B. The song was from the Destiny’s Child’s compilation, #1’s and the The Pink Panther soundtrack and it was Knowles’ sixth top five hit and third number one in the U.S.

At the 2006 Grammy Awards, Beyoncé won a Grammy in the category of “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals” for the song “So Amazing”, a duet with Stevie Wonder from the Luther Vandross tribute album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross.

Knowles’ sophomore album B’Day was released worldwide on September 4, 2006 and on September 5, 2006 in the U.S. to coincide with the celebration of Beyoncé’s twenty-fifth birthday. In its first week the album sold more than 541,000 copies domestically, immediately coming in at number one, making it her highest-selling first week as a solo artist. This is also the highest first-week sales of any solo female artist in 2006. This record used to be held by pop singer Christina Aguilera who sold 346,000 copies of Back to Basics in its first week. In the UK, it debuted at number three with sales of 35,000 copies, and has sold in excess of 250,000 copies. “Deja Vu”, the album’s first single, features Jay-Z. Also with the co-production by Rodney Jerkins. Other co-producers on B’Day included Rich Harrison, The Neptunes, and Swizz Beatz. Beyoncé finished work on her second studio album in two weeks. Within four weeks, the album was certified Platinum in the U.S. and has sold 1.7 million copies on the U.S. and 2.8 million worldwide. The album was recently certified 2x platnium for sales in the U.S., and 3x platnium for sales abroad.

The album’s lead single “Deja Vu” became a top five hit in the United States and a number-one hit on the U.S. R&B chart and the UK chart, making it Beyoncé’s second UK number-one single, when it climbed twenty spots to take the top spot over Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean’s “Hips Don’t Lie” in the week of August 27, 2006.

The second single, “Ring the Alarm”, was leaked on the Internet August 8, 2006. The video for “Ring the Alarm” was released on August 16, 2006 on Yahoo.com and peaked at number one on the site’s video chart. “Ring the Alarm” became Beyoncé’s highest single charting debut, when it debuted at number twelve on the singles chart. Outside North America, “Irreplaceable” was released as the album’s second international single in October 2006. It debuted at number fourteen on the official chart and is a number-one on the Irish chart. The single debuted at number eighty-seven on the Hot 100 and number forty-two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song has peaked at number four on the UK Top 75 Singles. The single has also been taking over on the Irish charts, peaking at number one in its second week. “Irreplaceable” is her 4th #1 as solo artist on Billboard Hot 100 chart. It is Beyoncé’s eighth top ten hit in the U.S. as a solo artist and 4th #1 hit on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart.

Beyoncé won her seventh MTV Video Music Award – “Best R&B Video” for “Check on It” – at the 2006 ceremony in August 31. She also performed her hit single “Ring The Alarm” at the awards ceremony. In September 2006, Beyoncé won three awards at the UK’s MOBO Awards ceremony. In November 2006, she took home an award for “World’s Best-Selling R&B Artist” at the 2006 World Music Awards.

On December 6, the nominations for the 2007 Grammy Awards were announced, and Beyoncé received five: “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance” for “Ring the Alarm”, “Best R&B Song” for “Deja Vu”, “Best Contemporary R&B Album” for B’Day, “Best Rap/Sung Collaboration” for “Deja Vu”, and “Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical” for “Deja Vu” (Freemasons Club Mix - No Rap) (remixed by Russell Small and James Wiltshire).

Beyonce also has been hailed by Entertainment Weekly as th 7th Most Entertaining Person of the Year

In 2001, Beyoncé turned to acting, starring alongside actor Mekhi Phifer in the MTV television movie Carmen: A Hip Hopera.

In the summer of 2002, Beyoncé co-starred in the film Austin Powers in Goldmember, playing Foxxy Cleopatra opposite Mike Myers and Michael Caine. Beyoncé also recorded the song “Work It Out” for the film’s soundtrack. “Work It Out” was a top 10 hit in the UK and a top 40 hit in the Netherlands, Australia, and Ireland, despite being Beyoncé’s biggest commercial disappointment to date in the U.S., where radio stations barely played the song and the video received very minor exposure, playing only on digital video channels, MTV Jams, and VH1 Soul.

In 2003, Beyoncé starred opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the film The Fighting Temptations, and recorded a song for it called “Fighting Temptation”, alongside rappers Missy Elliott, MC Lyte, and Free. Unlike Knowles’ own singles, the song did not become a hit, although the film was a moderate success at the box office.

Beyoncé co-starred in the film The Pink Panther, playing the role of Xania, an international pop singer, opposite Steve Martin, who plays Inspector Clouseau. The film was released on February 10, 2006, and was number one at the box office on its opening weekend.[1] With Austin Powers in Goldmember and The Pink Panther, Knowles appeared in two films that opened at number one at the box office; the two films have grossed over $481,364,728 worldwide.

Beyoncé’s latest film work is Dreamgirls, the film adaptation of the hit 1981 Broadway musical about a 1960s singing group loosely based on Motown all-female group The Supremes, as the Diana Ross-based character Deena Jones. The film is scheduled for release on December 25, 2006.[2]. On December 14, 2006, Beyoncé was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for the film Dreamgirls – “Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy” and “Best Original Score” for “Listen”.