Beyonce by Cliff Watts for Cosmopolitan February 2006

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter (born September 4, 1981), known mononymously as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time.