Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and businesswoman. Known as “Queen Bey”, she has been recognized for her boundary-pushing artistry, vocals, and performances. Named one of the greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone, her contributions to music and visual media and her concert performances have led her to become a prominent cultural icon of the 21st century.

Beyoncé started performing in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of the R&B girl group Destiny’s Child, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Their hiatus saw the release of her debut album Dangerously in Love (2003). She then released the commercially successful solo albums B’Day (2006), I Am… Sasha Fierce (2008), and 4 (2011). After creating her own management company Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé achieved acclaim for releasing the sonically experimental visual albums Beyoncé (2013) and Lemonade (2016), which explored multiple societal themes such as feminism, relationships and womanism. Following the release of the queer-inspired dance album Renaissance (2022), she became the first solo artist to have their first seven studio albums debut at number one in the United States.