Living It Up With Blue Ivy, Rumi and Sir Carter: The Unusual World of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s 3 Kids

Beyoncé Gets Real About Fame & Family Life With Her and Jay-Z’s 3 Kids

Are there three children who’ve collectively logged more private air travel than Blue Ivy Carter, Rumi Carter and Sir Carter?

“My kids come with me everywhere I go,” Beyoncé told GQ this past summer of the brood she shares with husband Jay-Z. “They come to my office after school, and they are in the studio with me.” 

And of course there’s a spot for them on the jet whenever it takes off next. 

“I build my work schedule around my family,” the “Protector” singer explained. “I try to only tour when my kids are out of school. I always dreamt of a life where I could see the world with my family and expose them to different languages, architecture, and lifestyles.”

Not that her trio needs to be flying anywhere to achieve a certain level of elevation, riding in style being the whole family’s default setting.

“One of my most satisfying moments as a mom is when I found Blue one day soaking in the bath with her eyes closed,” Beyoncé, 43, told Harper’s Bazaar in 2021, sharing a very rare detail about life behind the palace-reminiscent walls. “Using blends I created and taking time for herself to decompress and be at peace.”

“My gorgeous baby girl. This is your night,” Beyoncé—who reprised the voice of Nala while Blue voiced Kiara, the lioness’ daughter with Simba—wrote on Instagram after the film’s Dec. 9 premiere. “You worked hard and you did such a beautiful job as the voice of Kiara. Your family could not be prouder. Keep shining

And though her dancing gig was supposed to be a one-off, Blue successfully convinced her wary mom that she was ready to hit the road, as seen in the documentary Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé.

“Blue is an artist,” Beyoncé explained to GQ, noting that because the tween tagged along to rehearsals it was “natural” she’d pick up the choreography. “She has great taste in music and fashion. She is a fantastic editor, painter, and actress. She has been creating characters since she was three. She’s a natural, but I did not want Blue onstage. Blue wanted it for herself.”

And we know how that turned out.

“My beautiful first born,” the duly impressed Beyoncé captioned a May 2023 video of her daughter on stage. “I’m so proud and thankful to be your mama. You bring us so much joy, my sweet angel.”

And though Sir is “more into books and electronics,” according to his doting grandma, both twins have dabbled in the family business. They made their recording debut at 4 when they joined forces with their mom and big sister to supply the vocals for Tina’s 2021 Facebook Watch series Talks With Mama Tina.

And it was Rumi’s spoken-word contribution to “Protector,” from Cowboy Carter, that saw her breaking Blue’s record for youngest-ever artist to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 when the track debuted at No. 42—though Blue remains the youngest to make it onto a Billboard chart.

Rumi is “an amazing artist,” Tina told E! at the Kentucky Derby in May. “Painter and creator. So, I mean, how could they be anything else, growing up in that environment? That’s all we talk about, is creativity and fashion and the whole thing.”

Meanwhile, she continued, “Sir is very quiet and is very, very smart—and does all of the numbers stuff. So he’s not into the fashion stuff as much.”

“My 30s were about starting my family and my life becoming more than my career,” Beyoncé reflected to Harper’s Bazaar when she turned 40 in 2021. “I worked to heal generational trauma and turned my broken heart into art that would help move culture forward and hopefully live far beyond me. My 30s were about digging deeper.”

As she entered her fifth decade, she continued, “My wish is for my 40s to be fun and full of freedom. I want to feel the same freedom I feel on stage every day of my life. I want to explore aspects of myself I haven’t had time to discover and to enjoy my husband and my children. I want to travel without working. I want this next decade to be about celebration, joy, and giving and receiving love. I want to give all the love I have to the people who love me back.”

As Jay-Z, 55, noted on a 2022 episode of pal Kevin Hart‘s Peacock show Hart to Heart, being “reckless” with his time was no longer an option once he became a dad.

“I think the most stressful thing for me is balancing work and life,” Beyoncé told Elle toward the end of 2019. “Making sure I am present for my kids—dropping Blue off at school, taking Rumi and Sir to their activities, making time for date nights with my husband, and being home in time to have dinner with my family—all while running a company can be challenging. Juggling all of those roles can be stressful, but I think that’s life for any working mom.”

While that uncommon glimpse inside her private world sounds pretty darn relatable, credit to Beyoncé and Jay-Z for not bothering to pretend that their lives are actually just like everyone else’s. From the backstage pics with Madonna, music video cameos and award show shout-outs to helicopter rides, yachts and breakdowns of size-6x designer style, Blue, Rumi and Sir are not having an average childhood.

And why should they be?

More than a few of their fellow famous parents will assure Jay-Z that’s exactly what’s going to happen in a few years. But until then, the plan remains to shower the kids with enough love and support that a few fallow years of eye-rolls and slamming doors won’t affect the overall dynamic.

“Feeling loved is the most important thing a child needs, you know?” Jay-Z told the U.K.’s Times in 2021. “Not ‘here’s this business that I’m going to hand over to you, that I’m creating for you.'”

Though he and Bey have so many irons in the investment fire there’s seemingly something for everyone, the Carter children will be under no pressure to follow in either of their parents’ vast footsteps, according to their dad.

His and Beyoncé’s main purpose was to “make sure we provide a loving environment, be very attentive to who they want to be,” he explained. “It’s easy for us, as human beings, to want our children to do certain things, but we have no idea. We’re just guides.”

And whether they’re flying private or commercial, the sky’s the limit.

Scroll on for scenes from Blue, Rumi and Sir’s family world: