What was Beyoncé's first starring film role?

Beyoncé's first starring film role was Carmen: A Hip Hopera.

The MTV television film premiered on May 8, 2001, and cast Beyoncé as Carmen Brown. It reimagined Georges Bizet's opera Carmen as a contemporary story set in Los Angeles, using hip-hop and R&B rather than a traditional operatic presentation.

The film was directed by Robert Townsend and also starred Mekhi Phifer, Mos Def, and Wyclef Jean. Beyoncé's performance introduced her to a wider screen audience before her later roles in theatrical films. The project is often described as a modern musical adaptation rather than a conventional opera production.

Beyoncé subsequently appeared in Austin Powers in Goldmember, The Fighting Temptations, and Dreamgirls. Dreamgirls is sometimes mistakenly identified as her first film because it was her first major movie musical and earned substantial awards attention. However, Carmen: A Hip Hopera came earlier and is the correct answer for her first starring screen role.