Patti LaBelle's 5 Children: Meet Zuri, Dodd, Stanley, William and Stayce

Patti LaBelle's kids have supported her career

When she’s not singing or acting, Patti LaBelle is running a cookbook business based on recipes she makes for her family, including her five children: Zuri Kye Edwards, Dodd Stocker-Edwards, Stanley Stocker-Edwards, William Holte and Stayce Holte.

With hits like "Lady Marmalade" and “New Attitude,” LaBelle is one of the greatest soul singers of her generation who has also expanded into acting, appearing on shows like A Different World, American Horror Story and The Masked Singer. Through all her success, LaBelle grew her family and has counted her kids among her biggest achievements.

LaBelle's career had already taken off when she married longtime friend Armstead Edwards in 1969. He quit his job as a teacher and became LaBelle's manager, working with her until they separated in 2000 and ultimately divorced in 2003.

During their marriage, they had one son, Zuri, born July 17, 1973. Before their divorce, LaBelle and Edwards also adopted sons Dodd and Stanley. In 1989, LaBelle's sister Jackie died from brain cancer at age 44. After this loss, the singer adopted her sister’s two children, William and Stayce.

Now, LaBelle's kids have made her a grandmother. In 2017, the "On My Own" singer told PEOPLE about how she spends her time with Zuri's daughter Gia.

“She likes to dance and she plays like she’s on stage with the little pretend mic,” LaBelle said. “She’ll hold the mic and sing, ‘Patti, Patti!’ I think she’s making me lighter and happier and feeling like a young girl again.”

Here is everything to know about Patti LaBelle's five children.

Zuri is LaBelle’s longtime manager

When his father stepped away from managing LaBelle’s career in 2000, Zuri took over and has been his mother’s manager since.

On July 17, 2023, LaBelle posted a sweet birthday tribute to her son. “Wishing my son Zuri a very happy and blessed birthday!” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “I love you son! Thank you for being the man that you are and for all that you do! 50 looks great on you!”

Stanley is an attorney

Stanley lives in the Washington D.C. area and works as a staff attorney at Covington and Burling LLP, according to his LinkedIn.

In addition to his famous mother, Stanley has another claim to fame: he once dated Michelle Obama. In author Peter Slevin’s 2015 biography on the former First Lady, Michelle Obama: A Life, he wrote about the pair's brief romance while they were both students at Harvard.

Dodd is an entrepreneur

Dodd attended the University of North Texas and lives in New Jersey where he runs an apparel company called Pump Dog.

According to Dodd’s LinkedIn, “PUMP DOG Performance Apparel is Premium Athletic Apparel and Gear originally founded in 1996 and re-launched May 2021.”

Zuri has three children

Zuri married his wife Lona Azami in 2014 and the couple have gone on to welcome three kids: Gia, Leyla and Zuri Jr.

Azami regularly posts photos of the family on Instagram, including from their vacations. A February 2023 photo showed the three kids ready for the pool on a family trip to Walt Disney World.

“My happiness," Azami wrote in the caption.

LaBelle adopted her late sister’s children

LaBelle's youngest sister, Jackie, whom the singer called her "biggest fan," died in 1989 after she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in her late 30s. After Jackie's death, LaBelle adopted her sister's children William and Stayce.

In a January 2023 episode of Apple Fitness+’s Time to Walk, LaBelle shared a story about her sister's death. ​"When I got home from touring, I called to see how she was doing,” the singer recalled. “And she said, 'Oh, I'm fine. I just want an egg sandwich.' She always loved anything I cooked, especially the egg sandwich. And you know the hospital food was sucking. So, no, she needed some real food from her sister.”

But Jackie died before LaBelle could arrive with the homemade sandwich. "I surely didn't think she was going to pass that day," the singer added. "And so I've been holding this guilt for all of these years, and I can't take it back. I can't do it over again. I mean, I'm stuck with that in my memory for life."

What she learned from this experience, LaBelle said, is to not "hold back from giving your loved ones anything they might want. Just give them your time and don't say, 'I'll do it tomorrow,' because it don't cost you nothing."

Stayce calls LaBelle her “AuntieMommy”

On LaBelle's birthday in May 2023, Stayce posted a gallery of photos on Instagram of herself and the singer. “Today is also the 79th birthday of the legend, which is my AuntieMommy @mspattilabelle," Stayce wrote in the caption. "I couldn't let the day end without saying thank you, God, for allowing me to be able to wish her a VERY HEALTHY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I'm HAPPY and GRATEFUL for that.”

Years earlier, in 2015, Stayce reposted a funny video on Instagram of LaBelle on The Tyra Banks Show and remarked that she and LaBelle shared a lot of similarities. "The first thing EVERYONE, without exception, said when I showed them the full clip was, 'that's so you! Y'all really are twins.' TRUE!!! I really am just like this crazy woman!" Stayce wrote in the caption.

William supports LaBelle on social media

Stayce's brother William often posts supportive messages of LaBelle on his Instagram. From celebrating her TV interviews to documenting concert rehearsals, William has shared glimpses of his life with LaBelle and the rest of their family.

In May 2019, he honored LaBelle on her milestone birthday. "Happy 75th birthday to my aunt @mspattilabelle whom I’ve loved for 58 years with many more to come," he wrote in the caption.

LaBelle dotes on her grandkids

From how much she gushes over them on social media and in the press, it’s clear LaBelle adores her grandchildren — and it’s also obvious that they're starting to take after her.

LaBelle has even brought her granddaughters up onstage during her concerts. “We couldn’t keep Gia off the stage ... She just says her name and won’t leave the stage,” she told PEOPLE in 2019. “And Leyla, if she came out she was going to take the mic. She’s going to turn up so I don’t trust her on the stage now."

The singer has shared other big moments with her grandkids, too. In 2021, she hosted a sex reveal party for Zuri and Azami's third child. "It's a boy!" she told PEOPLE after the event. "I can't imagine me with a boy. I had these two little girls for a while. It's going to be such an experience. I can't wait to spoil him."

LaBelle’s family inspired her food line

LaBelle released her prepared food business, Patti’s Good Life, in 2015 with her family-favorite sweet potato pie. She felt confident starting a food company because of the reactions her cooking got from her kids.

“Whenever I’d make pies at home, people would just go crazy and would ask for more. So I said, ‘I know this is right, and I think we better do something with this idea,' ” LaBelle told PEOPLE in 2017. “I expected them to do well because the taste is phenomenal, but I didn’t know that it would become what it is.”

The family remained close after LaBelle and Edwards divorced

When LaBelle appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show in February 2023, she talked about how her family stayed tight-knit despite her divorce from Edwards 20 years prior.

"I was married for 32 years to a wonderful man and we're still friends, good friends," LaBelle said.

The actress went on to talk about how she felt ready to date again. "So I think in life I need to find happiness for myself, other than what I had back in the day with him, which was wonderful,” she continued. “I'm too good to be solo."

LaBelle’s grandkids are her unofficial spokespeople

LaBelle's granddaughters have helped promote their grandmother's prepared food brand, even filming adorable videos with the products.

One that LaBelle has shared a few times is of her granddaughter Leyla talking up her grandma’s pies and pancakes while holding a Patti’s Good Life peach cobbler. “If you want to get the pancakes, go at Giant,” Leyla said in the video. “There’s many many pancakes. There’s chocolate chip, blueberry and regular ones ... And my grandma’s on TV!”

In November 2021, Azami posted photos to Instagram of her daughters with LaBelle and her then-new apple pie. “If you thought @mspattilabelle #sweetpotatopie was delicious wait until you taste her new APPLE pie!!” she captioned the photos.

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