The glamorous megastar began chasing her dream at 7 and is now selling out arenas and starring in big-screen musicals. A high-profile marriage to rap mogul Jay-Z adds romance to the success story.

Mrs. Irreplaceable

By Lola Ogunnaike

Dressed in black curve-skimming pants, boots and a matching ruffled jacket, Beyonce Knowles, R&B's 27-year-old reigning diva, is perched on a chaise longue in New York's Soho Grand Hotel, dodging all questions about her recent marriage to the rapper Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter.

"I'm here to sing about what women actually feel."

Ask her about how he proposed and she giggles nervously. "I don't really talk about it." Ask her about her honeymoon and she laughs, stalling for time. "We haven't taken one," she finally offers. "There's plenty of time." Ask her about her wedding ring, which the tabloids claim cost $5 million: "I don't wear it during interviews because that invites people to ask me about it," she says. "Me not wearing it says that I'm not going there."

The new Mrs. Carter may not be going there in interviews, but her latest song, "Single Ladies," encourages men to pop the question before the competition swoops in. "If you like it, then you should've put a ring on it/Don't be mad when you see that he want it," she sings over thumping hand claps.

"Men are going to hate me as usual," says the Grammy winner, who has sold 25 million records on the strength of girl-power tracks like "Me, Myself & I, "Ring the Alarm" and "Irreplaceable." "But that's OK. The women will have another anthem. I'm here to sing about what women actually feel."

Her latest effort, "I Am ... Sasha Fierce," is available in a double disc deluxe edition featuring 16 songs that she says reflect her dual personalities. Offstage, Knowles is subdued and deliberate; the folksy, acoustic guitar-driven tracks on Disc 1 capture that side of her. Disc 2 is made for the clubs and was inspired by "Sasha," her alter ego. Sasha is the electric glamazon shaking it in a skimpy leotard in the dance video for "Single Ladies." But it's Beyonce, demure and makeup-free, in the black-and-white video for the plaintive ballad "If I Were a Boy."

Knowles' friends say Sasha has been present since the singer's childhood in Houston, where her family owned a beauty salon. "When she was 8, she performed at this Sammy Davis Jr. event, and she was so scared when she walked onstage," says her cousin and longtime assistant, Angie Beyince. "But as soon as she grabbed the microphone and the music came on, she lit up. She was a completely different person, with this huge voice."

With which couple would you most want to ring in 2009? A) Beyonce & Jay-Z B) Jessica Biel & Justin Timberlake C) Faith Hill & Tim McGraw Vote here

There was little sign of that other person a decade ago. In interviews, Knowles was content to sit in the background quietly while the rest of Destiny's Child, the '90s girl group that launched her career, eagerly answered questions and preened for the camera. But with each year, Knowles grew more confident, eventually becoming the group's breakout star. Today, her solo efforts, 2003's "Dangerously in Love" and the 2006 follow-up, "B'Day, have a combined eight Top 10 hits, and she has appeared in a slew of films, such as "Austin Powers in Goldmember" and "Dreamgirls."

In 2002, she met her dream man, Jay-Z, 39, no slouch in his own right (record mogul, club owner, clothing apparel CEO). The two later collaborated on the hit single "Bonnie and Clyde." They tried to keep their relationship a secret, but soon the tabloids were dotted with photos of the couple vacationing on yachts in St. Tropez and other exotic locales. After years of dating, they married in April in a private candlelight ceremony at Jay-Z's sprawling penthouse in Manhattan. Flowers reportedly were flown in from Thailand for the event, and Gwyneth Paltrow and her spouse, Chris Martin of Coldplay, attended.

Knowles won't discuss any of it, of course. Music's most powerful couple rarely mention one another by name in interviews. During our chat, she never utters the word "husband" or mentions her spouse by name. "I know it's not a secret," she says of her union. "But I like keeping that part of my life for me."

It's clear she'd much rather be talking business, and today there is a lot to discuss. First on her agenda was figuring out which photos should accompany her album, then a quick business meeting with her handlers about, among other things, the album's name, followed by our interview. Two other journalists also were waiting to interview her.

One thing is certain: Marriage hasn't slowed her down. In fact, it seems Knowles is working even harder. When not shooting American Express commercials, designing for her fashion line or hawking perfume for Armani, she's acting. She has two new films set for release. In the thriller "Obsessed," out in February, she plays the wife of a man stalked by a co-worker. In this weekend's "Cadillac Records," based on the true story of a legendary Chicago music label, she plays Etta James, one of the first black singers to cross over to the mainstream. Knowles visited drug addicts at a Brooklyn rehab center to prepare for the role of James, who once was a heroin addict. The film is Knowles' darkest and most challenging work to date.

"I've never done anything like this, and it was really scary," she says. "But I did the best job that I've ever done in a film. I finally felt the same magic that I feel when I perform onstage. After I finished doing the movie, I was so proud that I pushed myself, and I found that I wasn't afraid to take more risks with my music.

"Etta was very unapologetic and always so bold, and she was never afraid to experiment with new sounds, and she definitely inspired me to do the same."

She admits to being a workaholic ("I get it from my parents"), but now she sets limits and is no longer afraid to say no, those near her have observed. "She is very clear about what she will and will not do," says Frank Gatson Jr., her longtime choreographer. "She is a sweet girl, but she can put her foot down."

Says Knowles: "Starting out, I had to do what I had to do. I couldn't say no to anything. Now, I control my schedule, and if I need to take a month off, I can do that. I'm fortunate enough to be working because I want to and not because I have to."

With her full schedule and the new demands of marriage, she's not ready to add motherhood to her resume. "I love my nephew, but I just spent a week with him, and he drove me crazy," she says with a heavy sigh. "Kids are a lot of work. I'd have to slow down to make that commitment, and I'm so not ready to do that."

Cover photograph by Don Flood, August