Tina Knowles shares how motherhood shaped her, from cancer battles to fearless fashion advice.

Tina Knowles has long stood as the quiet force behind three powerhouse women—Beyoncé, Solange, and Kelly Rowland. Now, the 70-year-old matriarch is opening up about how she raised each of them differently, honouring their individual personalities while weathering both hardship and joy in her journey through motherhood.

In an emotional interview with People, Knowles reflected on how her own childhood influenced the way she parented. “My parents never said, ‘Oh, you could be anything you want to be,’” she recalled. “So I told my kids the sky’s the limit every day.”

Knowles, author of The Matriarch, explained that she always approached her daughters as individuals. “All three have totally different personalities, so I couldn’t lump them into one category,” she said. “I always spent time with each one of them separately so they could feel special.”

Beyoncé, the global superstar; Solange, the creative firebrand; and Kelly Rowland, the soulful performer who became family after growing up alongside Beyoncé—each has been guided by Knowles’s intuitive parenting. She revealed that her daughters, in turn, have shaped her.

“Beyoncé and Solange have taught me to be fearless and to not have hang-ups,” Knowles shared. “That’s one of the biggest things Beyoncé has taught me—to just take a compliment and say thank you.”

Solange, she noted with a laugh, took her on a fashion journey of self-discovery. “She’s like, ‘Mom, go for it. Stop wearing a black suit every day.’”

While she spoke glowingly of the joy and lessons her daughters bring, Knowles also revealed how the bond between them deepened during one of her most difficult chapters—her breast cancer diagnosis last year.

“They were very supportive of me,” she said. “They were very conscious of the fact that you have to get your mammograms on time.”

Knowles said she now urges other women to stay up to date on their health checks, inspired by the proactive care and concern her daughters showed throughout her illness. Her voice cracked slightly as she acknowledged the role her girls played in her recovery. “They helped me through it all. It meant the world.”

Her journey hasn’t been an easy one—navigating fame, managing careers, and raising children under the spotlight is no small feat. “Oh God, so many obstacles, so many hardships,” she sighed. “But it’s also been filled with a tremendous amount of joy, love, laughter, dancing. Making women feel beautiful.”

But for Tina Knowles, the pinnacle of it all has been motherhood.

“Being a mother—it’s been the best part of it,” she said, a soft smile playing on her lips. “More than the music, more than the fame. It’s watching them become fearless, brilliant women.”

As a woman who helped build an empire but never stopped seeing the unique child in each of her daughters, Knowles offers a quiet but powerful reminder: that the best legacy a parent can leave is one of individuality, courage, and unwavering love