Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (IPA pronunciation: ) (born September 4 1981) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, music video director, actress, dancer, and fashion designer. Knowles rose to fame as the creative force and lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, the world's best-selling female group of all time.

After a series of commercially successful releases with the group, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in June 2003. The album became one of the biggest commercial successes of the year, topping the album charts in the U.S. and the UK. 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. Knowles' second album B'Day was released worldwide on September 4 2006, coinciding with her twenty-fifth birthday. The album spawned the UK number-one singles "Déjà Vu" and "Beautiful Liar", as well as the worldwide hit "Irreplaceable", which reached number one in several countries. It also earned Knowles her seventh solo Grammy Award (she has won ten in total).

Knowles also achieved success in 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 the song "Listen".

Knowles is the elder of two daughters born to Mathew and Tina Knowles in Houston, Texas. Her parents decided on her first name as a tribute to her mother's maiden name. Her maternal grandparents, Lumis Beyincé and Agnéz Deréon (a seamstress), were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles. She is the older sister of Solange Knowles, cousin to Angela Beyincé (her personal assistant and song co-writer), and aunt to Solange's son Daniel Julez Smith, Jr. By age seven, she was attending dance school and was a soloist in her church's choir. Her dance instructor took an interest in Knowles and took her star student to various competitions. Knowles went on to win over thirty local singing and dancing competitions.

As a teenager, Knowles attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, where she showed her musical talents. She later went to Alief Elsik High School, in the Alief neighborhood of Houston.

Knowles and her childhood best friends LaTavia Roberson and Kelly Rowland along with LeToya Luckett formed a quartet that would perform in their backyards and at Tina Knowles' hair salon. After singing at local events, they got their break when they entered Star Search. The group, then named "Girl's Tyme", were disappointed after losing the competition. Mathew Knowles, Knowles' father and Rowland's legal guardian, decided to help the girls reach their dreams of becoming singers. He quit his six-figure salary job as a multi-million dollar equipment salesman at Xerox to manage the group. This decision by Mathew eventually affected the whole family. Their income had been cut in half, causing the family to move into two different apartments. When the group was signed to Columbia Records in 1996, it gave the entire family a second chance at making things work.

The group underwent several name changes—Girl's Tyme, The Dolls, Something Fresh, and Cliché—before sticking with Destiny's Child, based on a passage from the Book of Isaiah in the Bible. After making their recording debut with "Killing Time" for the soundtrack to the 1997 film Men in Black, the group rose to fame in 1998 with the Billboard Hot 100 top five, R&B number-one single "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.

Their platinum-selling debut album, Destiny's Child, released in 1998, was produced by Wyclef Jean and Jermaine Dupri and featured the double platinum number-one single "No, No, No Part 2". The group's second album, The Writing's on the Wall, released in 1999, featured the number-one hits "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Say My Name", besides the popular singles "Bug a Boo" and "Jumpin' Jumpin'". It went on to sell eight million in the U.S. and twelve million copies worldwide. 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".

Their following album, Survivor, proved to be another big success, going to number one on both the U.S. Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, as well as the Canadian and the UK Albums Charts. Two singles from the album went to the top of the Hot 100: "Independent Women Part I" and "Bootylicious", while "Survivor", the album's title track, reached number two and "Nasty Girl", the final single, missed the chart. In the United Kingdom, the first two tracks released reached number one consecutively. "Independent Women Part I" had been the theme song for the 2000 film Charlie's Angels, before the album's release. The title track, "Survivor", earned the group their third Grammy Award, "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals". The album has sold over ten million copies worldwide.

In 2001, Knowles won the "Songwriter of the Year" award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Pop Music Awards, becoming the first African-American female and second overall female songwriter of all time to accomplish this.

After the three-year journey that involved concentration on individual solo projects, Knowles 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". It has sold seven million copies worldwide.

In 2005, Destiny's Child embarked on a world tour sponsored by McDonald's titled Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It, visiting over seventy 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 Albums Chart. #1's went on to sell three million copies worldwide.

During the autumn of 2002, Knowles began her solo career as the featured vocalist on rapper Jay-Z's hit single, "'03 Bonnie & Clyde". In the spring of 2003, Knowles remade a duet with Luther Vandross, "The Closer I Get to You", originally recorded and made famous by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway in 1977. In this version, the vocal parts are switched, with Vandross taking Flack's part and Knowles taking Hathaway's. The song made both her debut solo album and Vandross' Dance with My Father album, and the two shared the Grammy Award for "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" the following year. She has collaborated with Jay-Z on his eight studio album, Kingdom Come, providing vocals and the hook for the track entitled "Hollywood".

In 2003, Knowles 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, and was certified platinum just three weeks later on June 22 2003. In addition, it went on to chart atop the album charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Greece, and the Philippines. The album's lead single, "Crazy in Love", was a funky track constructed around a propulsive riff sampled from The Chi-Lites' 1970 "Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)", and featured a guest rap from Jay-Z. It rapidly became one of the biggest hits of that summer, staying at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks and topping the singles charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, and worldwide, among others. Also, "Crazy in Love" eventually became the fourth best-selling single on the U.S. Billboard Year-End of 2003 and the world's second best-selling single of 2003. Dangerously in Love has sold over four million copies in the U.S. and over twelve million copies worldwide. When her single and album simultaneously topped the main charts in both the U.S. and the UK, she became the first act to achieve this feat since Men at Work in 1983 and The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and Rod Stewart in the 1960s and 1970s; she is the first and so far the only female artist to do this. Knowles was consequently one of the biggest-selling artists of 2003.

Towards the end of the summer, "Baby Boy", the second single from Dangerously in Love, which featured dancehall artist 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, Knowles released her third solo single, "Me, Myself and I"; Dangerously in Love's fourth and final single, "Naughty Girl", came out in mid-2004. Both made the top five of the Billboard Hot 100.

At the 2004 Grammy Awards ceremony, Knowles won five Grammy Awards for her solo effort, which included "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" for "Dangerously in Love 2", "Best R&B Song" for "Crazy in Love", 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 December 2005, Knowles released "Check on It", featuring rappers Slim Thug and (on the official remix) Bun B. The song was from the Destiny's Child's greatest hits compilation, #1's, and the soundtrack to the 2006 film The Pink Panther. It was Knowles' sixth top five hit and third number one in the U.S.

At the 2006 Grammy Awards, Knowles 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' second studio 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 Knowles' twenty-fifth birthday. In its first week, the album sold more than 541,000 copies in the U.S., immediately coming in at number one, making it her highest first-week sales as a solo artist. This is also the highest first-week sales of any solo female artist in 2006, a record which used to be held by pop singer Christina Aguilera whose album Back to Basics sold 346,000 copies in its first week. In the UK, it debuted at number three with sales of 45,000 copies, and, with combined sales with the deluxe edition, has sold 497,000 copies and has been certified double platinum. "Déjà Vu", the album's first single, features Jay-Z and co-production by Rodney Jerkins. Other co-producers on B'Day included Rich Harrison, The Neptunes, and Swizz Beatz. Currently, the album has been certified triple platinum in the U.S. for shipments of over three million copies. The album has had worldwide success selling over seven million copies worldwide.

The album's lead single "Déjà 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 Knowles' 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 to the Internet on 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 website's videos chart. "Ring the Alarm" became Knowles' highest-charting single debut, when it debuted at number twelve on the singles chart but only peaked at number eleven.

Outside North America, "Irreplaceable" was released as the album's second international single in October 2006. The single debuted at number eighty-seven on the Hot 100—where it would later spend ten consecutive weeks at number one—and number forty-two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It was the longest-running number-one single of the year as a result of its ten-week stay atop the Billboard Hot 100. The song peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and number one on the Australian Singles Chart. It also took over on the Irish Singles Chart, peaking at number one in its second week. "Irreplaceable" is her fourth number one and her eighth top ten hit as a solo artist on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as her fourth number-one hit on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. In December 2006, a Spanish-language version of "Irreplaceable", called "Imprescindible", was released.

On December 6, the nominations for the 2007 Grammy Awards were announced, and Knowles received five, of which she won "Best Contemporary R&B Album".

On February 28, "Beautiful Liar", a duet with Latin superstar Shakira, and "Upgrade U", Knowles' fifth collaboration with Jay-Z, were released as the latest singles from B'Day. To promote the new releases, Knowles premiered music videos for both singles on MTV's Total Request Live and BET's 106 & Park on February 28, 2007, respectively.

Knowles re-released B'Day as a deluxe edition on April 3, 2007. It features new tracks—including "Beautiful Liar", which made Billboard history when it jumped from number ninety-four to number three on the Hot 100 in one week on April 7, 2007, and "Amor Gitano", a duet with Mexican singer Alejandro Fernández used as the theme song for the Colombian telenovela Zorro: La Espada y la Rosa. Also included are Spanish-language versions of "Irreplaceable", "Listen", and "Beautiful Liar".

On April 2, full-length videos for "Get Me Bodied", "Green Light", and "Suga Mama" premiered on BET to promote B'Day Anthology Video Album released on the following day. A fifty-seven-second preview of "Kitty Kat" was included also, appearing as an intro in the video for "Green Light". Sony BMG has released all of the videos (with the exception of "Still in Love (Kissing You)") from the DVD to their official music video website, Musicbox.

In Australia, the deluxe edition of B'Day was released on April 16, 2007. Unlike the U.S. release, the Australian edition comes packaged in a CD/DVD combo featuring nineteen tracks on the CD and twelve music videos on the DVD. The Australian release does not feature the track "Still in Love (Kissing You)" on either the CD or DVD. However, the CD does feature the tracks "If" and "Check on It", which are not featured on the U.S. release. Additionally, "World Wide Woman" appears as a hidden track on the U.S. release while it is an officially-listed track on the Australian disc. Finally, apart from the track "Amor Gitano", the Australian disc does not feature any of the Spanish tracks. The European and the Asian edition of B'Day are the same as the Australian release.

In the week of April 22, the deluxe edition of B'Day and the B'Day Anthology Video Album that include the song "Still in Love (Kissing You)" were pulled from distribution due to a lawsuit filed by English singer Des'ree. The lawsuit is over Knowles' cover of Des'ree's 1998 "I'm Kissing You" which was granted permission—within certain limits. For one thing, they would allow use of the song, but not in video form. They would also allow use of the song only if the title was not changed. Despite follow-ups, they didn't hear back from Knowles' camp. On March 27, according to the complaint, they discovered that Knowles and her record label planned to proceed with their plans to include the song on the re-release anyway which they changed the title to the song and made a video from which they didn't follow copyrighted laws. In a letter they wrote to Knowles' lawyer and her distribution group Sony, the Royalty Network called the move "completely unacceptable. Des'ree is apparently seeking $150,000 in damages".

More singles have been released from the deluxe edition of B'Day. "Amor Gitano" was released as a CD single in South America and other countries such as Mexico; "Get Me Bodied" has been released in North America; and the Freemasons remix of "Green Light" has been released as the fifth UK single.

Knowles has embarked on her lengthy The Beyoncé Experience concert tour which has sold out various shows worldwide. Opening acts included Robin Thicke (in North America), Lemar (in Europe), Katy Shotter (in North America and the UK), and Chris Brown (in Australia). She is touring from April 10 to November 12, 2007.

Knowles' new deluxe live DVD, The Beyoncé Experience Live!, which was recorded on September 2, 2007 at Los Angeles' Staples Center, is slated for a November 20, 2007 release.

In an interview, Knowles stated that she is going into studio in December to begin official work on her third studio album although she is in the studio all the time. As reported by Scratch magazine, producer Timbaland was recently signed on to produce the majority of the album. In the interview, Timbaland stated that the outcome of the album will be "huger than life".

In 2001, Knowles turned to acting, starring alongside actor Mekhi Phifer in the MTV made-for-television film Carmen: A Hip Hopera.

In the summer of 2002, Knowles co-starred in the film Austin Powers in Goldmember, playing Foxxy Cleopatra opposite Mike Myers and Michael Caine. Knowles also recorded the song "Work It Out" for the film's soundtrack. "Work It Out" was a top ten hit in the UK and a top forty hit in the Netherlands, Australia, and Ireland, despite being Knowles' 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, Knowles starred opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the film The Fighting Temptations, and recorded a song for it called "Fighting Temptation", alongside female 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.

Knowles co-starred in the film The Pink Panther, playing the role of Xania, an international pop star, 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. "Check on It", which was recorded for the film, became a huge success and gave Knowles her first number-one hit from a soundtrack. 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.

Knowles' latest film work is Dreamgirls, the film adaptation of the 1981 hit 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 received a limited release on December 15, 2006 and a wider release on December 25, 2006. On December 14, 2006, Knowles was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for the film Dreamgirls—"Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy" and "Best Original Song" for "Listen". The film opened at number three at the box office with an eight-million-dollar opening weekend. Knowles was quoted to say this was her first real acting film. Dreamgirls was nominated for eight 2007 Academy Awards—including "Best Original Song" for "Listen"—, of which it won two. The film has passed the $100 million dollar gross mark in the United States.

Knowles, music producer David Foster, and his daughter, Amy Foster Gillies, wrote Destiny's Child's single "Stand up for Love" for World Children's Day, an event which takes place annually around the world on November 20 to raise awareness and funds for children's causes worldwide. Destiny's Child lent their voices and support as global ambassadors for the 2005 World Children's Day program.

Knowles and Kelly Rowland, along with Mathew Knowles, Tina Knowles, and sister Solange Knowles announced the formation of the Survivor Foundation, a charitable entity set up for the purpose of providing transitional housing for 2005 Hurricane Katrina victims and storm evacuees in the Houston, Texas area. The Survivor Foundation extends the philanthropic mission of the Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth, a multi-purpose community outreach facility in downtown Houston.

Knowles had food drives during her The Beyoncé Experience tour in Houston on July 14, Atlanta on July 20, Washington, D.C. on August 9, Toronto on August 15, Chicago on August 18, and Los Angeles on September 2. "I want my tour and Survivor Foundation to encourage people to get involved in the fight against domestic hunger, Pastor Rudy's ongoing mission to help the least among us, and the work of America's Second Harvest. Any help—donating time, money or food—will make an enormous difference", she stressed.

The Survivor Foundation announced a new project called "Knowles-Rowland Temenos Place Apartments", in support of St. John's Downtown and Temenos Community Development Corporation. The housing development is the result of a collaboration with House of Deréon founders Tina Knowles and Beyoncé Knowles, Survivor Foundation, Inc., the City of Houston, and St. John's Downtown (church home of the Knowles family). The project was designed to provide permanent living accommodations for women and men who are taking significant steps in improving their lives after the traumatic effects of personal and natural disasters in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

On October 20, Knowles performed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as part of the nation's millennium anniversary celebrations. While there, she was welcomed by President Girma Wolde-Giorgis, who gave Knowles a brief cultural and history lesson. Knowles responded by saying that, in the future, she will return to Ethiopia with a focus on humanitarian efforts.

Animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have criticized Knowles for wearing and using fur in her clothing line, House of Deréon. After winning an online eBay auction, offered by VH1 for the Save the Music Foundation, to dine with Knowles in June 2006, two PETA members confronted her at a restaurant in New York City because of their disapproval of her usage of fur. Knowles did not respond, and the PETA members were escorted out. PETA also wrote a letter of concern to Knowles about the treatment of baby alligators in a photoshoot for B'Day.

In July 2005, Minnesota-based singer Jennifer Armour filed a lawsuit after accusing that Knowles copied lines and hooks from the former's song "Got a Little Bit of Love for You" to use them in her 2003 hit single "Baby Boy". However, the case was dismissed in 2006 after a federal judge in Houston found a substantial dissimilarity between the two songs. On October 4, 2007, Armour's attorney Dana Kirk told a three-judge appellate panel that the case should be resurrected since a jury hearing was not conducted.

*2003: Dangerously in Love *2006: B'Day

*2004: True Star: A Private Performance *2007: Green Light: Freemasons EP *2007: Irreemplazable

*2004: Live at Wembley *2006: Beyoncé The Ultimate Performer *2007: B'Day Anthology Video Album *2007: The Beyoncé Experience Live!

*2003–2004: Dangerously in Love World Tour *2004: Verizon Ladies First Tour (with Alicia Keys and Missy Elliott) *2007: The Beyoncé Experience

*2007 ** "The Showstopper" — People's annual "10 Best Dressed Stars" ** "Most Favorite" Grammy Moment!!! (nominated) — My Night at the GRAMMYs ** AskMen.com's "Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2007" (first place)

*House of Deréon — her clothing line, named after her maternal grandmother, is sold in most major U.S. department stores. *Pepsi *L'Oréal *Wal-Mart — Christmas Celebration Sale of 2005 with Destiny's Child. *Tommy Hilfiger fragrances **True Star (2004) **True Star Gold (2005) *Emporio Armani fragrances **Diamonds (2007) *Got Milk? campaign *McDonald's (as part of the Destiny's Child farewell tour, Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It) *Samantha Thavasa (Japan) *Ford *Walt Disney Theme Parks — appeared in an advertisement dressed as Alice from Alice in Wonderland. *Samsung **Ultra Music SGH-F300 cell phone *B' Phone — Beyoncé Special Edition B'Phone is a limited edition handset and update to the popular UpStage. The B'Phone showcases a dual-sided design to optimize music capabilities with the look of an MP3 player on one side and a phone on the other. *American Express — "Are You a Card Member?"

*Official U.S. website *Official UK website * *

*Blender magazine interview (October, 2006) *The Guardian interview (August 18, 2006) *BBC interview (August 16, 2006) *Interview at Cannes Film Festival (May 19, 2006) *Monsters and Critics.com Q&A (February 8, 2006) *IGN Films interview (February 8, 2006) *ComingSoon.net interview (February 6, 2006) *About.com interview (February 2006) *Teen Music interview (September 19, 2003) *Cinema Confidential interview (September 16, 2003) *Film Monthly interview (September 17, 2002) *Life After Fame interview (December 18, 2006)