Tina Knowles Talks Family, Motherhood, and ‘Matriarch’ With Michelle Obama

Earlier this week, Tina Knowles sat with Michelle Obama for a special live episode of her IMO podcast to discuss the journey of creating her new memoir, Matriarch, her family’s history, and what motherhood means to her.

Despite her fierceness, Tina Knowles reveals to the former first lady she had second thoughts about the reception of her memoir, Matriarch. Knowles is famously known as the mother of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles. “It was scary,” she says. However, she feels it was important to learn about her family’s roots so she could pass their stories on to her children.

Knowles also touched on things that she learned about motherhood from her mother. “I took the good from my mom, which was so many great things, but I also learned from the things that I felt like [sic] she didn’t do such a great job on, and that [sic] was to protect my children.

” I would speak up…I would fight with people,” Knowles recalls.

Knowles, who could be referred to as the “ultimate” matriarch of the entertainment industry makes it clear she has no problem speaking up for her children: ” I would speak up…I would fight with people,” Knowles recalls. “… I remember having to go and fight with the light people…the music people…”

Knowles adds, “…Here I was this country woman from Texas with this big hair and this thick, thick [sic] accent and people didn’t really [sic] respect me…I wasn’t aggressive…I wasn’t loud…and I protected them.”

In 2015, Beyoncé talked to Entertainment Tonight about how Tina Knowles “led by example.” The multi-hyphenate recalls thinking her mother was “so fly.”

The singer added, “She had her own business and I admired her so much [sic]. So I just always wanna [sic] make her proud. And now she makes me proud every day.

Check out the full interview below.