Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter (/biːˈjɒnseɪ/ bee-YON-say; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Beyoncé performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. 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.
During Destiny's Child's hiatus, Beyoncé made her theatrical film debut with a role in the US box-office number-one Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) and recorded her first solo album, Dangerously in Love (2003), which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It also featured the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy". Following the disbandment of Destiny's Child in 2006, she released her second solo album, B'Day, which contained the US number-one single "Irreplaceable", as well as the UK number-one singles "Déjà Vu" and "Beautiful Liar". Beyoncé continued her acting career with starring roles in The Pink Panther (2006), Dreamgirls (2006), and Obsessed (2009). Her marriage to rapper Jay-Z and her portrayal of Etta James in Cadillac Records (2008) influenced her third album, I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008), which earned a record-setting six Grammy Awards in 2010. It spawned the UK number-one single "If I Were a Boy" and the US number-one single "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)".
After splitting from her manager and father Mathew Knowles in 2010, Beyoncé released 4 (2011), which was influenced by 1970s funk, 1980s pop, and 1990s soul. Beyoncé received widespread critical acclaim for her albums, Beyoncé (2013) and Lemonade (2016); the latter became the world's best-selling album of 2016. She became the first and only music act in Billboard 200 chart history to debut at number one with their first six solo studio albums. In 2018, she released Everything Is Love, a collaborative album with her husband, Jay-Z, as the Carters.
Beyoncé is one of the word's best-selling music artists, having sold over 100 million records worldwide. Her success during the 2000s was recognized with the Recording Industry Association of America's Top Certified Artist of the Decade, as well as Billboard magazine's Top Radio Songs Artist and the Top Female Artist of the Decade. Beyoncé is the most nominated woman in the Grammy Award's history, with a total of 24 wins. 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-paid black musician in history and was listed among Time's 100 most influential people in the world for a second year in a row. Forbes ranked her as the most powerful female in entertainment on their 2015 and 2017 lists. She occupied the 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's history.