Beyoncé Knowles

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles, commonly known as Beyoncé, is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, actress and product endorser. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled to various performing arts school within the city. She was exposed early on to singing and dancing competitions as a child.

Knowles started her musical endeavor alongside her childhood best friends, and rose to fame in late 1990 as the lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child. Although they went through public turmoil, including lawsuits and lineup chagnes, Destiny's Child had successfully dominated the music industry, recognized as the world's best-selling female group of all time. After a series of commercial successes with the group, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in June 2003, becoming one of the successful albums of the year. It also spawned the number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy" and earned Knowles five Grammy Awards in a single night in 2004; it established her among successful female artists in the United States. The disbandment of Destiny's Child continued her pursuit as solo, releasing her second album, B'Day, and spawned the UK number-one singles "Déjà Vu" and "Beautiful Liar", as well as the worldwide hit "Irreplaceable".

The success of her albums established her as one of the marketable artists in the industry. Knowles branched out to the film industry, starring in such Hollywood films as the 2006 comedy The Pink Panther and the 2006 musical film Dreamgirls, which earned her two Golden Globe Award nominations—one for acting and other for Dreamgirls' soundtrack "Listen". She had launched her family's own company and products, including House of Deréon; she had signed on to lucrative commercial deals, including one with Pepsi. These business ventures she have undertaken benefited her charity works.

Aside from co-producing songs, Knowles is recognized as one of the most successful female song-writers. Her involvement on her career, however, is often a subject of public scrutiny. She has been with long-time boyfriend Jay-Z since 2002, though they have been discreet to the media about their relationship.