Beyoncé continues to cement her name in history. The Le Petit Larousse Illustré encyclopedic dictionary will also immortalize the 32-time Grammy Award winner.
According to reports, Beyoncé has been added to the French-language reference source. She was among 40 people included as 2024 entries for Le Petit Larousse, alongside celebrities such as LeBron James and Christopher Nolan.
Beyoncé’s mother, Celestine “Tina” Beyoncé Knowles-Lawson, has Louisiana Creole heritage. That ethnic group has a close connection to the French language. Knowles-Lawson’s father’s birth name was Lumis Albert Beyincé.
“My daddy Alabama, momma Louisiana. You mix that negro with that Creole, make a Texas bama,” Bey sang on her 2016 single “Formation” off the Lemonade LP. “Formation” peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
2024 has been another monumental year for Queen Bey. Her country music-coded Cowboy Carter studio album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 407,000 first-week units. The “Texas Hold ‘Em” also single hit No. 1.
The inclusion of Beyoncé in Le Petit Larousse Illustré sparked a response from the America-based reference book publisher Merriam-Webster. The company quote-tweeted a post about Le Petit Larousse and added, “[Be right back] calling an emergency meeting.”
brb calling an emergency meeting https://t.co/fFKfa0O7yS
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) May 2, 2024