One Love, 11 Kids: A Guide to Bob Marley's Massive Family
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Originally appeared on E! Online
Bob Marley was prolific in more ways than one during his tragically short life.
In addition to his vast music catalog—including songs that became part of the fabric of world culture like "No Woman No Cry" and "Get Up, Stand Up"—the Jamaican artist was survived by at least 11 children and now an epic number of grandkids carry the Marley name.
The years-in-the-making biopic Bob Marley: One Love, in theaters Feb. 14, would have to have been four times' as long to pack in all the family dynamics, the reggae icon born Robert Nesta Marley having enjoyed a lot of love in his life before his death from cancer in 1981 when he was only 36. With widow Rita Marley, son Ziggy Marley and daughter Cedella Marley among the film's producers, they tried to get at the complicated truth of Bob's life as an activist, wayward family man and burgeoning superstar who didn't live to see his name become an entire vibe.
"We bring the culture and authenticity to it," Ziggy—Bob and Rita's eldest son—told Rolling Stone. "We lived it."
Star-Studded Families at the 2024 Grammys
More from E! Online
Why Travis Kelce Is Spending Valentine’s Day Without Taylor Swift at Chiefs Super Bowl Parade
Blake Lively Responds to Ryan Reynolds Trolling Her About Super Bowl 2024 BFF Outing
Recalling a scene in the film that was "drafted and redrafted" for months in which Rita (Lashana Lynch) slaps Bob (Kingsley Ben-Adir) during an argument, director Reinaldo Marcus Green explained, "There are lines in that scene that are so deeply personal to the family. It was a decision for them to make, how much they wanted to share."
"I would be very protective if I was making a movie about my father, too," he added. "But Ziggy's protection was to tell the truth. Rita would get angry and she would slap Bob. For us to see that is great. Ziggy wasn't saying, 'Let's pretend that didn't happen.'"
One Love primarily tells the tale of the making of Bob's seminal album Exodus in London after a would-be assassin's bullet hit him in the elbow at home in Kingston on Dec. 3, 1976, leading up to his return to Jamaica in 1978 to perform at a concert to promote peace. Here's a guide to the sprawling family watching over his legacy today:
<p>Rita Marley</p>
Bob Marley married singer-songwriter Alfarita Constantia Marley, a member of girl group the Soulettes, in 1966. They were together until his death on May 11, 1981.
Bob adopted Rita's then-15-month-old daughter Sharon when they tied the knot, and the couple had three children together, daughter Cedella Marley and sons Ziggy Marley and Stephen Marley.
Their union was in no way conventional, Bob fathering at least six other children with different women and Rita having daughter Stephanie Marley (whom Bob also adopted) outside the marriage. But they remained creative and spiritual partners throughout, Rita recording with Bob's harmony group the I Three and appearing on several Bob Marley and the Wailers albums.
When a gunman opened fire at their home on Hope Road in Kingston on Dec. 3, 1976, one bullet nicked Bob's elbow—the UPI initially reported that he'd been killed—and another grazed Rita's head. Sporting bandages and an Ethiopian head scarf, she joined Bob onstage two nights later when he and the Wailers headlined the free public concert Smile Jamaica.
Rita wrote in her 2004 memoir No Woman No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley, that she never needed to hear one of her husband's songs to hear his voice, because it was always with her.
As Rita, now 77, recalled from the day he died, she was crying at his bedside and pleaded with him not to leave her when he looked up and said, "'Leave you, go where? Forget crying, Rita! Just keep singing. Sing! Sing!'"
<p>Sharon Marley</p>
Born Nov. 23, 1964, and adopted by Bob when he married her mother Rita, Sharon is a singer, dancer and former member of the Grammy-winning sibling quartet Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, which also included brother Stephen and sister Cedella.
She's mom to daughter Donisha and sons Inglemar, Matthew and Peter-Shane with ex-husband Peter Prendergast. She married Ghanaian musician Ekow Alabi Savage in May 2014.
Sharon released a cover of her mother's 1991 song "Just One Morning" in 2021, telling Dance Hall Mag about her return to music as a solo artist, "Like Bob had that drive to do his mission, that's what it feels like to me. I'm not finished."
And music remains a family affair, Sharon calling Inglemar her "main songwriter" while Matthew, a graphic artist, designed the vinyl cover of her song "Steppah" and Donisha is her co-director and producer.
"My parents always told us we didn't need to have any friends because they were enough of us as brothers and sisters," Sharon, who's also a grandma, told Foyer in 2024. "So, we grew up very close-knit and that's the way my children are as well."
And as the eldest Marley sibling, she said, "Even when Ziggy was here in Jamaica the other night, I was fussing around like, 'Did you eat?' and he was like, 'Yes, big sis.' They'll always be my babies."
<p>Cedella Marley</p>
The eldest of Bob and Rita's children together, Cedella—named after her paternal grandmother, Cedella Malcolm—was born Aug. 23, 1967. The singer, clothing designer and official ambassador of the Jamaican women's national soccer team (her father was a legendary soccer mega-fan and avid player) is CEO of Tuff Gong, the multimedia company started by her father, and a co-manager of his estate, House of Marley.
"When Daddy passed in 1981, the naysayers said that his music and his legacy would be nothing," Cedella told The Guardian in 2021. "Now that he is no longer physically here, he has long ago proven them wrong. He was the one who said, 'My music will live on for ever.'"
Cedella is mom to three sons, including reggae singer Skip Marley (born June 4, 1996) and model Saiyan Marley (born April 23, 2003), pictured here in 2021 with cousin Sara Marley.
<p>Ziggy Marley</p>
A prolific artist in his own right, David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley was born Oct. 17, 1968, to Bob and Rita.
While his father was still living, he formed the Melody Makers with siblings Sharon, Cedella and Stephen in 1979. Bob wrote their debut track, "Children Playing in the Streets."
Ziggy toured with the Wailers after Bob died in 1981 and the Melody Makers won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album three times, as well as recorded the theme song for the kids' animated classic Arthur before disbanding in 2002.
Ziggy's firstborn is son Bambaata Marley, born July 12, 1989, making him Bob's eldest known grandson.
He's also dad to daughters Justice (1991) and Zuri (1995) from previous relationships and shares daughter Judah and sons Gideon, Abraham and Isaiah with wife Orly Agai.
Ziggy and Orly's kids were all featured on his 2020 album More Family Time, the artist telling Grammy.com he was "blown away" by then-4-year-old Isaiah's part on the song "Move Your Body."
"I didn't expect him to have fun to do it," Ziggy said. "So, it's so real, what he did and how he did it. And from all the other kids, I bring them in just like my father would bring me in, I bring us in."
Ziggy and Orly's kids were all featured on his 2020 album More Family Time, the artist telling Grammy.com he was "blown away" by then-4-year-old Isaiah's part on the song "Move Your Body."
"I didn't expect him to have fun to do it," Ziggy said. "So, it's so real, what he did and how he did it. And from all the other kids, I bring them in just like my father would bring me in, I bring us in."
<p>Stephen Marley</p>
Bob and Rita's final child together was born April 20, 1972, and he too pursued the family business, first with the Melody Makers.
In addition to the three Grammys he shared with his siblings, he has three as a solo artist and two as a producer on younger brother Damian Marley's albums.
Stephen's eldest child, singer Joseph "Jo Mersa" Marley, died Dec. 27, 2022, at the age of 31 after suffering an acute asthma attack.
Son Yohan Marley and daughter Mystic Marley are also musicians.
Stephen's DJ daughter Shacia Marley put it mildly when she told Voyage LA in 2020, "I come from a BIG musical/creative family from Jamaica and have over 60 cousins. Some of us are singers, dancers, a few entrepreneurs, fashion designers in the family."
<p>Robert "Robbie" Marley</p>
Robbie was born May 16, 1972, to Bob and Pat Williams but his father made sure that he spent time with his brothers and sisters, including the ones who came later.
"There was one time when me and Steve were fighting and I got a smacking," Robbie told Collider in a joint interview with Ziggy in 2012, "and then later on he came to me under the table, and he was just telling us that brothers shouldn't fight and brothers should love one another. It's been love, not just family, but across the board worldwide for me since."
Robbie shares daughter Jayde and son Zane with wife Ashley. The kids inspired some of the illustrations in their aunt Cedella's series of children's books based on thier grandfather's songs.
"Oftentimes, I’ll be thinking of a character in my story," Cedella told Shondaland in 2023, "and because I have so many nieces or nephews, I'll say, 'Let's make that hair like Zane,' or 'Let her nose look like Jayde.'"
<p>Rohan Marley</p>
The University of Miami football player-turned-entrepreneur, born May 19, 1972, is Bob's son with Janet Hunt.
Rohan is dad to daughter Eden (1994) and son Nico (Jan. 5, 1995) with first wife Geraldine Khawly, the college sweethearts tying the knot in 1993 and divorcing in 1996.
After playing football for Tulane, Nico was signed by the team now known as the Washington Commanders in 2017 but was waived before the NFL season began. He's the founder of the wellness brand Lion X.
Eden Marley, who shares a daughter with husband Olivier Vernon, founded the Garden of Eden Foundation benefiting youth empowerment through education and the arts.
Rohan and Grammy winner Lauryn Hill were together from 1996 until 2009 and share five children: Sons Zion (1997), Joshua Omaru (Dec. 5, 2001) and John Nesta (2003) and daughters Selah (Nov. 12, 1998) and Sara (2008).
Joshua is a reggae artist who performs as YG Marley.
Selah is a model and singer who recently teamed with cousin Saiyan on a Pandora jewelry campaign.
Rohan married Brazilian model Barbara Fialho on March 23, 2019, and they welcomed daughter Maria three months later.
<p>Karen Marley</p>
The daughter of Bob and Janet Bowen was born Feb. 26, 1973.
A more private citizen than some of her siblings, she's a clothing designer whose Instagram bio reads, "A mother, a sister, a daughter on Life's Journey."
<p>Stephanie Marley</p>
Stephanie, born Aug. 17, 1974, is the daughter of Rita Marley and Jamaican soccer player Owen "Ital Tacky" Stewart, but Bob adopted her and made her an heir to his estate.
After Bob died, Owen and Rita had another daughter together, Serita Stewart, born on Aug. 11, 1985.
