What was Beyoncé’s first acting film, released in 2001?

Beyoncé’s first acting film was Carmen: A Hip Hopera, released in 2001.

The MTV television film is a modern musical adaptation of Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen. It stars Beyoncé as Carmen Brown, with Mekhi Phifer as Hill, Mos Def as Lieutenant Miller, and Wyclef Jean as Lillo.

The production relocates the story to contemporary Los Angeles and uses hip-hop and R&B performances rather than the original opera’s musical form. Robert Townsend directed the film, which premiered on MTV in May 2001.

The film came before Beyoncé’s major theatrical roles in Austin Powers in Goldmember and The Fighting Temptations. It is therefore often missed when people identify her acting debut with one of those later releases.