Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is one of the most-successful, influential and acclaimed female performers of all time, as well as a feminist and black activism icon for over two decades. She starting her career as a member of the girl group Destiny's Child and amassing multiple hits, platinum-selling albums and critical acclaim, selling over 60 million records worldwide during their decade of activity. In 2003, Beyoncé released her solo debut album Dangerously in Love, which immediately established her as a viable solo performer; after the disbandment of Destiny's Child in 2006 she released her follow-up album B'Day and I Am... Sasha Fierce two years after, both releases settled her position as one of the largest pop figures and a cultural powerhouse. In 2011 she started to transition to a more artistic album-oriented style with the release of the retro-tinted 4 and then her 2013 self-titled release, whose unusual release and nature as a visual album shocked several fundaments of the music industry: after Beyoncé her 2016 concept visual album Lemonade was unleashed and immediately became one of the most acclaimed and culturally impactful pop records of the century. These releases have been recently followed by a collaborative album with her husband Jay-Z, EVERYTHING IS LOVE, in 2018 and the curated soundtrack The Lion King: The Gift the year after.

Outside of music, Beyoncé funded the production company Parkwood Entertainment as a subsidiary of Columbia Records in 2008, dedicated to developing her visual and musical concepts and multiple brands and branches, while also signing artists like Chloe x Halle to their roster; outside of this she also owns her own clothing line, Ivy Park, founded in 2016. As an actress, Beyoncé has starred in several hit movies like the 2002 spy comedy Austin Powers in Goldmember, the 2006 Oscar-winning Broadway adaptation Dreamgirls, the 2009 thriller Obsessed and the 2019 photorealistic remake of The Lion King.

Having sold over 160 million records (as both a soloist and as a member of Destiny's Child), Beyoncé is one of the best-selling singers of all time as well as one of the most-awarded artists overall, with 24 Grammy Awards (out of a female-record 70 nominations), a record 24 MTV Video Music Awards and a Peabody Award.