Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is an American singer, songwriter, and actress.

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Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Beyoncé performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child.

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She rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time.

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Their hiatus saw the release of her first solo album, Dangerously in Love (2003), which featured the US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy".

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Beyoncé is one of the world's best-selling recording artists, having sold 118 million records worldwide.

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She is the first artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 with their first six solo studio albums. Her success during the 2000s was recognized with the RIAA's Top Certified Artist of the Decade as well as Billboard's Top Female Artist of the Decade.

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Beyoncé's accolades include 28 Grammy Awards, 26 MTV Video Music Awards (including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award in 2014), 24 NAACP Image Awards, 31 BET Awards, and 17 Soul Train Music Awards all of which are more than any other singer.

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In 2014, Billboard named her the highest-earning black musician of all time, while in 2020, she was included on Time's list of 100 women who defined the last century.

Born: 4 September 1981