Tina Knowles sits down for a candid conversation about Matriarch, her memoir, and the line of resilient seamstresses she uncovered while tracing her family history. Ms. Knowles talks openly about rebuilding her self-worth after a 33-year marriage and the stage one breast cancer diagnosis that taught her to put herself first. She also covers building Houston’s biggest hair salon for professional women and how she became the stylist for Destiny’s Child almost by accident. Along the way, she shares how she raised Beyoncé and Solange as individuals, what makes a great leader, and the four words she would tell her 25-year-old self. Recorded at the 2025 Inspirational Women Forum & Leadership Awards. Learn more about this year’s speakers at https://www.latimes.com/IW. 00:00 Introduction 02:30 The message behind Matriarch 04:40 Tracing a legacy of enslaved seamstresses 06:21 Who Tina Knowles is today, at 71 07:20 What it really means to be a matriarch 09:20 Raising Beyoncé and Solange as individuals 13:20 Healing and self-worth after a 33-year marriage 19:15 Breast cancer and the case for self-care 22:05 Building Houston’s biggest hair salon 24:45 How she became Destiny’s Child’s stylist 28:15 Leadership, joy, and purpose 29:20 Four words for her 25-year-old self
Tina Knowles sits down for a candid conversation about Matriarch, her memoir, and the line of resilient seamstresses she uncovered while tracing her family history. Ms. Knowles talks openly about rebuilding her self-worth after a 33-year marriage and the stage one breast cancer diagnosis that taught her to put herself first. She also covers building Houston’s biggest hair salon for professional women and how she became the stylist for Destiny’s Child almost by accident. Along the way, she shares how she raised Beyoncé and Solange as individuals, what makes a great leader, and the four words she would tell her 25-year-old self.
Recorded at the 2025 Inspirational Women Forum & Leadership Awards. Learn more about this year’s speakers at https://www.latimes.com/IW.
00:00 Introduction
02:30 The message behind Matriarch
04:40 Tracing a legacy of enslaved seamstresses
06:21 Who Tina Knowles is today, at 71
07:20 What it really means to be a matriarch
09:20 Raising Beyoncé and Solange as individuals
13:20 Healing and self-worth after a 33-year marriage
19:15 Breast cancer and the case for self-care
22:05 Building Houston’s biggest hair salon
24:45 How she became Destiny’s Child’s stylist
28:15 Leadership, joy, and purpose
29:20 Four words for her 25-year-old self