Weekend Woman’s Hour: Ms Tina Knowles, Tennis at Queens, Dr Grace Spence Green, Bernardine Evaristo

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture, Health & Fitness, Personal Journals

4.2 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 7 June 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Tina Knowles, the mother of icons Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Solange Knowles and bonus daughter Kelly Rowland, has just published her memoir Matriarch. It tells the story of how a resilient little girl, born in difficult times, became a powerhouse, guiding her daughters to their potential. How she, the great-granddaughter of two enslaved women, went from what she describes as a little, two-bedroom “poor house” with seven people in Galveston, Texas, to being the head of one of the most successful and high-profile families in the world. Ms Tina joined Nuala McGovern in the Woman’s Hour studio.

For the first time since 1973 women will walk out to compete at Queen's Club as the Queen's Tennis tournament gets underway. To mark this moment, the Lawn Tennis Association is launching a series of initiatives to support the health and wellbeing of British women's tennis players. Anita Rani spoke to the LTA's Chief Medical Officer Dr Guy Evans and former British Number One and Tournament Director of Queen's, Laura Robson.

Dr Grace Spence Green’s spine was broken when a man fell on her in a shopping centre. At that time, Grace was part-way through her medical degree, and found herself going from being a trainee doctor learning about how to work with patients, to being a patient herself with serious injuries. Ten months after her injury, Grace continued her degree and later qualified as a doctor who is also a wheelchair user. Grace told Anita about her experiences, as described in her new book, To Exist As I Am.

Bernardine Evaristo is the winner of The Women’s Prize Outstanding Contribution Award - a one-off literary honour to mark the 30th anniversary year of the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Bernardine joined Nuala to discuss her huge body of work and career highlights including winning the Booker Prize in 2019 for her novel Girl, Woman, Other, and her role as a champion for women and women of colour in the creative industries.

Model Hailey Bieber has sold her make-up company Rhode in a deal worth up to $1 billion. She joins a list of other celebrities earning millions from their cosmetic brand. Nuala was joined by make-up artist to the stars Val Garland and Beauty Editor for the Telegraph, Sonia Haria, to discuss.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Rebecca Myatt

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before this BBC podcast kicks off, I'd like to tell you about some others you might enjoy.
0:05.1	My name's Will Wilkin and I Commission Music Podcast for the BBC.
0:08.7	It's a really cool job, but every day we get to tell the incredible stories behind songs,
0:13.5	moments and movements, stories of struggle and success, rises and falls, the funny, the ridiculous.
0:19.1	And the BBC's position, at the heart of British music
0:21.7	means we can tell those stories like no one else.
0:24.5	We were, are and always will be right there at the centre of the narrative.
0:28.6	So whether you want an insightful take on music right now
0:31.3	or a nostalgic deep dive into some of the most famous and infamous moments in music,
0:36.1	check out the music podcasts on BBC Sounds.
0:39.9	BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. Hello, I'm Anita Rani and welcome to Woman's Hour from BBC Radio 4.
0:49.4	Hello and welcome. Coming up, some highlights from the week just gone, Ms. Tina Knowles, who's been a
0:55.9	driving force in the success of her daughter's Beyonce and Solange on her new book, Matriarch.
1:01.9	Supermodel Haley Bieber has sold her makeup company in a deal worth up to $1 billion, but just how
1:08.4	involved are celebrities in the creation of their own products?
1:11.9	And do you need a recognisable name to make it big in this business now?
1:16.3	The remarkable Grace Spence Green, whose life changed in a split second when a falling man
1:23.3	landed on her from a height and broke her spine, leaving her paralysed from her chest down.
1:29.2	She'll be telling me her story.
1:31.1	And Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Everisto,
1:34.3	whose courage to take risks and offer readers a pathway into diverse and multifarious worlds
1:39.5	over a 40-year career on receiving the Women's Prize Outstanding Contribution Award.
	...

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