Spencer Dinwiddie

You have those times where you bump heads with your parents because they want you to do this, or you want to do that, or whatever it is, and that's just kind of life. She was just always like that safe place, and obviously she was the matriarch of the family, my mom's best friend.

American Basketball Player

Janelle Monae

My grandmother was the matriarch. If you didn't have a place to stay, if you needed food, if you were just coming out of jail or rehab, you went to her. Watching her in our family and our wider community was what inspired me and still does.

American Musician

Tichina Arnold

When you're single, you're very independent. Very independent women raised me. We didn't have a lot of male figures as the head of our household, so I got, and took on, a lot of that strong spirit from the matriarchs in my family.

American Actress

Louis Gossett, Jr.

I grew up with all my cousins. The men worked, and the older women raised us - my mother, my aunt, my grandmother. My great-grandmother was the matriarch, and sometimes there were 30 of us.

American Actor

Tony Scott

Dad was a very gentle, sweet man. Mum was the matriarch and the patriarch of the family. She ran the roost with a steel fist, but at the same time there was respect and love for her.

British Director

Lillian Smith

Man, born of woman, has found it a hard thing to forgive her for giving him birth. The patriarchal protest against the ancient matriarch has borne strange fruit through the years.

American Novelist

Sudha Chandran

My character of Ammaji in 'Solhah Singaarr' is that of strict matriarch who adheres to her values.

Erykah Badu

I grew up with all mothers, all women. I come from a long line of matriarchs, very strong women.

Roisin Conaty

All my mother's sisters are matriarchs - there are big characters and opinions.

Sally Phillips

All I want to do really is get married and be a matriarch.

British Actress

Often implies respect and admiration towards the woman's role or status within the family.

Family Respect

A matriarch doesn't have to be very old but typically is older and experienced.

Not Always Elderly

Indicates a woman with authority, not just the oldest female family member.

Authority Figure

Emphasizes a woman's leadership and decision-making role in a business or organization.

Leadership Role

Can be used figuratively to describe a dominant woman in non-family groups.

Figurative Use

A matriarch in business contexts suggests respect for her expertise or founding role.

Respect in Business

Describes a dominant female's leadership role in an animal group, not just elephants.

Animal Hierarchy

Highlights the protective and guiding role of a female animal leader.

Protective Nature

 These behaviours can be seen in close-knit elephant families, usually made up of the dominant female or matriarch, her daughters and her calves. Showing altruism or selflessness, the family will all pitch in to help rear youngsters and protect them in times of danger.

Elephants Being...

 that everyone reveres. This is the matriarch, and the other female is reaching over and doing what's called a trunk to mouth placing her trunk in the mouth, and it's a sign of respect, it's kind of like a handshake, but it's also like a salute.

The family structure of...

 And now the matriarch is starting all over again. But she's old, and this will probably be her last chance to produce a baby. She has to get it right. Her body has to. Deep inside, hormones in her blood have been stimulating her ovaries,

Elephant Mating,...

 so what can I do but agree and then there I am standing there encircled by his entire family in the empty space where the house will be built and there's a matriarch reciting what are clearly prayers and though I don't speak

What forgiveness can...

 extremely rare event we found this group of elephants they were kind of a resting group they were all bunched together and as they started to disperse we found that their matriarch died she was an old

Rare Footage: Wild...

 matriarch is a traumatic event and elephants have recently been observed visiting and caressing the bones of their departed friends this expression of elephant grief makes a strong

Do Animals Feel Empathy?...

 and you would see lying on gurneys young black and Latino men shot and dying. And I was doing funerals, but not of the venerated matriarchs and patriarchs who'd lived a long life

Jeffrey Brown: How we...

 matriarch who would know how to get dower out of this maze benjamin has to show them the easy way out just trying to encourage them out okay Benj is just going to go ahead and

The Cutest Elephant...

 matriarch who would know how to get gawa out of this maze benjamin has to show them the easy way just trying to encourage them out okay benji is just going to go in and see if

Adorable Baby Animal...

 and appears to be protected from any oncoming wave. The matriarch whale, however, has a plan. Working in a coordinated way,

Matriarch