Beyonce

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was groomed for stardom early. Born on September 4th, 1981, she began singing, dancing and performing in talent shows in her native Houston at age seven, and by high school she and cousin Kelly Rowland and school chums LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett were singing together, in a group that was later managed by Beyoncé's father and Rowland's guardian, Matthew Knowles. The act was first called Girl's Tyme (the name under which the group performed on Star Search in 1992), then, by the time they signed to Columbia in 1997, Destiny's Child.

In 1998, the group issued its debut, Destiny's Child, which featured the hit "No, No, No" (Number Three, 1998). But it was 1999's The Writing's on the Wall that broke the bank, with "Bug a Boo" (Number 33, 1999), "Jumpin' Jumpin'" (Number Three, 1999), "Bills, Bills, Bills" (Number One, 1999), and perhaps most definitively with "Say My Name" (Number One, 2000). The definitive kiss-off song won two Grammys and featured a standout performance by Beyoncé, whose skittering, rhythmic, and hip-hop-derived approach to melody would help shift the entire landscape of R&B singing.

With the membership of the group rapidly shifting around her — Luckett and Roberson sued after being replaced by Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin, and Franklin left within a year — it became increasingly clear that Destiny's Child was intended as Beyoncé's showcase. Late in 2000 came "Independent Women Pt. 1" (Number One), from the Charlie's Angels soundtrack, a song that set the tone for 2001's Survivor (Number One), on which Beyoncé fully took center stage, most notably on the Grammy-winning title hit and "Bootylicious" (Number One). In 2001, Beyoncé starred in the MTV "hip-hopera" Carmen in the title role.

After dipping her toes into Hollywood by appearing in an Austin Powers sequel, Knowles released her solo debut on its soundtrack, titled "Work It Out." She also worked with her new beau Jay-Z on his "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" (Number Four). Beyoncé's own Dangerously in Love was released in June 2003 and entered the charts at Number One, buoyed by its incredibly infectious lead single, "Crazy in Love," which went to Number One for two months. The Sean Paul-featuring "Baby Boy" also sat at the top of the charts; "Me, Myself and I" and "Naughty Girl" helped the album move more than 4 million copies. The album went on to win five Grammys, including honors for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Performance. In November 2004, Destiny Fulfilled (Number Two) sounded a valedictory note for Beyoncé's group with "Lose My Breath" and "Soldier"; the next Destiny's Child CD was a best-of titled #1s.

In 2006, Beyoncé starred alongside Steve Martin in The Pink Panther, but it was her role in the film adaptation of the Broadway smash Dreamgirls that defined her on-screen career (Beyoncé received two Golden Globe nominations, and the film won two Oscars). Inspired by her Dreamgirls character (the Diana Ross-esque Deena Jones), she followed the film's completion by writing and, in a compressed three-week burst, recording B'Day, a deeper and often more inspired follow-up to Dangerously in Love (the LP earned a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album). Among its hits were "Déjà Vu" (Number Four), "Ring the Alarm" (Number 11), and "Irreplaceable," which perched at Number One for 10 straight weeks. A "deluxe" version of B'Day came out in April 2007 with included a duet with Shakira called "Beautiful Liar." Beyoncé spent much of 2007 on the road supporting the album on the Beyoncé Experience tour.

Offstage, Beyoncé has also spent time promoting her fashion line House of Deréon (its moniker is taken from her grandmother's surname). On April 4th, 2008, Jay-Z and Beyoncé were married in Manhattan.