Who Are Aretha Franklin's Four Children?
Aretha Franklin is one of the most popular soul singers of all time, and many fans remember her for her unforgettable voice and talent. The "Queen of Soul" got her start in the 1960s, and by the time she died in 2018, she had enjoyed a steady decades-long career. As she worked through her career, Franklin also accrued some impressive accolades along the way. For instance, she was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with her ceremony taking place in 1987. The singer won a whopping 18 Grammy awards over the span of her prolific career, with 44 total nominations. In 2021, Franklin is being remembered once again, this time thanks to the documentary Genius: Aretha.
While Franklin certainly enjoyed a long career in the spotlight, she also had plenty going on in her personal life, too. The "Amazing Grace" singer was a mother to four children, all of whom were born at different stages in her glorious life. Let's take a look at who Franklin's four children are.
Aretha Franklin was a mother to four sons
Though fans remember Aretha Franklin as one of the most iconic singers of all time, her children may remember her as something else: a mother. Franklin had four children, all sons, and a couple of them even followed in their mother's musical footsteps. Her first son, Clarence, was born in 1955 when Franklin was 12 years old, according to Meaww. Two years later, in 1957, Franklin welcomed her second son, Edward Jordan.
By 1961, Franklin married Ted White, and they welcomed their first child together, a son named Teddy White Jr. When she was 28 years old, Franklin gave birth her last child, another son named Kecalf. According to The Sun, Franklin's younger sons have inherited their mother's musical talents — Teddy Jr. is a singer and guitarist who has opened for Seal, and Kecalf is a Christian rapper.
Though Franklin's four sons have maintained relatively low-key lives, they have all been at the center of recent drama surrounding the late singer and her estate. According to The New York Times, Franklin did not have a will at the time of her death, though a few handwritten documents were found in her home, leading to a legal dispute amongst her four sons about who gets which shares of the singer's assets.