Matriarch: Oprah's Book Club

Tina Knowles is an American businesswoman, fashion designer, art collector, and activist. Born Celestine Ann Beyoncé in Galveston, Texas, to a longshoreman father and seamstress mother, she learned dressmaking at an early age. In 1986, she opened Headliners, a groundbreaking hair salon that became a multimillion-dollar phenomenon in Houston. As a stylist, designer, and mother, she helped guide the day-to-day path of Destiny’s Child—the music group comprised of Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams—to global commercial success. With her daughter Beyoncé, she cofounded and ran the House of Deréon, a clothing line named for her mother, and then added the Miss Tina line, which revolutionized size inclusivity. In 2024, she helped to create Cécred, her daughter Beyoncé’s haircare line. Her philanthropic portfolio includes the non-profit performing arts organization WACO Theater, The Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth in Houston, and Tina’s Angels, her thriving mentoring program for at-risk youth in South Central L.A. She serves as Chairwoman of BeyGOOD, a nonprofit dedicated to establishing economic equity through a wide array of initiatives. She is a grandmother of six and a Matriarch to many.—-