Tina Knowles, best known as the stylish, unshakeable matriarch behind music royalty Beyoncé and Solange, is stepping into the spotlight for a different reason — to share a deeply personal health journey that she hopes will empower other women to prioritize their well-being.
At 71, Knowles is opening up for the first time about her recent diagnosis and recovery from stage 1 breast cancer, discovered in July 2024. In an exclusive with PEOPLE, she shared how the experience changed her perspective and shaped the pages of her new memoir Matriarch.
“It’s important not to slack on your mammograms,” Knowles says, emphasizing the urgency of routine screenings. At the time of her diagnosis, she was juggling the launch of the Cécred hair care line with Beyoncé and putting the finishing touches on her memoir — all while unaware of the life-altering news that was on its way.
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Moments like these, she admits, forced her to re-evaluate what she wanted to share publicly. “I struggled with whether I would share that journey [in the book] because I’m very private. But I decided to share it because I think it’s a lot of lessons in it for other women,” she explains. “And I think as women, sometimes we get so busy and we get so wrapped up and running around, but you must go get your test. Because if I had not gotten my test early, I mean, I shudder to think what could have happened to me.”
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Knowles acknowledges that she missed a crucial mammogram appointment due to pandemic disruptions. “I forgot that I didn’t go to get my test two years before I thought I had,” she recalls. “Because Covid came and they called me and canceled me and they said, we’ll call you when we start testing again. And I just thought I had done it. So you cannot play around with that.”
In Matriarch, she describes the emotional response of her daughters upon hearing the news. Beyoncé “took it well, staying positive, and I could already feel her mind racing, focusing on this as a task to tackle with precision.” Solange responded with reassurance, saying, “Mom, we are going to take care of this.” With Kelly Rowland and her niece Angie Beyince rallying around her, Knowles writes, “My girls became my team.”
Although there is no family history of breast cancer on her side and she does not carry the genes typically linked to the disease, the diagnosis was still a stark reminder of how vital early detection is. (Her ex-husband, Mathew Knowles, also survived stage 1 breast cancer and carries the BRCA2 gene mutation.)
After undergoing surgery late last year to remove the tumor and opting for a breast reduction, Knowles says, “I’m doing great. Cancer-free and incredibly blessed that God allowed me to find it early.”
In addition to her message about regular checkups: “I didn’t know that there was a stage 0. I could have caught this at stage 0 if I had not missed my mammogram.” Knowles also wants women to know that strength and style can go hand in hand. “I want to show people you can go through that and still be fly.”
These days, she’s focusing on wellness and self-care. “I’m healthier, eating better, I lost weight,” she says. But more than anything, she wants her story to offer hope.
“I want to give people hope,” she says. “What scares me now is not making the best of every day that I have left in this life.”
