Beyoncé Giselle Knowles

In 2002, Knowles began dating Jay-Z, with whom she has collaborated several times. Rumors began to circulate about their relationship after Knowles was featured on "'03 Bonnie & Clyde". In spite of persistent rumors, they remained discreet about their relationship. On April 4, 2008, Knowles and Jay-Z got married in New York City. Knowles did not publicly debut her wedding ring until the Fashion Rocks concert on September 5, 2008, in New York City. Before they were married, Knowles and Jay-Z were named as a power couple in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential people of 2006.
In November 2008, Forbes magazine reported that Knowles earned $80 million between June 1, 2007 to June 1, 2008, for her music, tour, films and fashion business. This made her the world's second best-paid music personality for this span of time. Knowles released her third studio album I Am... Sasha Fierce, on November 14, 2008. The album introduced Knowles' alter-ego Sasha Fierce. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 482,000 copies in its first week. It became Knowles' third consecutive number-one album in the US as a solo artist. I Am... Sasha Fierce was certified double platinum by the RIAA. The album has sold over 2.9 million copies in the United States, and 7 million copies worldwide.
"If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" were released as the album's first and second lead singles, respectively. The first lead single peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while the second peaked at number one, and became Knowles' fifth number-one single. "Single Ladies" spent four non-consecutive weeks at the top spot. Its music video has achieved fame for its intricate choreography, which has been credited as having started the "first major dance craze of both the new millennium and the Internet". Knowles revealed that the inspiration for the video was a 1969 Bob Fosse routine entitled "Mexican Breakfast" seen on The Ed Sullivan Show, which featured Fosse's wife, Gwen Verdon, dancing with two other women. This prompted a legion of imitations and parodies from men and women all around the world, including celebrities Justin Timberlake Joe Jonas, Tom Hanks and US President Barack Obama. The music video received nine nominations at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and ultimately won the award for Video of the Year and an additional two awards, though its loss in the Best Female Video category to Taylor Swift's "You Belong with Me" led to a controversy during the ceremony.
In December 2008, Knowles starred in the musical biographical film Cadillac Records as blues singer Etta James. She performed James' classic hit "At Last" at The Neighborhood Inaugural Ball of Obama and his wife Michelle's first dance as President and First Lady of the United States on January 20, 2009. "Diva" was released as the third US single from I Am... Sasha Fierce, while "Halo" served as the third international single, and later as the fourth US single. The song peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and became Knowles' twelfth Hot 100 top-ten single as a solo artist. With this feat, Knowles achieved more top tens on the Hot 100 than any other female artist of the 2000s decade. "Ego" was released as the fifth US single from I Am... Sasha Fierce, and subsequently came up with a remix featuring additional vocals from Kanye West. The song peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Broken-Hearted Girl" and "Sweet Dreams" became the album's sixth and seventh singles, respectively. In January 2009, Forbes magazine ranked Knowles and Jay-Z as Hollywood's top-earning couple, with a combined total of $162 million. They also made it to the top of the list the following year, with a combined total of $122 million between June 2008 and June 2009. To promote I Am... Sasha Fierce, Knowles embarked on her worldwide I Am... Tour in March 2009. According to Pollstar, the tour earned Knowles $103.2 million for its 97 shows. In April 2009, Knowles starred opposite Ali Larter and Idris Elba in the thriller film, Obsessed. The film grossed $11.1 million on its first day of release, and ended its opening weekend at number one with a total of $28.5 million.