Beyoncé's Parents Had a Huge Impact on Her Career, Especially Early On
“It’s my maiden name. My name was Celestine Beyoncé, which at that time was not a cool thing to have that weird name."
Published April 1 2024, 8:29 a.m. ET
Do we know about Beyoncé without her parents? Sure, they made her, so they’re obviously essential to the story of Beyoncé, but would the singer be the same without her manager father and stylist mother?
With another inevitably record-smashing album release, Cowboy Carter, it’s time to look at who Beyoncé was before Sean Carter entered her life. Who are the parents of Beyoncé Knowles?
Beyonce’s parents were primed to raise a superstar.
Mathew Knowles and Tina Knowles, now Tina Knowles-Lawson (the couple was divorced in 2011 and both have since remarried), had a very large role in making sure you knew about their eldest daughter.
Mathew co-founder Destiny’s Child in 1990, then called Girl's Tyme, in Houston. The members were Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson, and LeToya Luckett. They were signed to Columbia Records in 1997 as Destiny's Child.
Mathew worked as Beyoncé's manager until 2011. He also worked as manager for Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. When he stopped working as a manager for his daughter, Beyoncé said, “I am grateful for everything he has taught me. I grew up watching both he and my mother manage and own their own businesses. They were hardworking entrepreneurs, and I will continue to follow in their footsteps. He is my father for life, and I love my dad dearly. I am grateful for everything he has taught me."
Tina may not have co-created Destiny’s Child but she has helped shape how we all view Beyoncé. She was the costume designer for Destiny's Child and in their early days, also styled their hair, which makes sense considering she opened Headliners in 1990, a 12-seat hair salon located in Houston.
In addition to dressing the girl group in their early days, Tina wrote the 2002 book Destiny's Style: Bootylicious Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle Secrets From Destiny's Child. She launched the House of Deréon clothing line with Beyoncé in 2010. It’s named after her mother Agnes Deréon.
Tina also worked as costumer designer for multiple films starring Beyonce: Austin Powers in Goldmember, Cadillac Records, Dreamgirls, Obsessed, and Pink Panther. You may have noticed her in the 2013's Life Is But a Dream, 2016’s Beyoncé: Lemonade, 2019’s Homecoming and 2020’s Black Is King. In 2022 she made her voice acting debut in Disney+’s The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder and acting debut in the Lifetime movie Wrath: A Seven Deadly Sins Story alongside Michelle Williams.
Beyonce’s maternal grandmother was just as fashionable as her daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter.
The September 2018 Vogue cover story is about Beyoncé, her mother, and their fashion line. In one of the photographs of Beyoncé and her mother, a framed photograph of her grandmother Agnes Derouen.
Agnes’s second marriage was to a salad mine employee named Albert Lumas Buyince. They had seven children including Tina. Her surname is listed on her birth certificate as Beyoncé, although she often uses the spelling Beyince.
On the In My Head With Heather Thomson podcast in 2020, Tina said, “A lot of people don’t know that Beyoncé is my last name. It’s my maiden name. My name was Celestine Beyoncé, which at that time was not a cool thing to have that weird name. I wanted my name to be Linda Smith because those were the cool names."
It’s for the best Beyoncé was her last name. Smith-Knowles isn't nearly as memorable of a name.