Agnéz Deréon: What happened to Tina Knowles’ mother?

Agnéz Deréon

Agnéz Deréon was the mother of Tina Knowles and also the grandmother of Beyoncé. Agnéz Deréons’ daughter Knowles is an American businesswoman, fashion designer, philanthropist, producer, and actress, known for The Pink Panther (2006), Black Is King (2020), and Black Terror (2022). 

Agnéz Deréon: Bio Summary

Full NameAgnéz Deréon
famous asmother of Tina Knowles and grandmother of Beyoncé
Age 71 years old at time of death
Date of BirthJuly 1, 1909
Date of death1984
Place of Birth Delcambre, Louisiana, United States
Zodiac signGemini
NationalityAmerican
EthnicityBlack
childrenJohn Marsh Jr., Lumis Beyince Jr. and Tina (Beyonce) Lawson
spouses Lumis Albert Beyincé
Parents Eugenie DeRouen, Odilia Broussard

What happened to Beyoncé’s grandmother?

Agnéz Deréon was born on July 1, 1909 in  Delcambre, Louisiana, United States to her parents  Eugenie DeRouen and Odilia Broussard. She and her family were Louisiana Créoles. Deréon died at the age of 71 on 4 July 1980 in Galveston, Galveston, Texas, USA. She died at the University of Texas Medical Branch hospital in Galveston of cardiac failure.

Agnéz Deréon’s says she was survived by her husband Lumis Buyince; 3 daughters, Selena Rittenhouse, Florence Bowers, and Tina B. Knowles; 4 sons, Mervin Mash, Jr., Larry Buyince, Roland Buyince, and Lumis Buyince, Jr.; one sister, Lydia Tanner; 2 brothers, Joseph and Arthur Derouen; 22 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren. According to Wikitree, Deréon had Nine of her siblings who were still at home at the time of the 1910 Census.

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She was married Twice

In about 1926, at the age of 17, Deréon married Mervin Marsh and by the 1930 census, the couple were living in Galveston, Texas, and had a 3-year-old daughter named Selina, who was born in Louisiana, and a 7-month-old son, Mervin Jr. who was born in Texas.

It appears the couple’s marriage came to an end early, because, in 1940, Deréon is back in Iberia Parish on Weeks Island, listed as the single, Agnes Buyince in a household with Loomis, her brother Joseph, and her two children from her first marriage.

Deréon, later, married Tina Knowles’ father- Lumis Beyincé of Abbeville, Louisiana. After their marriage, her surname changed from Deréon to Beyincé. The couple relocated to Galveston, Texas where they raised their family (some of the Beyincé relatives still live in Galveston). Both Agnèz and Lumis Beyincé were French-speaking Creoles of predominantly French, African, and Native American descent.

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The Beyincé family was upwardly mobile. The couple made many sacrifices to see that their children matriculated through private school and received a proper education. In an interview with Ebony magazine, Tina Knowles recalls that her mother made altar boy robes and other garments for the church so her children could attend Catholic schools.

Agnéz Deréon’s occupation and House of Deréon

Although no occupation is listed on the various census records for Beyoncé’s grandmother Agnéz Deréon, she was reportedly a skilled seamstress. Her skills and contributions inspired her daughter Tina Knowles and granddaughter Beyoncé to begin a fashion line with the name House of Deréon.

As a Self-taught, Beyoncé’s grandmother Agnéz Deréon became a well-known seamstress catering to private clients in Louisiana. As a seamstress, she was accustomed to tailoring pieces that stood out by decorating the fabrics she used with such embellishments as embroidery, appliques, and smocking. The skilled Seamstress uses materials such as lace, beads, and jeweled buttons, Deréon made her style unique, according to the House of Deréon official website.

ALSO, READ; Lumis Albert Beyincé: What happened to Tina Knowles’ father?

The Fashion Line Deréon was introduced in 2006, with the tagline, “Where the sidewalk and catwalk meet”. The line includes casualwear, such as sweatpants and embroidered hooded sweatshirts. The House of Deréon was introduced on The Oprah Winfrey Show and was also featured on The Tyra Banks Show

In an interview with Ebony magazine, Agnéz Deréon’s granddaughter, Beyoncé had this to say about their clothing line “I love the clothes from the ’70s, my mother’s clothes. I love clothes from the ’40s, my grandmother’s style, so elegant. We wanted to take elements from my grandmother’s legacy—the beaded lace, lush colors, fine fabrics—and mix them with clothes from my mother’s generation and my generation.”

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In May 2008, the fashion line named after Agnéz Deréon released advertisements for its girls’ line called “The Deréon Girls Collection”. The fashion line received lots of criticism when the advertisement showed seven-year-old girls in full makeup and high heels. A poll online on the Washington Post website has stated that 62% of the readers believe the advertisements oversexualize young girls. The junior line Deréon will be discontinued as of 2012.

Both of her maternal grandparents passed away before she was born however, the musician still holds them at heart. The Halo singer uploaded a picture each of Lumis Albert Beyince and Agnez Dereon to her Tumblr account in 2013, simply captioning the picture ‘My grandfather’ and ‘My grandmother’ followed by a heart icon.

Author

  • Kennedy Gedzah is a graduate of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology-KNUST (2018). He is the Owner and has been the lead content creator at Dicytrends.com since 2020. His Passion for providing people with credible and well-researched information on the internet led him to build Dicytrends.com. With more than 5 years of experience in blogging and writing, he has amassed sufficient knowledge on various topics, including biographies, fashion and lifestyles, Entertainment, and more. You can contact him via email: Kgedzah@gmail.com

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Kennedy Gedzah

Kennedy Gedzah is a graduate of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology-KNUST (2018). He is the Owner and has been the lead content creator at Dicytrends.com since 2020. His Passion for providing people with credible and well-researched information on the internet led him to build Dicytrends.com. With more than 5 years of experience in blogging and writing, he has amassed sufficient knowledge on various topics, including biographies, fashion and lifestyles, Entertainment, and more. You can contact him via email: Kgedzah@gmail.com

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