Beyonce Knowles revealed her hairy arm pits when she waved to shocked fans yesterday.

The glamorous star had apparently forgotten to shave as she walked the red carpet at the New York premiere of her new Etta James biopic "Cadillac Records".

One horrified onlooker said: "Beyonce always looks her best at these kind of events.

"She obviously either ran out of razors or just missed a bit in the bathroom."

The singer-and-actress - who was joined by her rapper husband Jay-Z at the glitzy event - isn't the first actress to shock fans with her unkempt pits.

In 1999, Julia Roberts revealed her unshaven armpits as she waved to the crowd at the premiere of "Notting Hill".

Drew Barrymore also stunned onlookers by sporting tufts of hair under her arms at a New York fashion show in 2005.

Beyonce recently revealed moviegoers will be "shocked" by the dark undertones of the new film.

She said: "I have been saying for a long time now that I wanted to do something dark. This was a scary and dark role.

"People are going to be very shocked. It is the complete opposite of me. It was emotionally draining."

The 27-year-old star even visited drug rehab clinics to research her role as the substance abusing singer.

She added: "I was really afraid. I didn't know what I would see."

(Agencies/China Daily December 4, 2008)