Tina Knowles' memoir revelations: Destiny's Child, cancer battle and meeting Jay-Z

USA Today

23-04-2025

Tina Knowles' memoir revelations: Destiny's Child, cancer battle and meeting Jay-Z
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Beyoncé's mom, Tina Knowles, reveals she had breast cancer
Beyoncé's mom, Tina Knowles, has revealed that she privately battled breast cancer. She opened up about her 2024 diagnosis.
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Tina Knowles' memoir, "Matriarch," details her life from childhood to the present, including raising Beyoncé and Solange and bonus daughter Kelly.
Knowles discusses the ups and downs of her marriage to Mathew Knowles, including his infidelity.
Knowles recounts success of Destiny's Child, Beyoncé's relationship with Jay-Z and the impact of her late nephew.
Tina Knowles' newly released memoir "Matriarch" is giving fans an inside view of her life from her upbringing to now, and there are some standout moments fans have been noting.
The businesswoman, designer and mother of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles released her book on April 22. In it, she shares intimate details about her life, including private and public battles. Oprah Winfrey announced the book is the latest selection for her famous Oprah's Book Club.
As fans know, Knowles first announced her book last fall. "I have always been a storyteller, and it's something I learned from my mother," she wrote.
"When I had a family of my own, I believed that my daughters needed to know where they came from in order to know where they were going. I'm now ready to share my story with all of you, so that we can all celebrate these themes of strength, motherhood, Black pride, and identity."
She tackles these ideas in the book while giving fans some notable tidbits, noted below, in a bigger glimpse into her life while raising global superstars.
Tina Knowles battled breast cancer
Knowles shared that she was diagnosed with Stage 1 cancer in her left breast during an interview with Gayle King on "CBS Mornings" and in her new book.
The diagnoses came in July after a delayed mammogram appointment. She also opens up about the moments leading up to her lumpectomy.
Tina Knowles on the ups and downs of marriage to Mathew Knowles
In the book, Knowles is transparent about the hurdles and joys of her marriage to Mathew Knowles, the father of her children. She recalls her family first meeting him.
"But Mathew was undeterred, and started acting to everybody he was my boyfriend," she writes. "He was charming, handsome and successful, and my family was all in. It was not lost on our neighbors that he'd parked a Mercedes outside. 'Tenie's (her nickname) got a good boyfriend.'"
Throughout the memoir, she opens up about his struggles with infidelity, managing young superstars and balancing it all with their day-to-day life.
Discovering and cultivating Beyoncé's talent
Knowles gives fans more insight into Beyoncé's early life, discovering her talent and everything in between. "Beyoncé's shyness persisted into first grade and took even more of a hold of her in second grade," she writes. "She walked into every class trying to be invisible."
Later, Knowles writes about seeing her transform onstage. "Watching Beyoncé perform in front of an audience for the first time was my first time seeing her onstage too," she writes. "I was catching up just as much as the audience, but anyone could see she was home."
She also shares more about cultivating the talents of her younger daughter, Solange, and making sure to never compare the sisters.
Destiny's Child hits, hiatus and beyond
Knowles writes about raising her bonus daughter, singer Kelly Rowland, as she and other young girls of the '90s girl group Destiny's Child juggled fame and stardom at a young age.
"Even with this success, there was a constant pressure from some at Sony and Columbia for Destiny's Child to change who they were," Knowles writes.
Later, she writes about the girls working on hit singles and when they decided to take a hiatus. "Destiny's Child had decided to take a hiatus, allowing the girls to pursue projects that were wholly theirs," she writes. "Beyoncé had pushed back her own album so her sister Kelly could take full advantage of the momentum of her own success."
Beyoncé meets, dates Jay-Z
A tidbit that caught fans' eyes is Knowles' insight into the early days of the relationship between Beyoncé and her now-husband Jay-Z.
"As Beyoncé and Jay then kept up with each other in calls, the friendship deepened," she writes. "She would tell me, 'He's just so nice.' There was another guy in the industry talking to her ... she told me they were both coming on at the same time."
Knowles asked Beyoncé who she liked best.
"I watched her think. It was Jay. Isn't it humbling how love can begin with such a simple feeling?" Knowles writes. "You like someone over the phone. You're twenty-one years old and you can't know someday you will take that love to the stars, but it begins with such a small instinct."
Late nephew Uncle Johnny's impact on her life, Beyoncé's music
Knowles made sure to note the relationships that shaped her throughout the years, including with her mom, siblings and of course her nephew whom the family called "Uncle Johnny." Not only did he play a significant part in Mama Tina's life, but also in the lives of her family and daughters before he died of AIDS in 1998. She noted the full-circle moment she felt when listening to Beyoncé's 2022 album "Renaissance."
"I hadn't heard the song 'Heated' yet and as we all danced, Jay suddenly said to me, 'Listen to this.' Then I heard the next line," she wrote referring to Beyoncé singing about Uncle Johnny. "I started to cry and smile at the same time, knowing this was what Johnny wanted. To be loved and celebrated."
How to buy Tina Knowles' new book 'Matriarch'
The book is available online and in stores. Fans can purchase a limited-edition signed copy of the book at Barnes & Noble for $35. On Amazon, the paperback is going for $32, and the hardcover is available for $22.86. Meanwhile, the Kindle version is selling for $14.99.
Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network's Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @cachemcclay.