Who

Beyoncé is the voluptuous chanteuse who left Destiny's Child behind to become a multimedia threat and a single-named force of nature. She's also married to hip-hop mogul Jay-Z.

Backstory

The Houston native made her debut on the national stage in 1990 at age nine when she and three other girls (LaToya Luckett, Kelly Rowland, and LaTavia Robertson) performed on Star Search. They lost the competition, but the act stayed together and Matthew Knowles (Beyoncé's father and their manager) soon changed their name from GirlTyme to Destiny's Child, scoring their first record deal in 1996. After two successful albums, Robertson and Luckett were kicked out of the group (they later sued), and were replaced by Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin. The latter lasted only a few months before she was canned as well—Franklin found out she was fired from seeing an MTV News piece. By the time Destiny's Child recorded their 2001 album, Survivor, Beyoncé had become the lead singer and was writing the majority of their songs. After the album turned into a smash hit and one of the year's most successful new releases, the group took time off to pursue solo careers. Of course, since then, Beyoncé has been the only one to turn into a mega-star: Her 2003 debut album, Dangerously in Love, won five Grammys, and her 2006 sophomore release, B'Day, has gone triple platinum.

Of note

Thanks to some combination of talent and her pushy dad's Svengali-like powers, Beyoncé now possesses one of the most lucrative celebrity brands in America. As of late, she's been hell-bent on exploiting her market power: Aside from a line of perfumes in conjunction with Tommy Hilfiger, Beyoncé has a clothing company called House of Dereon, which she "co-designs" with her mom Tina, and a slew of endorsement deals. In 2001, she signed a five-year endorsement deal with L'Oreal worth $4.7 million (which famously required her to work only 10 days a year). She's since lent her curvaceous physique and regal weave to campaigns for Pepsi, Samsung, American Express, Ford, and DirectTV. Her acting career hasn't been quite as successful. Beyoncé made her first bid for movie stardom in 2001 when she appeared in the 2001 MTV special, Carmen: A Hip Hopera with Mos Def and Mekhi Phifer. She moved on to forgettable big screen appearances in films like Austin Powers: Goldmember, The Fighting Temptations, and The Pink Panther before earning what some thought would be her breakout role in 2006's Dreamgirls, alongside Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, and Danny Glover. Alas, it was co-star Jennifer Hudson who stole virtually all the resulting limelight.

Drama

Beyoncé has long maintained a squeaky clean image—no drug arrests, drunk driving convictions, or weapons charges appear on her record—although the same can't be said for her dad. The sons of Destiny's Child's original manager, Andretta Tillman, filed a lawsuit against Mathew Knowles, claiming he blew $32 million of the group's shared earnings on cocaine and "sex parties." For her part, Beyoncé's greatest offense seems to be that she's fond of fur. In 2006, PETA members secretly bid on an eBay auction which offered the chance to have dinner with the star. While dining at Nobu, the animal rights activists interrogated her about the use of fur in her clothing line.

Personal

For years, Beyoncé and Jay did their best to keep their romance (which began in 2002) low profile, and both have steadfastly refused to talk about the relationship publicly. After years of marriage rumors and seemingly thousands of photos of them on yachts together, the two finally got engaged in 2007 while on vacation in Cannes. They tied the knot in April 2008.

Habitat

Beyoncé owns an apartment in One Beacon Court, where fellow residents include Brian Williams, Jack Welch, and Jeff Immelt. Her hubby, Jay-Z, however, has a place of his own. Until 2007, he was renting a $40,000-a-month apartment at the Time Warner Center (which reportedly had a view of her apartment); when the condo's owner sold the unit, he moved to a $65,000-a-month pad at the Trump World Tower.

No joke

If you see Beyoncé out and about—and you get past one of her bodyguards—look for the pooch in her bag: Beyoncé totes her Shih-Tzu, Murphy, almost everywhere.