Beyonce Knowles
The album Destiny’s Child gave Beyonce’s voice, instant recognition. In 1999, the group released their breakthrough album The Writing’s on the Wall. It featured their signature song Say My Name that won the 2001 Grammy Award for the best R&B song. Within ten years of its formation, the group had already given smash hits like Jumpin Jumpin, No, No, No, Survivor and Bootylicious that won the group a slew of awards.
Even while she was a part of the group Destiny’s Child, Beyonce was carving a separate entity for herself. She sang her first solo Work It Out which was the soundtrack of her movie Austin Powers in Goldmember. She also recorded the soundtrack for her other movie The Fighting Temptations with rappers like Missy Elliot, Free and McLyte.
In 2001, the members of the group took a break to pursue their solo career. In 2003, Beyonce released her first solo album Dangerously in Love that won the 2004 Grammy Awards for the Best Contemporary R&B Album. She also sang Dangerously in Love 2 from the same album at the 2004 Grammy Awards ceremony that won her the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance Award. Beyonce released her second solo album B’Day on 4th September 2006, her 25th birthday. Her most recent solo album is I am Sasha Fierce that was released in 2008. The first track of the album If I Were A Boy went on to top the UK singles chart.
Facts about Her Acting Career
Despite having a successful career as an R&B singer, Beyonce did not restrict herself to music. In 2001, she forayed into the acting world as Carmen Hooper in the MTV musical drama Carmen: A Hip Hopera. She got to play Foxxy Cleopatra in “Austin Powers in Goldmember” in 2002 with Mike Myers in the male lead. This role opened the gates of Hollywood for Beyonce and she made a smooth transition from stage to the world of cinema. In 2003, she signed the romantic comedy,The Fighting Temptations with Cuba Gooding Junior as the male lead. She also has the credit of having acted with actors like Steve Martin in The Pink Panther in 2006. Her performance in Dreamgirls also starring Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson got her a Golden Globe Nomination in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
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