Beyonce and Jay-Z married: People

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles married on Friday in New York, People magazine reported on its Web site, citing an unidentified friend of the couple.

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

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

Guests included Beyonce's mother Tina Knowles, her father and 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 swarms of media to the street outside Jay-Z's penthouse on Friday.

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

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

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

Gossip blogger Perez Hilton fanned the flames when he reported the wedding would take place on Friday, then followed up by posting the address of Jay-Z's apartment as the location.

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Additional reporting by Lucas Jackson and Eric Walsh; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Eric Walsh)