LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Beyonce Knowles has it all - a hit recording career -- both solo and with Destiny's child, film roles in movies including "Dreamgirls" and "Austin Powers in Goldmember," and a reported marriage to hip-hop giant Jay-Z.
But she wants more.
"I'm over being a pop star," Beyonce told British Marie Claire in the October issue. "I don't wanna be a hot girl. And I feel like I've accomplished a lot. I feel like I'm highly respected, which is more important than any award or any amount of records. And I feel like there comes a point when being a pop star is not enough."
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She noted that there's a time limit on being a pop star - but not on being an icon.
"Being a legend, an icon, absolutely not. And, at this point, that's what I'm trying to do," she said.
She'll have the chance to further her legacy with a new album reportedly due this fall. She's reportedly recorded 60 songs, with 12 of them to appear on the album.
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Beyonce's fresh drive may have been inspired by her role in upcoming film "Cadillac Records," where she plays jazz great Etta James - a singer who battled a decade-long heroin addiction, according to Marie Claire.
"I've been saying for a long time that I wanted to do something dark," she said. "People are going to be very shocked. It's the complete opposite of me. It was very emotionally draining. I was exhausted."
The singer-actress gained 20 pounds for the role, but the real preparation came from visiting a drop-in center for drug addicts in Brooklyn.
"I was really afraid. I didn't know what I would see, because I'd never seen anything like that," Beyonce added. "I didn't want to ask questions that were inappropriate, but (the people there) were very open and I have a new understanding. I never judge, but I just didn't understand how, if you had children and so many things to lose, you could be so deep into your addiction that you just let all of that go."
Family - and privacy -- is important to the singer, whose reported marriage to Jay-Z remains unconfirmed. But striking a balance with fame hasn't been easy, even for an aspiring icon.
"I'm grateful, but it's difficult," she said. "There are responsibilities that come along with this life: just taking my three-year-old nephew to the park is a big ordeal. Or trying to have a romantic dinner without someone sneaking in to film the whole thing. I have to work really hard, and it's fine, because I like it, I love it, but it is a lot of sacrifice."
