Solange Knowles
Knowles in 2011, Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Solange Piaget Knowles
Place of Birth: Houston, Harris, Texas, U.S.
Date of Birth: June 24, 1986
Ethnicity:
*father – African-American
*mother – Louisiana Creole, including African, French, Acadian/French-Canadian, as well as distant Irish, Breton, and Belgian Walloon, remote Penobscot First Nations
Solange Knowles is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and model.
She is the daughter of Tina Knowles (born Célestine Ann Beyoncé), a fashion designer, and Mathew C. Knowles, a businessperson and talent manager. She is the sister of actress and singer Beyoncé. They are the first sisters to have each had No. 1 albums. Her niece, Beyoncé’s daughter, is singer and dancer Blue Ivy Carter. Solange is a step-sister of actress Bianca Lawson. Her mother is married to Bianca’s father, actor Richard Lawson. Solange is married to music video director Alan Ferguson. She has a son with her former husband Daniel Smith.
Solange’s father is African-American. Solange’s maternal grandparents were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles, with roots in New Iberia; their ancestry was mostly African and French (including French ancestors who lived in Canada). Through her mother’s line, Solange is a great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Acadian leader Joseph Broussard, who led French-speaking Catholics from Nova Scotia, Canada to Louisiana in 1765. He was among the first 200 Acadians to arrive in Louisiana that year. She is also 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. Through Marie Mathilde, Solange is of 1/1024 Indigenous descent. Solange is also of approximately 1/32 Irish ancestry, and has distant Breton and Belgian Flemish roots on her mother’s side, the latter including her ancestor Albert de Cuir, from Hainaut Province, Wallonia. Her sister’s name, Beyoncé, is a tribute to their mother’s family name, Beyincé. Through her Broussard line, she is a third cousin of gospel singer and graphic artist Karen Showell.
Solange’s sister Beyoncé has said that she has Nigerian ancestry. She may have discovered this through a DNA test.
Solange’s mother has also been described as having Cherokee and/or Choctaw Native American ancestry. It is not clear if this ancestry has been verified/documented. No Cherokee or Choctaw Native American ancestors appear on publicly available family trees of Solange’s mother. One book biography of Solange’s sister, Crazy in Love: The Beyoncé Knowles Biography, also refers to their mother having Spanish, Jewish, Chinese, and Indonesian ancestry. It is also not clear if this is accurate.
A picture of Solange’s maternal grandparents can be seen here.
Solange’s paternal grandfather was Matthew/Mathew Q. Knowles (the son of Taylor Knowles and Girlie/Gurlie/Gerlie Mae Miller). Matthew was born in Alabama. Taylor was the son of James Isaac Knowles and Sarah Elizabeth Dixon. Girlie was the daughter of Prophet Miller and Jane Hall.
Solange’s paternal grandmother is Lou Helen Hogue (the daughter of Davis/Dave Hogue and Hester Moore). Lou was born in Alabama. Davis was the son of Jim Hogue and Rosetta Moore. Hester was the daughter of Pinkney Madison Moore and Arenia Goree.
Solange’s maternal grandfather was Lumis/Lumas Albert Beyincé/Buyincé (the son of Alexandre/Alexon Beyincé/Buyincé and Mary Olevia). Lumis was born in Delcambre, Vermilion, Louisiana.
Solange’s maternal grandmother was Agnès/Agnèz DeRouen/Deréon (the daughter of Eugène-Gustave DeRouen/Deréon/Derezen and Odelia/Odilia Broussard). Agnès was born in Louisiana, and was a prominent seamstress. 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 Solange’s great-grandfather Eugène-Gustave can be seen here.
Solange’s parents Mathew and Tina, 2007, photo by bigstock.com
Sources: Genealogies of Solange Knowles – http://www.geni.com
https://famouskin.com
Family history of Solange – https://www.hollywoodancestry.com
https://www.dailymail.co.uk
https://jack.canalplus.com
Family history of Solange, by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak – http://www.huffingtonpost.com
Solange’s paternal grandfather, Matthew/Mathew Q. Knowles, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Solange’s paternal grandmother, Lou Helen Hogue, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Article about Solange’s maternal great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Joseph Broussard – http://www.biographi.ca
Solange’s maternal grandmother, Agnès/Agnèz DeRouen/Deréon, on 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Solange reminds me of Esperanza spalding. Her features are very caucasian and her son is obviously gets a lot of nonblack admixture from her. A shame she only claims monoracial when she’s mixed
Yes her full lips and wide nose, so Caucasian!
A woman with two black parents has no reason to claim mixed.
he nose isn”t wide and her lips arent that full. Tina knowles obviosuly isn’t black, you racist one drop rule toting American
https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/6/3/466/576141
Her mom looks 25% white.
What is the point of having both Cajun and Acadian as tags on the site? Isn’t it one and the same?
@Bablah
They’re two different cultures. While Cajun people are descendants from Acadians, They have their own specific culture that is unique to Louisiana. Like African Americans are Descendants of Africans, but we have our own cultures
Mr Knowles doesn’t look all ‘African-American’ (I know they are mixed anyway). He looks part Peruvian or mixed with something significant, because looking at his hair and jawline I can see admixture.
@Kimmel LOL gimme a break her dad is a basic Black man. I love how this website tried to mix everyone up cause most of the people posting here are mixed themselves.
@kimmel
What is (look all ‘African-American’)?
I believe he meant that he does not look much Sub-Saharan African in facial features, and that is true. I guess he has around 80% SSA ancestry like most AA’s though.
Quote(I believe he meant that he does not look much Sub-Saharan African in facial features)
I strongly disagree,I’ve seen his facial features in other West Africans, you have to get more exposure
Quote(I guess he has around 80% SSA ancestry like most AA’s though.)
the range is said to be 3-20%, not 20 on the nose. Ancestry.com and 23and me and others like it haven’t tested that many African Americans so their gene pool is low, and even they have different results from each other
I respect your opinion but my point is that he looks African-American, not West African.
@Andrew
I will respect your opinion, and know what I know to be true
The Knowles sisters are obviously mixed, they are mulattos but delusionnal self hating black Americans will always deny it.
@Samiiraa
From what I can see, even Solange states she’s black . So exactly what are black Americans supposedly hating about? I don’t think anyone had denied that the Knowles are MGM’s
Yeah but there are a lot of people who are mixed race who claim black because black Americans tend to get mad when you’re mixed and don’t claim only black.
So you’re saying that those black Americans are no different than you are. You get anger when a FGM doesn’t ID as mixed, while those Black Americans you speak of get anger because those FGM’s don’t ID as black. Both of you are taken away the right to choose. How does the way these FGM’s self Identify affect you or those anger black people you speak of? I’m a black American of my own choice, and I could care less how a FGM wants to ID, if they call themselves black fine with me, if mixed fine. Truthfully , this is the same old William Lynch
crap that pops up every 30yrs
Just being curious, how many black Americans have you actually talk to, that told you they get mad. . Because the black Americans I know, really don’t talk about this stuff. Also, you’ve given black Americans far more power than they actually have. As I stated before, you’re ignoring personal choice. Many of the FGM’s that I’ve seen, have stated themselves that they feel more comfortable seeing themselves as black. I do understand that is a foreign concept to you
@fuzzybear why don’t you watch a mixed race documentary on youtube and go to the comment section where all the black people insist that the mixed people in the video must be just black. Or Stacey Dash article where people insist she must be black or with sage steele. You’re exactly the kind of person I’m talking about but since you are the problem, you won’t see what I’m saying
@multiethnicchick
Fuzzybear has a white-passing father and white looking relatives (his words). He is not black.
@Multiethnicchick
Quote(why don’t you watch a mixed race documentary on youtube)
I have watch some of those videos. I’ve seen how some say they go through some type of struggle, while other don’t have any problems at all. . I’ve seen how people who are half white / Black , say that they are black, while others say they are mixed. kat graham says she’s black, so does lauren london although their both half white. Am I supposed to tell them, that they can’t say that?
Quote( You’re exactly the kind of person I’m talking about but since you are the problem, you won’t see what I’m saying). The comment section is just that. Just like here, many times people try to enforce their will on someone else.
Quote(You’re exactly the kind of person I’m talking about but since you are the problem, you won’t see what I’m saying)
You can say what want, but I’ve never made anyone have to choose what to call themselves, or called anyone anything they they already call themselves. That’s a problem that you seem to have, not me
@Andrew
Quote(Fuzzybear has a white-passing father and white looking relatives (his words). He is not black.)
My Father was NEVER white-passing. Nor did he ever want to be white. Now yes I do have some white looking relative, SO.
Quote( He is not black.)
Do I have white ancestry in me, yes I do. However I am a Black/African American male, and very proud to be that. So do not try to tell me what I am(not to say this in a mean way), just saying
Frankly I didn’t care (unless your dad is a celeb), but you stated people thought he was white.
@andrew
Quote(Frankly I didn’t care (unless your dad is a celeb), but you stated people thought he was white.)
Well my father might not have been a celeb , but he was a star in my eyes buddy. Now yes most of the people who met him, thought he was white. However that’s not him white passing, that’s their own misconception. He was very quick to shut that misconception down
They’re mostly African American raised in America which is why they identify with that side more so than their other ancestry I feel. Maybe if they were raised in France or another country then they might would identify with that ancestry I feel.
“On her father’s side, Beyoncé is…”
Should say Solange