What was Beyoncé’s first film role, in the 2001 musical comedy starring the band Destiny’s Child?

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

The MTV television film is a modern musical adaptation of Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen. Beyoncé played Carmen, a young woman whose story is told through hip-hop and R&B performances rather than traditional operatic staging. Robert Townsend directed the film, which also starred Mekhi Phifer, Mos Def, and Wyclef Jean.

The production came before Beyoncé’s major solo breakthrough and before her widely recognized roles in Austin Powers in Goldmember, The Fighting Temptations, and Dreamgirls. It therefore represents an early screen credit during her rise with Destiny’s Child.

The title is sometimes confused with the 1983 television film Carmen: A Hip Hopera’s later stage and film adaptations, but Beyoncé’s project is specifically the 2001 MTV musical television film.