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Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter (/biˈɒnseɪ/ bee-ON-say) (born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and businesswoman. Dubbed as "Queen Bey" and a prominent cultural figure of the 21st century, she has been recognized for her artistry and performances, with Rolling Stone naming her one of the greatest vocalists of all time.

Beyoncé started performing in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Their hiatus saw the release of Beyoncé's debut album, Dangerously in Love (2003). She then followed with the US number-one solo albums B'Day (2006), I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008), and 4 (2011). After creating her own management company Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé achieved critical acclaim for the experimental visual albums Beyoncé (2013) and Lemonade (2016), which explored themes such as feminism and womanism. With her queer-inspired dance album Renaissance (2022), she became the first solo artist to have their first seven studio albums debut at number one in the US.

Beyoncé's most successful songs on the Billboard Hot 100 include "Crazy in Love", "Baby Boy", "Check On It", "Irreplaceable", "If I Were a Boy", "Halo", "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", "Break My Soul" and "Cuff It". Her collaborative music ventures include Everything Is Love (2018), an album with her husband and rapper Jay-Z, released as the Carters, and the musical film Black Is King (2020), inspired by the music of the film soundtrack The Lion King: The Gift (2019). Homecoming: The Live Album (2019), which documents her 2018 Coachella performance, has been heralded as one of the best live albums for its tribute to black music history. Outside of music, she has starred as an actress in films such as Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), The Pink Panther (2006), Dreamgirls (2006), Cadillac Records (2008), Obsessed (2009), and The Lion King (2019).

Having sold 200 million records worldwide, Beyoncé is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Her accolades include a record 32 Grammy Awards, as well as 26 MTV Video Music Awards (including the 2014 Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award), 24 NAACP Image Awards, 35 BET Awards, and 17 Soul Train Music Awards – all of which are more than any other artist in the music industry. Her success during the 2000s earned her recognition as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)'s Top Certified Artist of the Decade and Billboard's Top Female Artist of the Decade. In 2014, Billboard named her the highest-earning black musician of all time. She is the most successful black touring act in history and received the Pollstar Touring Artist of the Decade award in 2021. Time included her as one of the 100 women who defined the 21st century.

She is known for her roles as Foxxy Cleopatra in the 2002 spy comedy film Austin Powers in Goldmember (opposite Mike Myers), Deena Jones in the 2006 musical drama film Dreamgirls (opposite Eddie Murphy) and as Sharon Charles in the 2009 thriller film Obsessed.

She appeared on Saturday Night Live as a musical guest four times, twice with Destiny's Child and twice solo. The first time was on May 5, 2001 with Destiny's Child where they performed "Survivor" and "Emotion" and also appeared in the "Just Funnin'" sketch as the former members of the fictional group Gemini's Twin, the second time was on May 17, 2003 where she performed "Crazy in Love" (where she was joined by later-husband Jay-Z) and "Dangerously in Love," the third time was on December 18, 2004 with Destiny's Child where they performed "Soldier" and "Cater 2 U" and the fourth time was on November 15, 2008 where she performed "If I Were a Boy" and her hit single "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and appeared in the "Beyonce Video Shoot" sketch as herself. She also made a cameo on November 2, 2002, where she joined her later-husband Jay-Z in his performance of "03 Bonnie & Clyde."

SNL Maya Rudolph - Beyonce Knowles

Maya Rudolph as Beyoncé Knowles on the May 21, 2005 episode during the "Prince Show" sketch.

She was also impersonated by Maya Rudolph eight times on the show. The first seven appearances (for dates, see infobox) were all during the "Prince Show" sketch and the February 18, 2012 episode was during the "Baby Blue Ivy" sketch.

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