Tina Knowles

Celestine Beyoncé Knowles-Lawson (née Beyonce; born January 4, 1954), better known as Tina Knowles, is an American businesswoman, fashion designer, and philanthropist known for establishing the brands House of Deréon and Miss Tina by Tina Knowles.

On January 5, 1980, she married Mathew Knowles, a Xerox salesman who would later quit his job to manage Destiny's Child.

The pair share two children: Beyoncé (born 1981) and Solange (born 1986).

In 1990, she opened Headliners, a 12-seat hair salon located in Houston, Texas.

The salon went on to become one of the most famous hair businesses in Houston.

Knowles's rise to prominence came as costume designer for Destiny's Child.

In the early days of the group's career, she created outfits that the members wore on-stage and to events "out of necessity" because money was limited.

She also styled the girls' hair, and they practiced their routines at her shop.

For her contribution to the fashion business, Knowles was honored at the ACE Awards in 2001.

Celestine Ann Beyonce was born in Galveston, Texas, the last of seven siblings.

Her mother, Agnéz Beyincé (née Deréon), was a seamstress.

Her father, Lumis Albert Beyincé, was a longshoreman.

Due to a clerical error on her birth certificate, she spells her surname (Beyonce) "one letter different" than other members of her family.

She is a Black American of Louisiana Creole heritage.

Knowles was raised Catholic.

Her family's roots are from Boutte, Louisiana.

She is a direct descendant of Acadian leader Joseph Broussard and French military officer Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin.

While in high school, Knowles was a part of a singing group called the Veltones, inspired by The Supremes.

In 2002, she published a book titled Destiny's Style: Bootylicious Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle Secrets From Destiny's Child in which she discussed how fashion affected Destiny's Child's success.

The book was published by HarperCollins.

She filed for divorce from Mathew in November 2009, dropped the matter in 2010, then refiled in August 2011.

She stated "discord or conflict of personalities" that prevented them from "reasonable expectation of reconciliation" as the reason for the divorce.

She is the mother of singers Beyoncé and Solange Knowles, and, until 2011, was married to their father Mathew Knowles, the manager of Destiny's Child.

The divorce was finalized in November 2011.

In the summer of 2013, she started dating actor Richard Lawson.

Prior to dating, Knowles had been friends with Lawson for more than 30 years.

They initially met through her friendship with his late sister.

The couple were married in Newport Beach, California on April 12, 2015.

Knowles filed for divorce from Lawson in July 2023, citing irreconcilable differences.

Through her marriage with Lawson, Knowles became a stepmother to his daughter Bianca Lawson and his son Ricky.

She also often refers to Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland as her daughter, whom she helped raise from the age of 11 when Rowland began living with the Knowles family.

In an open letter published by Time magazine in 2015, Knowles stated "I gave birth to two of you, but I have four incredible daughters" referring to Beyoncé, Solange, Kelly, and her niece Angie Beyincé.

Knowles has four grandchildren, including Blue Ivy Carter.

In addition to her grandchildren through daughters Beyoncé and Solange, she also considers herself a grandmother to Kelly's two children.

As a fashion designer, Knowles has been featured in publications such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, L'Officiel, InStyle, and Sports Illustrated.

She has also designed costumes for a number of films including Dreamgirls, Pink Panther, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Obsessed, and Cadillac Records.

She began her career at the age of 19 when she moved to California to work as a makeup artist for Shiseido Cosmetics.

However, she returned home when her parents fell ill.

Knowles then worked as a dance choreographer for University of Alabama at Birmingham and later a beautician in Birmingham, Alabama.

In a 2018 interview, Lawson stated that he had "always admired her from afar and up close too."