LOS ANGELES – FEB 21: Tina Knowles Lawson arrives for the Essence Celebrates Black Women in Hollywood on February 21, 2019 in Beverly Hills, CA
Birth Name: Celestine Ann Beyoncé
Place of Birth: Galveston, Texas, U.S.
Date of Birth: January 4, 1954
Ethnicity: Louisiana Creole, including African, French, Acadian/French-Canadian, distant Irish and Breton as well as remote Penobscot First Nations
Tina Knowles is an American fashion designer, businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the mother of singers Beyoncé and Solange Knowles. In 1980, she married Mathew C. Knowles, a salesman who would later quit his job to manage American girl group Destiny’s Child. She later filed for divorce and started dating actor Richard Lawson, to whom she was married until 2023. Through her marriage to Lawson, Knowles became a stepmother to his daughter Bianca Lawson. Her daughter’s name, Beyoncé, is a tribute to her maiden name Beyincé, which was spelled Beyoncé due to a clerical error on her birth certificate.
Tina’s parents were Francophone Louisiana Creoles, with roots in New Iberia; their ancestry was mostly African and French (including French ancestors who lived in Canada). Tina is a great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Acadian leader Joseph Broussard. Broussard led French-speaking Catholics from Nova Scotia, Canada to Louisiana in 1765. He was among the first 200 Acadians to arrive in Louisiana in 1765. She is a descendant of French military officer Jean-Vincent d’Abbadie de Saint-Castin (born c. 1652 in Escout, France), and of his wife, Marie Mathilde Pidianske/Penobscot (born c. 1658), who was the daughter of Madockawando Abenaki, a chief of the Penobscot (Panawahpskek) people. She also has Irish and Breton ancestry. Tina is the youngest of seven children. Her elder sisters are named Florence and Selena. Her family roots are from Boutte, Louisiana. She was raised Catholic.
Tina’s father was Lumis/Lumas Albert Beyincé/Buyincé (the son of Alexandre/Alexon Beyincé/Buyincé and Mary Olevia). Lumis was born in Delcambre, Vermilion, Louisiana and was a longshoreman.
Tina’s mother was Agnès/Agnèz DeRouen/Deréon. Agnès was born in Decambre, Louisiana, and was a prominent seamstress.
A picture of Tina’s parents can be seen here.
Her grandparents were Eugène-Gustave DeRouen/Deréon/Derezen and Odelia/Odilia Broussard. Eugène-Gustave likely was the son of Eloi Jacques DeRouen. Odelia was the daughter of Éloi/Éloy-René Rosemond Broussard, who was white, of French descent, and of Celestine Joséphine Lessee/Lesse/Lesser/Lacy/Lacey/Lessassier, who was black/mixed-race black, and the daughter of a slave mother. Éloi and Joséphine had many children together, and possibly married. A picture of Tina’s grandfather Eugène-Gustave can be seen here.
Sources: Genealogies of Tina Knowles – http://www.geni.com
https://famouskin.com
Family history of Tina Knowles, by Megan Smolenyak – http://www.huffingtonpost.com
Article about Tina’s great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Joseph Broussard – http://www.biographi.ca
Tina’s mother, Agnès/Agnèz DeRouen/Deréon, on 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Biography – https://www.nytimes.com
Article about Tina’s elder sisters – https://www.essence.com
Photo by DFree/Bigstock.com
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