Beyoncé (born September 4, 1981, Houston, Texas, U.S.) is an American singer-songwriter and actress who achieved fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B group Destiny’s Child and then launched a hugely successful solo career. In 2023 she broke the record for most Grammy Awards won by an artist, with 32 Grammy wins over the course of her career.
Beyoncé was born Beyoncé Giselle Knowles to Tina (née Beyoncé) and Mathew Knowles (divorced 2011). She has a younger sister, Solange, who also became a successful recording artist. At age nine Beyoncé formed the singing-rapping girl group Destiny’s Child (originally called Girl’s Tyme) in 1990 with childhood friends. In 1992 the group lost on the Star Search television talent show, and three years later it was dropped from a recording contract before an album had been released. In 1997 Destiny’s Child’s fortunes reversed with a Columbia recording contract and then an eponymous debut album that yielded the hit single “No, No, No Part 2.” Its follow-up album, The Writing’s on the Wall (1999), earned the group two Grammy Awards and sold more than eight million copies in the United States. Survivor (2001), the group’s third album, reached the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart. By this time the group’s lineup, which had seen several personnel changes, was composed of Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams.
Destiny’s Child reunited in 2004 to release Destiny Fulfilled. While generally not as acclaimed as the group’s previous efforts, the album sold more than seven million copies worldwide and spawned several hit singles. The trio embarked on a world tour in 2005, during which they announced that the group would officially disband. That same year they released #1’s, a collection of well-known songs and number one hits.
In 2006 Beyoncé released her second solo studio album, B’Day, which features several coproducers, including the hit-making duo the Neptunes. Although much of the album carried echoes of 1970s-style funk, the pop ballad “Irreplaceable” became its most successful single. In 2008 she and Jay-Z married, and the union made them one of the top-earning couples in the entertainment industry. Later that year Beyoncé released the double album I Am…Sasha Fierce. Whereas the first half (I Am) captures an introspective mood, the second (Sasha Fierce) contains songs better suited to the dance floor. The album as a whole generated several hits, including the assertive “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” and it contributed to Beyoncé’s dominance of the 2010 Grammy Awards. Her six awards, which included those for song of the year, best female pop vocal performance, and best contemporary R&B album, amounted to the most Grammys collected by a female artist in a single night. (The record was matched by pop singer Adele in 2012.)
Days after a triumphant headlining performance at England’s Glastonbury Festival, Beyoncé released 4 (2011), a genre-bending mix of ballads and dance tracks that evokes influences ranging from Motown-era torch songs to the audio collages of rapper M.I.A. In early 2013 Destiny’s Child reunited for a halftime appearance at the Super Bowl and released a new song, “Nuclear.” Shortly thereafter Beyoncé collected a Grammy for her single “Love on Top.” She returned later in the year with the confidently sensuous and expressive Beyoncé, which boasts brand-name producers and appearances from, among others, the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and the singer’s toddler daughter, Blue Ivy. The record, initially offered exclusively on iTunes, was promoted as a “visual album,” with music videos made to accompany each track. The single “Drunk in Love,” which features Jay-Z, was awarded several Grammys, including best R&B song.
