Tina Knowles

Tina Knowles
Tina Knowles
Born	Celestine Ann Beyoncé; January 4, 1954 (age 72); Galveston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, fashion designer, author, philanthropist
Known for	Establishing House of Deréon and Miss Tina by Tina Knowles; mother of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles
Notable work	Destiny's Style: Bootylicious Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle Secrets From Destiny's Child; producer of Profiled: The Black Man; appearances in Beyoncé: Lemonade, Homecoming, Black Is King

Celestine Ann "Tina" Beyoncé Knowles (born January 4, 1954) is a prominent American entrepreneur, fashion designer, author, and philanthropist, best known for establishing the brands House of Deréon and Miss Tina by Tina Knowles. She is the mother of renowned singers Beyoncé and Solange Knowles and was married to their father, Mathew Knowles, who managed Destiny's Child, until their divorce in 2011. Her contributions to fashion earned her the Accessories Council Excellence Awards in 2001.

Personal life and family

Celestine Ann Beyoncé entered the world in Galveston, Texas as the youngest among seven siblings. Her mother, Agnéz Beyincé (née Deréon), worked as a seamstress, while her father, Lumis Albert Beyincé, was employed as a longshoreman. Due to an administrative mistake, her last name is spelled "Beyonce," differing by one letter from other family members. She descends from Louisiana Creole ancestry and was brought up in the Catholic faith. Her lineage traces back to Boutte, Louisiana, with ancestors including Acadian leader Joseph Broussard and French military officer Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin. During high school, she participated in a singing group influenced by The Supremes.

On January 5, 1980, she married Mathew Knowles, who was then a Xerox salesman and later became Destiny's Child's manager. Their marriage ended in November 2011; together they have two daughters: Beyoncé (born 1981) and Solange (born 1986).

In 2013, she began a relationship with actor Richard Lawson, a longtime acquaintance. They wed on April 12, 2015, in Newport Beach, California. The couple separated with a divorce filing in July 2023 due to irreconcilable differences; the divorce was finalized in 2024. Through this union, she became stepmother to his children Bianca Lawson and Ricky Lawson.

Knowles also considers Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland as part of her family, having helped raise her from age 11 when Rowland lived with them. In a 2015 letter published in Time, she described Beyoncé, Solange, Kelly, and her niece Angie Beyincé as her four daughters.

She is grandmother to four grandchildren, including Blue Ivy Carter, and embraces Kelly Rowland’s two children as part of her extended family.

In late 2024, Knowles underwent successful treatment for stage 1 breast cancer.

Career

Knowles has gained recognition as a fashion designer featured in magazines such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, and InStyle. Her costume design work includes films like Dreamgirls, Pink Panther, and Cadillac Records.

Her professional journey began at age 19 as a makeup artist for Shiseido Cosmetics in California; however, she returned home due to family health issues. Subsequently, she worked as a dance choreographer at the University of Alabama at Birmingham before becoming a beautician in Birmingham, Alabama. In 1990, she established Headliners, a small hair salon with twelve seats located in Houston, Texas, which evolved into one of Houston’s most esteemed hair establishments. Her reputation expanded through her role as costume designer for Destiny's Child—crafting their early performance attire and styling their hair during rehearsals held at her salon.

In 2002, Knowles authored Destiny's Style: Bootylicious Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle Secrets From Destiny's Child published by HarperCollins, exploring how fashion played a role in the group's achievements. Two years later, in 2004, she co-founded the clothing brand House of Deréon alongside Beyoncé; the label honors her mother Agnes Deréon. On November 22, 2010, she introduced another apparel line named "Miss Tina by Tina Knowles" during an appearance on The View. This collection later expanded to Walmart after initially being sold on the Home Shopping Network. The designs focus on garments that "conceal imperfections and provide a slimming effect," emphasizing construction similar to foundation garments.

Knowles acted as wardrobe director for Beyoncé’s 2013 documentary film Life Is But a Dream. She appeared in Beyoncé’s visual album Beyoncé: Lemonade released in 2016 and had a brief role in the concert film Homecoming from 2019. In July 2020, she made cameo appearances in Beyoncé’s Disney+ project Black Is King, also credited as art curator after contributing artwork for the production. That same month, she promoted her Instagram series "Talks with Mama Tina," which addresses social topics such as voter suppression and racial issues.

On May 23, 2021, Knowles honored rapper Trae tha Truth with the Change Maker Award at the Billboard Music Awards. In June of that year, she participated in Facebook’s Lift Black Voices Hub discussing Juneteenth celebrations. August 2021 saw the announcement of her role as producer for a docuseries titled Profiled: The Black Man, created for Discovery, Inc. and the Oprah Winfrey Network. The series aired in early 2022 and focused on highlighting both challenges faced by Black men and their accomplishments.

December 2021 marked the debut of "Talks with Mama Tina" on Facebook Watch featuring interviews with celebrities such as Ciara and Zendaya. The premiere episode included Beyoncé performing the theme song alongside her children; this song received a nomination for Outstanding Original Song at the 49th Daytime Emmy Awards.

In April 2022, Knowles made her acting debut on the animated series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder and appeared in Lifetime’s thriller Wrath: A Seven Deadly Sins Story starring Michelle Williams.

In February 2024, Knowles took on the position of vice chairperson at Cécred, an American hair care company founded by Beyoncé. By October of that year, she revealed plans for her memoir titled Matriarch, scheduled for publication in April 2025; it was selected by Oprah Winfrey for inclusion in Oprah's Book Club 2.0.

Humanitarian aid

In 2002, Tina Knowles, alongside Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland, inaugurated the Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth, a community hub situated in Downtown Houston.

Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Knowles partnered with Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé, Solange, and Rowland to establish the Survivor Foundation, which aimed to provide temporary housing solutions for displaced individuals.

In 2010, Knowles and Beyoncé launched the Beyoncé Cosmetology Center at Phoenix House in Brooklyn, a nonprofit dedicated to drug and alcohol rehabilitation. The center offers a comprehensive seven-month cosmetology training program.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Knowles joined forces with Beyoncé’s BeyGood foundation on the #IDidMyPart initiative to combat elevated mortality rates from the virus within Houston’s African-American population. She has also been a prominent advocate for COVID-19 education through major media platforms such as CBS News and ABC News.

Politics and civil rights

Knowles has long been an advocate for civil rights and gender equality, with particular attention to African American and LGBTQ+ communities. She supports philanthropic efforts tied to organizations like Black Lives Matter, African Pride, Still I Vote, and Mothers of the Movement. Additionally, she has taken a public stance against police violence and abuse toward women.

In 2020, she became part of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights to back the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act. This legislation targets improvements in healthcare access, economic stability, justice reform, housing availability, and voting rights amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Together with her daughters and notable actresses including Viola Davis and Whoopi Goldberg, Knowles co-signed an open letter urging Senate leaders Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer to pass the bill.

Where Art Can Occur (WACO) Theater Center

Tina Knowles and her then-spouse Richard founded the Where Art Can Occur (WACO) Theater Center in Los Angeles in 2017. This nonprofit organization is dedicated to fostering creativity among artists while supporting local communities. The Advisory Board features Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and Solange as key members.

Honors

In 2001, Knowles was honored with an ACE Award recognizing her positive contributions to the accessories sector. Nearly two decades later, in 2020, she received the Inspiring Leadership Award at the Essence Festival’s Empowerment Experience.

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2020	Black Is King	Herself	Visual album released on Disney+
2022	Wrath: A Seven Deadly Sins Story	Sarah	Television film
2022	Black Terror	Herself	Post-production; co-producer

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2020	I Got the Mic!	Herself
2021	RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 6)		Guest judge	Episode: "Snatch Game of Love"
2021	Friday Night Vibes		1 episode
2021–2022	Talks with Mama Tina		Facebook talk show; co-producer
2022	The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder	Ms. Gina (voice)	Episode: "Raging Bully"
2022	Profiled: The Black Man	Television docuseries; co-producer

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist	Role
2013	"Grown Woman"	Beyoncé	Herself
2016	"All Night"	Beyoncé
2020	"Love One Another"	Tay Da Prince, John Legend
2020	"Brown Skin Girl"	Beyoncé, Blue Ivy Carter, Saint Jhn, Wizkid
2021	"Have Mercy"	Chloe Bailey

Bibliography