Jay-Z’s mom Gloria Carter reportedly married her long-time girlfriend Roxanne Wilshire in Tribeca, New York City over the weekend.
JAY-Z is one of the greatest and richest rappers alive, not to mention one of the richest people alive. Coming from nothing in Brooklyn’s Marcy Houses projects, Shawn Corey Carter went from selling drugs to selling out stadiums.
He is married to one of the world’s biggest singers and most awarded musician with the highest number of Grammy wins, Beyonce.
But, Jay-Z’s life wasn’t as good as we see today, his father abandoned him and he was raised by a single mother, Gloria Carter.
On Sunday, July 2, 2023, the rapper’s mother who came out in 2017 as a proud member of the LGBTQ community got married to her longtime partner, Roxanne Wilshire in New York City. Who attended the event, and who is her spouse? Read on for more.
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Who is Gloria Carter married to?
Jay-Z’s mother, Gloria Carter, recently tied the knot with her longtime partner, Roxanne Wilshire, and it was a star-studded affair. Wilshire is a Trinidad-born, New Jersey-based mother-of-two – after dating as far back as 2018
Of course, Hov, his wife Beyoncé, and their family were among the many A-listers in attendance at the ceremony. However, that was far from the end of the guest list, with a lot of other celebrities pulling up to join the heartwarming festivities. Tyler Perry, Kelly Rowland, Robin Roberts, Corey Gamble, and Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles went to the wedding. Apparently, they wrapped things up at around 11am, so it was probably a very fun time with all those big names in there, and with the biggest ones’ celebration.
Furthermore, Jay-Z and Gloria Carter, the Shawn Carter Foundation CEO, have always had an incredibly strong bond and consistently show each other all the love and support in the world.
Back in 2017, Gloria came out on his 2017 4:44 track “Smile,” speaking on “living in the shadows” as a homosexual woman. Whenever either of them are celebrated by their peers or the world at large, they are by each other’s sides. For example, she received an award from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation for telling her personal story.
During the ceremony for this honor, Jay-Z thanked Gloria Carter for allowing him to relay her story to his listeners. She had thankful words of her own to share as well. “Thanks to you, to all the people whose lives I touched, for your support, by just telling my truth,” Carter shared. “‘Smile’ became a reality because I shared with my son who I am. Not that people didn’t know; I was just someone they didn’t talk about but they loved me anyway. But for me, this was the first time that I spoke to anyone about who I really am.
“Love gave me the courage to take the power that I allowed other people to have over my life for fear of them revealing my secret that wasn’t really a secret,” she continued. “Here I am, I’m loving, I’m respectful, I’m productive, and I’m a human being who has a right to love who I love. So everybody, just smile, be free. Thank you, and God bless.”
Beyoncé and daughter Blue Ivy at Jay-Z’s mother’s wedding
32-time Grammy award winner Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and her eldest child Blue Ivy Carter donned stylish dresses for the lavish wedding of Jay-Z’s mother Gloria Carter at Tribeca 360° in Manhattan on Sunday.
The 11-year-old Grammy-winning producer – who currently serves back-up dancing duties for her famous 41-year-old mother – wore a green silk dress as she walked down a Big Apple street with her grandmother Tina Knowles Lawson,
Beyoncé – who relies on stylists KJ Moody and Marni Senofonte – flaunted substantial cleavage in a peach-colored dress, which she paired with a pink-feathered shrug and matching heart-print handbag.
Knowles-Carter’s husband of 15 years – Roc Nation rap mogul Jay-Z – opted for a sleek blue tailored suit and necktie as he entered the building ahead of the ladies.
It was an emotional day for the Brooklyn-born 53-year-old (born Shawn Carter) as he was instrumental in helping his mother Gloria come out as a lesbian six years ago.
More about Gloria Carter coming out and finding love
Gloria spoke about ‘living two lives happy, but not free’ when she publicly came out as a featured artist on Jay-Z’s 2017 track Smile.
The 24-time Grammy winner – who was 11 when his father Adnis Reeves abandoned the family – rapped: ‘Mama had four kids, but she’s a lesbian / Had to pretend so long that she’s a thespian / Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate.
‘Society shame and the pain was too much to take / Cried tears of joy when you fell in love / Don’t matter to me if it’s a him or her / I just wanna see you smile through all the hate.’
In 2018, Carter – who earned an honorary doctorate from Lincoln University in 2021 – was honored at the GLAAD Media Awards with a special recognition trophy for the rap track, and she gushed about finding her partner.
‘Love gave me the courage to take the power that I allowed other people to have over my life for fear of them revealing my secret,’ the former investment firm clerk said onstage the Hilton Midtown.
‘I am a human being who has a right to love who I love. So everybody, just smile, be free.’
That same year, Jay-Z recalled on My Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman: ‘For her to sit in front of me and tell me, “I think I love someone,” I mean, I really cried. That’s a real story. I cried because I was so happy for her that she was free.’