Mathew Knowles, father of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles, is battling breast cancer. He revealed the diagnosis in a Good Morning America interview scheduled to air on the ABC morning show on Wednesday, October 2.
GMA has not yet released Mathew’s quotes from the interview, but a promo for the episode shows host Michael Strahan ask the businessman, 67, what it was like to tell his family about his diagnosis.
Mathew did hype up his GMA appearance on Twitter on October 1, however. “I’ll be on @GMA tomorrow making a special announcement,” he wrote. “Tune in!”
Beyoncé and Solange are Mathew’s children from his three-decade marriage to Tina Knowles, which ended in 2011. That same year, Beyoncé severed business ties with her father, who had been managing her career since her Destiny’s Child days.
”I’ve only parted ways with my father on a business level,” the Grammy winner told Us Weekly in an exclusive statement at the time. “He is my father for life and I love my dad dearly. I am grateful for everything he has taught me. I grew up watching both he and my mother manage and own their own businesses. They were hard-working entrepreneurs and I will continue to follow in their footsteps.”
In 2018, Mathew boasted about Beyoncé’s 7-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, to Us. “Blue Ivy is a star. She is just a star. I can see,” he said. “She reminds me a lot of Beyoncé and Solange when they were that age.” (The pop star also has twins, 2-year-old Rumi and Sir, with husband Jay-Z.)
The DNA of Achievers author continued: “[Beyoncé and Solange] work very hard because, at a very early, early age, they were very clear on what their passion was. I think the parenting of Tina and myself combined allowed our kids to really find their passion at an early age.”
Mathew, who is now married to Gena Charmaine Avery, also told Us about his hopes for his famous daughters’ legacies. “I would think Beyoncé will be the greatest female artist of all time,” he said at the time. “[And] Solange will be one of the greatest entertainers of all time.”
