Attorney-fitness expert has address and singing in common with Queen B
When you live in Beyoncé’s childhood house, you get used to almost anyone showing up.
One recent Friday, Roslyn Bazzelle Mitchell was driving toward the Riverside Terrrace home, which she bought with husband Derrick Mitchell in 2012, when she spotted a cameraman standing in front of the house. She waited until he finished filming, then approached. Turns out, he was from Ireland filming a travel show in Houston. Of course, Beyoncé is huge in Ireland, like everywhere else on the planet.
Just a block away from Mitchell’s home is Parkwood Park, where Beyoncé and sister Solange played as children.
Mitchell knew the house had famous ties when the couple purchased it but didn’t know how much the world knew. Not a month goes by that fans don’t show up to take selfies in front of the house.
“It’s hilarious that people just show up,” Mitchell said. “It’s a fun factoid that such an amazing person grew up in this house.”
Mitchell’s home isn’t the only thing grabbing attention these days. The 44-year-old attorney, singer and fitness expert is making her own fame, in a way. In April, she sang the national anthem for the Astros during the team’s series against the Yankees.
“I’m coming out of the closet with my singing. I feel like I need to face all of my fears, and I have a fear of singing in public,” said Mitchell, who has been singing and playing piano since childhood.
She also studied ballet from age 4 through high school. She started a PIYOLET, a mix of Pilates, yoga and ballet, in 2006 and traveled the country teaching the fitness program.
Mitchell said she’s trying to “live out loud and see what sticks.”
Last year, she started a YouTube channel focused on fitness, singing, cooking and fashion. Her video, “8 Ways to Style Your Hermes and Chanel Scarves,” has been viewed 11,000 times.
Speaking of Chanel, Mitchell coveted the brand’s iconic classic bag during the early years of her law career and saved up to finally purchase one after her son was born in 2011.
“I’m a fashion junkie,” she said. “I used to have Vogue magazine pictures plastered in my room. I’ve always been addicted to fashion and accessories. My first brand handbag was Liz Claiborne, and I was into Guess and Swatch. I had it all. When I came out of law school, I felt the pressure to look a certain way and wear closed-toe shoes. But I’ve grown over the years.”
Born in Clear Lake, Mitchell and her family relocated to Orange, then Delaware for her father’s job with Dupont. She attended middle school and high school in Delaware. She graduated from Hampton University in Virginia, then earned a law degree from Texas Southern University.
“I guess I fell into law,” she said. “I come from a family of educators, but I was always persistent and wanted my way. I used to watch ‘LA Law’ in high school, and I always excelled in classes related to law.”
Mitchell has worked for Weycer, Kaplan, Pulaski & Zuber for the past 13 years as a real-estate and corporate attorney. She’s also active in the community and chaired her first fundraiser, called the Divas Closet Cleanup, for Dress for Success Houston in 2010. She’s past president of Dance Houston and serves on the boards of the Hermann Park Conservancy and the Health Museum of Houston. She’ll co-chair Recipe for Success’ Fashion in the Fields event next fall and chair the American Heart Association’s Heart Ball auction next year.
Inside her home, where Beyoncé and Solange got their early start, Mitchell’s family photos decorate the dining and kitchen areas. Mitchell met her husband in law school. The couple married in 2013 and have an 8-year-old son, Derrick.
Mitchell poses on a winding staircase in a fitted Oscar de la Renta dress with a Beyoncé playlist on play in the background.
“I love everything about Houston,” she said. “It’s an open-door city. It doesn’t matter what you look like or what language you speak. I love that people here are open to new ideas.” Home: Riverside Terrace Favorite designers: Oscar de la Renta, Valentino, Chanel and Hermès Must-have beauty product: EltaMD SPF
Most admired: “My mom, who is the youngest of nine children and raised by her grandmother in Hope, Ark. Also, my dad, an only child who received his Ph.D. at 23. He’s the smartest man I know.” Celebrity you’d like to have dinner with: Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey
Favorite food: avocado toast
Beauty secret: eight hours of sleep and water Fitness regimen: PIYOLET (pilates, yoga and ballet)
Kind of work you would do for free: sing and continue to champion the causes that speak to my heart
Last thing you bingewatched: HBO’s “Power” On your bucket list: attend New York Fashion Week for a show by one my favorite designers and sit front row (or close) Favorite travel destination: our home in Vail Valley in Avon, Colo.
First car: ’88 Nissan Maxima
Something surprising about you: I’m a homebody.
Perfect day would end with: Sitting in the bed with my husband and son, watching a movie and sharing a huge bowl of Garrett’s Chicago mix popcorn.
Theme song: “Rise” by Katy Perry