Born Beyoncé Giselle Knowles on September 4, 1981, in Houston, Texas, she began singing with the original members of the popular R&B group Destiny's Child—LaToya Luckett, Kelly Rowland and LaTavia Roberson—as a pre-teen.

The girls went through various incarnations, singing a mix of gospel, rhythm and blues, and hip hop, before they officially became Destiny's Child in 1995. Knowles' father, Mathew, served as manager of the group.

After performing in the Houston area, the group appeared on Star Search, the popular television talent competition. Although they did not win the competition, a contract with Columbia Records soon followed.

Their first release, Destiny's Child (1997), was a tremendous success in Europe. Upon the album's release, the group kicked off a tour of sold-out shows there.

Their second effort, The Writing's on the Wall (1999), brought them wider acclaim back home. The album generated three top-ten hits on the Billboard R&B singles chart.

In 2000, despite internal conflicts that resulted in the departure of Luckett and Roberson from the group, Destiny's Child continued to promote their sophomore effort, playing as a supporting act for Christina Aguilera's summer tour.

In 2001, still calling themselves Destiny’s Child, the group released their third album, Survivor. In 2004, after launching a successful solo career with Dangerously in Love , Knowles won five Grammy Awards, tying a record for most wins by a female artist.

Her second solo effort, B'Day, was released in September 2006 to coincide with the singer's twenty-fifth birthday. In its first week, B'Day sold more than 540,000 copies in the U.S.

Beyoncé Knowles has also made a start in acting, making her debut in MTV's Hip Hopera: Carmen in 2001 and co-starring as Foxxy Cleopatra in Mike Myers' James Bond parody Goldmember in 2002. Other films include 2004's The Fighting Temptations and 2006's The Pink Panther.

Her starring role as Deena Jones, a Diana Ross-like character in the big-screen adaptation of the 1981 Broadway hit musical Dreamgirls earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2006. Beyoncé's song “Listen” was nominated for an Academy Award.

Knowles was romantically linked to hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, since September 2002. They performed together in music videos for two of her hit singles, Crazy in Love and Deja Vu. The couple married in April 2008. Among the guests sighted at the wedding were Beyonce's mother Tina Knowles, her father and manager Mathew, her sister Solange, Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and friend Gwyneth Paltrow.