Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter (born September 4, 1981),[3] known by her stage name Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She began her singing career in various youth singing competitions. In the late 1990s, following the formation of Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling girl groups, the singer gained international recognition. Between 2002 and 2003, the group stopped creating new material in order to develop the solo careers of each of the members. This was followed by the release of her first solo album, Dangerously in Love. Two of its singles, "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy", reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 - the world's most recognized song chart. After the band's official breakup in 2006, Beyoncé released her second album, B'Day. The album's singles included "Irreplaceable", which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Beautiful Liar", a duet with Colombian singer Shakira. Beyoncé has appeared as an actress in several films, such as "The Pink Panther", "Dreamgirls" and "The Lion King". Her marriage to Jay-Z and her portrayal of Etta James on Cadillac Records greatly influenced the writing and production of the album I Am... Sasha Fierce, which won six Grammy Awards in 2010. "If I Were a Boy" became a gay icon upon its release, due to its association with transgenderism. In 2010, her father, Matthew Knowles, stopped managing her. The following year, she released her fourth album, 4. In 2013 and 2016, Beyoncé and Lemonade were released respectively. The latter was the best-selling album of 2016, and even became the most appreciated work of her career in the eyes of her fans and music critics. Some claimed that its success lies in the themes that Beyoncé chose to focus on, womanism and infidelity. In 2018, the first album of her duo with her husband, The Carters, Everything Is Love, was released. As a supporting artist, the singer reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with the remixes of "Perfect" (Ed Sheeran, 2017) and "Savage" (Megan De Stallion, 2020). In 2022, she received praise from music critics after the release of Renaissance – a musical work inspired by disco and house. Beyoncé is among the best-selling musicians in the world. Her albums have sold an estimated 160 million copies worldwide.[4] She is the first solo artist to have all seven of her albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200.[5][6] Her success during the first decade of the 21st century has made her the most platinum and gold-certified artist by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[7] Over the course of her career, she has won 32 Grammy Awards, 26 MTV Video Music Awards (including the Michael Jackson Award in 2014), 24 NAACP Image Awards, 31 BET Awards, and 17 Soul Train Music Awards. In 2014, Billboard magazine named Beyoncé the highest-grossing African-American musician of all time. In 2020, she was included in Time's list of "100 Women Who Defined the Century".[8] (Wikipedia)