Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( , bee-ON-say; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. Regarded as one of the most influential cultural figures in music history, she has transformed the sound of popular music with her vocal ability, live performances and artistic innovations. Her work is considered to be amongst the greatest of all time.

As a child, Beyoncé began performing through various singing and dancing competitions. She debuted in the late 1990s and rose to fame as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love (2003), became one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century and spawned the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy". Beyoncé's commercial success continued with the albums B'Day (2006), I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008) and 4 (2011), all of which featured hit singles including "Irreplaceable", "Check on It", "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)", "If I Were a Boy", "Halo", "Run the World (Girls)" and "Love On Top". She has also ventured into acting, with leading roles in the films Dreamgirls (2006), Cadillac Records (2008) and Obsessed (2009).

Beyoncé's career shifted after forming her own management company Parkwood Entertainment, creating monocultural events through acclaimed concept albums. She explored personal and sociopolitical themes on Beyoncé (2013) and Lemonade (2016), which are credited with popularizing the surprise album and visual album. The former inspired setting Friday as the Global Release Day, while the latter became the best-selling album of 2016 worldwide. Her ongoing trilogy project – currently consisting of queer-inspired dance album Renaissance (2022) and Americana epic Cowboy Carter (2024) – has highlighted the contributions of Black pioneers to American musical and cultural history, spawning the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Break My Soul" and "Texas Hold 'Em".

Beyoncé is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold 200 million records worldwide, making her the most RIAA-certified female artist in history. Her accolades include the most Grammy Awards (32), NAACP Image Awards (25), BET Awards (32) and Soul Train Music Awards (25) of any artist. Billboard ranked her as the greatest pop star of the 21st century and Rolling Stone named her among the best singers of all time. She was repeatedly named artist of the decade for both the 2000s and 2010s, including recognition as the RIAA's Top Certified Artist of the Decade and Pollstar's Touring Artist of the Decade. She is the only female artist to debut all of her eight solo albums at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, and she is the only artist to release new Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits in four different decades (including group achievements). She is a ubiquitous figure within popular culture and has influenced various other artists.