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Despite the controversy that
surrounded the changes, Knowles
continued climbing
up the ladder of success. In 2001, Knowles made her
acting debut as Carmen Brown in "Carmen: A Hip Hopera" -- a musical drama about an aspiring actress
who seems to get into trouble everywhere she goes.
The sex appeal that Knowles added to the role had
people talking including director Jay Roach and Mike
Myers.
It
was Beyonce Knowles' role in "Carmen: A
Hip Hopera" that earned her the
role of the 70s-era superfly spy
chick
Foxxy Cleopatra in "Austin
Powers in
Goldmember" (2002),
playing the leading lady for
comedian Myers' beloved secret
agent in his third big screen
outing. Delivering a breezy
performance that was light as
air, Knowles demonstrated a
potent and winning on-screen
charisma that would serve her
well on projects to come.
 Beyonce
next won the starring
role opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr.,
in the popular (if critically
panned) comedy "The Fighting
Temptations" (2003), playing
Lilly, a sultry jazz singer who
Gooding recruits into a gang of
misfits hoping to become a
champion church choir. Knowles
displayed on-screen charisma to
spare, although her acting craft
still had some room to develop.
Still, her musical fortunes
remained unfazed: many of
Destiny's Child's songs appeared
on the soundtracks of a number
of movies--including "Charlie's
Angels" and "Bad Boys II"--and
her mega-selling 2003 solo debut
"Crazy In Love" cemented her
reputation as a pop music
superstar. She would also
reunite with Destiny's Child for
their final album "Destiny Fulfiled" in 2004, before
announcing the group's
dissolution in 2005 (Knowles
said it wan not a breakup but
rather "the end of a chapter in
our lives"). And as her film
profile rose,
Beyonce made
history at the 77th Academy
Awards in 2005 when she was the
first performer ever to sing
three of the Oscar nominees
for Best Song during the
telecast.
Beyonce's vibrant and glamorous
image also made her an in demand
commercial spokesperson and
model, with ad campaigns for
L'Oreal, Tommy Hilfiger and
Pepsi (for the latter, she
appeared in a lavish and
memorable "Gladiator"-style
commercial alongside follow pop
stars Britney Spears and Pink). |
