Beyoncé is an American singer, songwriter, businesswoman and actress from Houston, United States. Born in 1981, she begins performing in local singing and dancing competitions as a child and later emerges from Houston’s music scene as one of the most successful pop and R&B artists of her era.

Career with Destiny’s Child

She first gains wider attention as the lead singer of Destiny’s Child, a group that grows out of Girl’s Tyme, formed in 1990 with help from her parents and later renamed in 1997. Destiny’s Child becomes one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, and Beyoncé’s work with the group remains part of her Grammy history and wider discography.

Solo work

Beyoncé launches her solo career during Destiny’s Child’s hiatus with Dangerously in Love, which establishes her as a solo artist. B’Day follows in 2006 and debuts at number one on the Billboard charts. Her third album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, appears in 2008. In 2011, 4 also debuts at number one on the US Billboard 200.

Her 2013 self-titled album Beyoncé is released as a visual album with 14 songs and 18 videos, and includes contributions from Drake, Frank Ocean, Jay-Z and Blue Ivy. In 2016, Lemonade is issued as a conceptual short film on HBO and then made available on Tidal, with guest appearances from James Blake and Kendrick Lamar. In 2022, RENAISSANCE is released as the first part of a three-part project; it is recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic and includes the single “BREAK MY SOUL”. In 2024, COWBOY CARTER, also known as Act II, appears as the second part of the same project and is centred on country music and wider Americana references.

Style, genres and later work

Her work spans contemporary R&B, alternative R&B, pop, soul, hip-hop, club music, contemporary country, country and americana. She is associated with Parkwood Entertainment, B-DAY Publishing and Beyoncé Publishing. The verified membership list also links her to Destiny’s Child, THE CARTERS and Deena Jones and the Dreams.

Recognition and commercial standing

Beyoncé is one of the most awarded artists at the Grammy Awards, with 35 wins and 99 nominations across her solo work and her work with Destiny’s Child and The Carters. She is described as the most-awarded and most-nominated artist in Grammy history. Her commercial profile is similarly large: she is identified as the best-selling Black female musician of all time and the second best-selling female artist overall, with worldwide sales of more than 350 million records.

Other work and public profile

She starts acting in 2001 in Carmen: A Hip Hopera and later stars in Dreamgirls in 2006, earning two Golden Globe nominations. She and Jay-Z marry in a private ceremony in New York in 2008, and their daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, is born in 2012. Beyoncé also launches the family fashion line House of Deréon in 2004 and endorses brands including Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger, Armani and L’Oréal.