Tina Knowles Shares How She Raised Beyoncé, Solange, And Kelly
Tina Knowles has always had a clear rule for her family: keep work and home life in their own lanes. As the mother of Beyoncé, 43, Solange, 38, and “bonus daughter” Kelly Rowland, 44, she shared recently that she learned early on how to balance her dreams with her girls’ futures. Tina grew up in a world where her parents never told her she could be anything she wanted. So when her daughters arrived, she made sure they heard it every single day: “The sky’s the limit.”
Tina once chased stardom herself, singing in a girl group and hoping for her big break. But fate led her to a salon chair and a sewing machine instead. When Destiny’s Child shot to fame in the late ’90s, Tina stepped behind the scenes, styling hair and sketching outrageous outfits that helped the group stand out. She poured that same creativity into Beyoncé’s solo looks, proving she could shape a superstar’s image as well as any director shapes a movie.
Beyoncé, her eldest, started off shy but came alive on stage. Tina remembers practicing songs in her Houston home, propping up a speaker in the living room or squeezing in rehearsals between clients at the salon. Solange, always the dancer, moved from routines she created for the girls to her own trailblazing music career. And Kelly? Tina began raising her at age 11 alongside her own daughters, treating her like a sister rather than an outsider.
Tina says she never lumped her three stars into one group. “All three have totally different personalities,” she explains, “so I couldn’t lump them into one category.”
Every week, she would carve out solo time with each daughter so they felt seen and heard. That personal touch helped Beyoncé grow into the fearless icon she is today, and gave Solange the confidence to experiment with bold fashion choices that Tina might never have dared on her own.
In turn, Tina learned from her girls. Beyoncé taught her to accept praise with a simple “thank you” instead of brushing it off. Solange nudged her to step outside her comfort zone—“Mom, go for it. Stop wearing a black suit every day,” Solange teased. So, she’d try brighter colors and unexpected cuts. Together, they made each other braver.
Last year, when Tina faced a breast cancer diagnosis, her daughters became her anchor. She recalls them and niece Angie Beyincé singing to her as she headed into surgery. Their care reminded her how precious time is. In her words: “I think we’ve always been very close but it renewed our commitment to spending more time together because life can be short.”
