Jay-Z and Beyonce Reportedly Tie Knot

— -- Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z andsinger-actress Beyonce Knowles married Friday in New York,People magazine reported on its Web site, citing anunidentified friend of the couple.

The report quoted the friend as saying, "It happenedearlier this evening. Jay wanted it to be a really privateaffair -- close friends and family."

Representatives for the couple were unavailable to confirmthe report, which added that the ceremony was followed by aparty at the rapper's TriBeCa apartment.

Guests included Beyonce's mother Tina Knowles, her fatherand manager Mathew, her sister Solange, Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and friend Gwyneth Paltrow, it said.

The report followed widespread speculation that drew swarmsof media to the street outside Jay-Z's penthouse Friday.

A parade of sport utility vehicles with tinted windows wasseen coming and going from the garage late in the afternoon,one of them carrying two people dressed in chef's uniformscarrying large, square, white boxes on their laps.

And men dressed in tuxedos were spotted on the roof of thebuilding, where a white tent was erected.

People touched off the celebrity wedding watch this weekwhen it reported the couple, who have been dating for severalyears, had taken out a wedding license in Scarsdale Village,New York, valid for 60 days.

Gossip blogger Perez Hilton fanned the flames when hereported the wedding would take place Friday, then followedup by posting the address of Jay-Z's apartment as thelocation.

Matrimonial union between Jay-Z, 37, whose real name isShawn Carter, and Beyonce, 26, also known by her full nameBeyonce Knowles, would mark one of the highest-profilecelebrity unions in recent years.

The two have been romantically linked since September 2002,and they performed together in music videos for two of her hitsingles, "Crazy in Love" and "Deja Vu."

Beyonce rose to fame as a member of the glittery R&B actDestiny's Child but emerged as a superstar in her own rightwith her big-screen turn as Foxxy Cleopatra in the 2002 filmcomedy "Austin Powers in Goldmember." The following yearBeyonce scored a hit with her debut solo album, "Dangerously inLove," collecting five Grammys along the way.

The Houston native earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2006for her role as a Diana Ross-like character in "Dreamgirls," abig-screen adaptation of the Broadway hit musical.

Her marriage to Jay-Z comes as the hip-hop artist andrecord executive is in talks with concert promoter Live Nationfor a deal reported to be worth about $150 million, rivalingthe biggest music contracts ever.

The onetime street hustler from Brooklyn ran the landmarkrap label Def Jam Records as president for several years, butstepped down from that post in December.