Meet Beyoncé’s mum Tina Knowles, who hangs out with Meghan Markle’s mum Doria Ragland: the social media-savvy 70-year-old has gone all in supporting her daughter’s country era – and is a proud grandma

Apr 10 , 2024

Beyoncé and her mum Tina Knowles. Photo: Getty Images

Meghan Markle’s mum, Doria Ragland, has been getting friendly with two of the most famous “momagers” in the biz.

Doria Ragland and Tina Knowles at a Black art event in LA recently. Photo: @thekinseycollection/Instagram

Last month, Ragland was pictured at an art event with Tina Knowles, the mother of music superstars Beyoncé and Solange, in Los Angeles. According to The Kinsey Collection, its event centred around a discussion of “the history and significance of Black art and how various communities can work together to preserve this vital piece of American history” and was “brought together through a partnership between The Archewell Foundation and The Bernard and Shirley Kinsey Foundation for Arts and Education”.

Ragland was also spotted with reality queen and Kardashian-Jenner matriarch Kris Jenner at a This Is About Humanity event in LA last year, per British media.

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Tina Knowles at the Vanity Fair Oscars party. Photo: @mstinaknowles/Instagram

Markle’s mum may not be as “experienced” as Knowles and Jenner, but she’s certainly in good company. What’s more, with the Duchess of Sussex’s increasing influence in Hollywood circles – from launching a Netflix documentary to her Spotify podcast in 2022 – it certainly makes sense to mingle with other mums whose daughters are in the spotlight.

Tina Knowles has been hanging out with Meghan Markle’s mum Doria Ragland recently. Photo: @mstinaknowles/Instagram

So what do we know about Tina Knowles, one of the OG “momagers” of music who’s getting close to Markle’s mum? Here’s what we know:

How old was Tina Knowles when she had Beyoncé?

Tina Knowles is now 70 years old. Photo: @mstinaknowles/Instagram

According to a Beyoncé fan site citing the book Becoming Beyoncé, Knowles was 27 when she had Beyoncé. She was reportedly 32 when she had her second daughter, Solange.

Is Tina Knowles close with Beyoncé?

Knowles, now 70, is believed to be very close with Beyoncé. From regularly sharing photos and videos of her daughters on social media to publicly defending them against any critics, she’s long been her girls’ biggest supporter.

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Tina Knowles has gone all in supporting her daughter Beyoncé’s country music era on socials recently. Photo: @mstinaknowles/Instagram

Most recently she’s been all over Beyoncé’s country music era on her socials. “I just came across this video on my IG feed! We have always celebrated Cowboy Culture growing up in Texas,” Knowles, who was born in Texas, wrote on Instagram alongside a series of throwback photos and videos. “We also always understood that it was not just about it belonging to White culture only. In Texas there is a huge black cowboy culture.”

She is a proud grandma

Tina Knowles posted a sweet Instagram tribute to Blue Ivy on her birthday. Photo: @mstinaknowles/Instagram

Knowles is clearly just as proud of her grandchildren, which include Solange’s son, Julez, and Beyoncé’s children, Blue Ivy, and twins Sir and Rumi.

When it was Blue Ivy’s birthday, she took to Instagram once more to share her gratitude. “The day that you were born was one of the best days of my life,” Knowles wrote, “You are funny and beautiful and graceful, kind, and so smart. I could not ask for a better granddaughter, Ms. Blue Ivy Carter! I could not be more blessed, grateful, and completely in love with another human. You truly bring me joy!! Grandma T”.

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Who is Tina Knowles-Lawson’s second husband, Richard Lawson?

Knowles-Lawson married her second husband – the actor, producer and director Richard Lawson – in 2015, per People.

TMZ reported that Beyoncé and Solange didn’t attend their father Mathew Knowles’ wedding to his second wife Gena Avery due to “prior commitments”, but they did go to their mum’s 2015 nuptials to Richard Lawson, according to People magazine.

In July 2023, Knowles filed for divorce from Lawson, though it’s unclear where the couple’s relationship stands today.

What happened to Beyoncé parents?

Beyoncé at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards with her father and then-manager Mathew Knowles in Los Angeles in 2004. Photo: AP

Beyoncé’s parents Mathew and Tina Knowles announced their divorce in a joint statement in 2009, saying: “The decision to end our marriage is an amicable one. We remain friends, parents, and business partners.” Although they’ve remained tight-lipped about the reason for the split, HuffPost reports that Mathew fathered two children with other women whilst still married to Tina.

Celebrity Families

Tina Knowles was recently spotted at one of Meghan Markle’s Archewell events supporting Black artists alongside the ex-royal’s mum, Doria Ragland
The 70-year-old mum of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles divorced the singers’ father Mathew in 2009 before marrying actor Richard Lawson – though the pair filed for divorce last year