Matriarch

Beyoncé’s mother tells her story for the first time ever

By: Tina Knowles

Narrated by: Angie Beyincé, Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Solange, Tina Knowles

The #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK

'A must-read memoir that you'll want to share with all the women in your life' MICHELLE OBAMA

'A work of art' OPRAH

To understand the icons Beyoncé, Solange and Kelly, you have to understand where they came from... A deeply personal and revelatory memoir by Ms Tina Knowles - as you've never seen her before.

Tina Knowles, the mother of icons Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Solange Knowles and bonus daughter Kelly Rowland, is known the world over as a Matriarch with a capital M: the woman who raised and inspired some of the great artists of our time. But this story is about so much more than that.

For the first time ever, Tina Knowles shares her remarkable story in Matriarch. A life of grief and tragedy, love and heartbreak, the nurturing of her superstar daughters - and the perseverance and audacity it takes for a girl from Galveston, Texas to change the world.

This intimate and revealing memoir is a multigenerational family saga and a celebration of the wisdom that women, mothers and daughters pass on to each other across generations.

A glorious chronicle of a life like none other and a testament to the world-changing power of Black motherhood.©2025 Tina Knowles

Critic reviews

A must-read memoir that you'll want to share with all the women in your life. (Michelle Obama)

A work of art. (Oprah Winfrey)

In Matriarch, her touching, surprisingly beautiful memoir, Knowles weaves together a rich tapestry of a life defined by providing love . . . Matriarch encapsulates the hypocrisies of the American Dream while eventually turning into an ode to its possibilities. (Poppie Platt)

A gifted storyteller who weaves together intergenerational narratives into an impressively cohesive whole...Throughout Matriarch, such scrupulous accounts of systemic discrimination and violence paint a vivid picture of a topic that can otherwise feel hard to grasp - one of the book's greatest strengths...What makes Beyoncé Beyoncé, Tina Tina, or you you? Matriarch poses big, pertinent questions, and the answers it offers are largely thoughtful. Packing plenty of wisdom even if neither you nor your progeny are global superstars, Matriarch insists on the multiplicity in us all - daughter, woman, mother, no matter how we came to be that way. (Emily Watkins)

Knowles has a keen eye for both the overall shape of a tale and the tiny sensory details that will connect readers to it . . . As a mother, I closed this book in awe of Knowles' hard grafting, hard loving, open minded and humbly accountable parenting ethos. No wonder her girls grew up to feel they could run the world. (Helen Brown)

A touching tale of growing up in the US south.

A mother memoir that, like Knowles herself, stands proud in a lineage of singular excellence. (India Block)

Beautiful Story

I enjoyed part 2 and 3 more than the first because it was hard for me to connect culturally. But as a brown person I found commonalities in Tina's story with my own mom's - specifically the motherly sacrifices and community driven actions. This book was well organized and beautifully narrated. I love Beyonce and now I know she is all she is from the strength of her mother.

heartwarming and thoughtful

Listening to this audiobook was such a heartwarming experience. It offered a genuine peek into the life of a woman who’s often known only by her public roles—but through her words, I came to see her as a deeply grounded, family-centered person. What resonated most was her emphasis on community and the importance of leaning on others—especially other women—in the journey of motherhood and personal growth. It reminded me that I don’t have to do everything alone, and that beginnings don’t define the full story. Her life is a beautiful testament to how things can unfold with grace and strength. I came away inspired, comforted, and grateful.

honesty of aural storytelling

a decent listen, an honest insight into the realness of a superstar change maker. Historical and modern.

Sooo good! So real and insightful in many ways.

This was SUCH a GREAT book. I didn’t want it to end. Listening to Tina narrating it was also so very comforting. I loved the honesty and how she vulnerably let us into her life and experiences, good and bad.

I also loved the gems along the way, from her parenting style to gems about self-love. I love how fiercely loyal, kind, and loving she is to everyone.

I loved her progressive thinking to seek therapy for her kids and herself when she realized it was necessary. I wish the book would go on and on. I’ve been recommending it to everyone. I loved Badass Teeny B!!

I hope she finds love/a life partner again because she seems like a wonderful person with a very good soul. A memoir worth listening to/reading!

The Lessons.

Incredibly story. Beautifully told. Definitely add it to your catalogue ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A BLACK WOMAN❤️