Beyoncé Knowles
Singer /
Actor
Beyonce Knowles's 2003 solo debut album,
Dangerously in Love, won her five Grammy Awards, including best contemporary R&B album and best female R&B performance. Only 21 when the album was released, Beyoncé already was a pop music veteran: she had spent years with the allfemale R&B group
Destiny's Child, which won its own Grammys with hits like "No No No" and "Say My Name." Destiny's Child was formed and managed by Beyoncé's father, Mathew Knowles, and Beyoncé gradually became first among equals in the manner of
Diana Ross and the Supremes. (She was named ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year in 2001, the first AfricanAmerican woman ever to win that award). Destiny's Child went on hiatus in 2002 and Beyoncé went solo, appearing as sexy secret agent Foxxy Cleopatra in the
Austin Powers sequel
Goldmember and adding a hit single, "Work It Out," to the movie's soundtrack. In 2003 she had another hit with the single "Crazy in Love" (featuring rapper
JayZ). Knowles also continued her screen career in 2003, costarring with
Cuba Gooding, Jr. in
The Fighting Temptations. Destiny's Child reunited in 2004 to record the album
Destiny Fulfilled, but then formally split up amid much fanfare at the end of 2005. In 2006 Beyoncé released another single with (boyfriend) JayZ, "Déjà Vu," from her solo album
B'Day and had a number one hit with "Irreplaceable." That same year she appeared as Deena in the musical drama
Dreamgirls (costarring
Eddie Murphy).
Extra credit: In the manner of
Prince and
Sting, Knowles now prefers to be called by the single name of Beyoncé... In 2006 she and
Stevie Wonder won a Grammy award for their duet "So Amazing."
Other pop and R&B singers:
Mary J. Blige,
Roberta Flack,
Christina Aguilera and
Janet Jackson.
Women Celebrities