Gloria Carter | Jay Z

Gloria Carter, Jay-Z’s mom, raised the renowned rapper and his other three siblings on her own after separating from her husband of 13 years. She worked very hard back then to make ends meet. She worked as a security guard as a sideline and for the New York City comptroller. Gloria did one job to another, also trying her luck as a clerk and investment analyst.

Now we already know from whom Jay-Z inherited his being a hard worker. It’s from her mother, of course! Gloria did a good job raising her children, albeit alone. She’s continuously working until today, joining her son in establishing the Shawn Carter Foundation. The matriarch has no plans to stop yet, and though Jay-Z and her other kids tried to talk to her about retiring, she simply said they would have “a problem with that.”