Forty-five years ago today, a queen was born: Queen Bey.
Beyoncé is celebrating her 45th birthday on Sept. 4, 2026, and her mother, Tina Knowles, shared a glimpse into the day a star was born with a rare photo.
The photo, posted on Instagram, shows a young Knowles in a hospital bed with an even younger Beyoncé in her arms.
The photo is signed “Baby Beyoncé” with the date “9/4/1981.”
“Reminiscing on this day 45 years ago. You took nine hours to come. And I am exhausted on this photo, but the happiest I’ve ever been in my life up to this point on this day,” Knowles wrote in the caption.
She goes on to describe what’s happening in the photo.
“We are making our first eye contact. The connection is so strong and so beautiful and so powerful. It’s never been broken and it never will,” she continued.
Knowles then paid tribute to her daughter, the “extraordinary human being” that she is.
“Out of all the beautiful things about you, the thing I love the most is your huge heart! It is the thing that I’m the most proud of. You are an extraordinary human being first.”
“And even through all the sometimes terrible noise you keep going and moving forward,” Knowles said, concluding her birthday message. “Creating, loving, lifting up others constantly making history, and using that genius mind, working your butt off, minding your own damn business, and living your life to the fullest. Happy Birthday I love you ❤️🙏🏾🌹”
Knowles spoke about the meaning behind her firstborn’s name during a podcast appearance in 2021.
“A lot of people don’t know that Beyoncé is my last name. It’s my maiden name,” Knowles said on the “In My Head With Heather Thomson. “My name was Celestine Beyoncé, which at that time was not a cool thing to have that weird name. I wanted my name to be Linda Smith because those were the cool names.”
Knowles has always been very outspoken in her support for her daughter, whether it’s re-creating one of the singer’s iconic “Renaissance Tour” looks or slamming critics. She’s also a cheerleader for her second daughter, Solange.
When Beyoncé made her first Met Gala appearance in a decade and shared the spotlight with her husband Jay-Z and their daughter Blue Ivy, Knowles told TODAY she got emotional.
“It was kind of reminiscent, because Beyoncé started, you know, her first red carpet at 15, and Blue is 14,” Knowles said May 5 on the 3rd hour of TODAY. “And so just seeing her out there looking confident and beautiful, it just brought tears to my eyes.”
