Beyoncé Knowles
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.
The Houston native made her debut on the national stage in 1990 at age nine when she and three friends (LaToya Luckett, Kelly Rowland, and LaTavia Robertson) performed on Star Search. They lost the competition, but the act became Destiny's Child. After two successful albums in the 90s and rife with member switch-ups, 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. Since then, Beyoncé has been the only one to turn into a mega-star with several multi-platinum albums and that "Single Ladies" video you may have seen once or twice. Beyoncé now possesses one of the most lucrative celebrity brands in America: with a clothing company called House of Dereon, which she "co-designs" with her mom Tina and a slew of endorsement deals (L'Oreal, Pepsi, etc.), B has also begun to tackle to film world, most notably 2006's Dreamgirls.
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, the two finally got engaged in Cannes. They tied the knot in April 2008 and at the 2011 VMA's B announced her first pregnancy in a typically subtle manner. [Image via AP]