Tina Knowles, much like countless mothers before her, once preferred to keep her role in her family's businesses out of the spotlight. That approach is shifting.

As the head of a family that includes two billionaires in daughter Beyonce and son-in-law Jay-Z, she has long guided their paths from behind the scenes with strategy and key decisions that fueled their shared success.

Knowles now openly states she is more than just the mother of Beyonce and Solange, while still celebrating that role fully. She serves as vice chairwoman of the hair-care brand Cecred, launched with Beyonce, and chairs the philanthropic initiative BeyGOOD.

"I am not trying to claim credit for everything," she explained during a conversation on the rooftop of the Hotel Martinez in Cannes at last month's Cannes Lions Festival, "but later in life I have learned that if you do not claim your own achievements, others will take them."

Knowles appeared as a panelist at FQ Beach during Cannes Lions to discuss her collaboration and campaign with Ancestry, which started while she promoted her 2025 memoir Matriarch.

She contacted the genealogy firm after using its tools to trace Louisiana Creole roots for the book, according to Ancestry CMO Attica Jaques. Jaques noted that Knowles already knew much about her mother's lineage but gained new insights on her father's side, making the partnership feel natural and authentic.

Business Insider spoke with Knowles about claiming more credit for her work, the business principles she instilled in her daughters, and the outlook for her food venture Mama Tina's Gumbo following its early challenges at the Houston Rodeo this year.

In the interview Knowles explained that the public often underestimates her input across ventures, a pattern that began with Destiny's Child. She once welcomed staying in the background but now finds it frustrating when people assume she simply trails her children rather than actively shaping their businesses and running her own successful projects.

She described her core strength as balance, blending creative vision with practical business sense in a way that many others lack, whether they lean too far into pure creativity or strict commerce.

On BeyGOOD she noted that decisions between for-profit and nonprofit paths arise naturally based on the cause, and she plans to move fully into philanthropic work within the next two years.

Knowles also stressed the importance of separating family time from business talk, a boundary she taught her daughters early and one that Beyonce often enforces to preserve balance and sanity.

Regarding Mama Tina's Gumbo, she confirmed the pop-up will expand into a full product line once conditions allow, calling it a definite plan.

Her earliest business lesson to the family centered on budgets, a concept she reinforced even with her young granddaughter during a toy store visit. She added that the most valuable non-financial teaching remains putting family first while also making time for fun, music, and laughter to avoid misery despite wealth.

When choosing music for those lighter moments her go-to artists include the Isley Brothers, Marvin Gaye, and Sade.