Willie Nelson is popularly known as an American country singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He has been married 4 times and is also a proud father of 8 children including Lukas Nelson and Paula Nelson.
Meanwhile, two out of Nelson’s kids have passed. His son, Willie Hugh committed suicide in 1991, and his daughter, Rene Butts died in 2017.
Willie had His First 3 Kids with Martha Matthews
Willie Nelson’s first marriage was with Martha Mathews in 1952. However, the marriage experienced several setbacks as a result of domestic violence. According to reports, Martha assaulted Nelson several times, including an instance when she sewed him up in bedsheets and beat him with a broomstick.
Following these assaults, the couple’s marriage crashed irredeemably in 1962. But before their divorce, Nelson and Martha birthed three kids including Lana, Susie, and Willie “Billy” Hugh Jr.
Lana Nelson Fowler
Lana is Willie Nelson’s eldest child and she was born on November 11, 1953. She is not a singer like her father but she holds her spot in the showbiz as a costume designer and occasional actress. Also, Lana has worked with her father as a costume designer on several of his projects.
The celebrity daughter has been married twice and she had two kids from her first marriage. She later married George Fowler in 1976 and she also shares 2 kids with him.
Susie Nelson
Susie was born on May 23, 1956. She is a TV presenter and a writer known for telling stories on indigenous reservations in the U.S. and Canada. In 1987, she published Heart Worn Memories: A Daughter’s Personal Biography of Willie Nelson. Susie is married to writer and editor, Bob Rosenbaum.
William “Billy” Hugh Nelson Jr.
William was born on May 12, 1958, and would have been 66 years old now. Unfortunately, he ended his life on December 25, 1991.
Billy was also a singer and he was working with his father on a gospel-inspired album before he passed.
Before his demise, he went on several tours with his father. It was during one of their trips that he met a radio promo girl called Janet Caldwell in Nashville. William Jr. later married Janet and the pair were blessed with a girl named Raelyn who is now a singer too.
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Paula Carlene Nelson is Willie’s 3rd Child
After his divorce from Martha Mathews, Nelson married American country singer, Shirley Collie in 1963. However, the pair decided to end their relationship about 8 years later, in 1971.
Their marriage ended abruptly after Collie found a bill from the maternity ward of a Houston hospital that charged Nelson and Connie Koepke for the birth of Paula Carlene Nelson. This meant that her husband had a child with another woman behind her back while she was kept in the dark.
After their divorce, Nelson married Koepke the same year, and they had another daughter named Amy Lee Nelson. The pair lived together for 17 years before ending their relationship in 1988.
Meanwhile, Paula Carlene was born on October 27, 1969, and she is currently 54 years old. As a child, Paula often went on tour with her father.
Today, she is recognized as an American country music singer and disk jockey. Her albums include Coming Home (1998), Fireflies (2000), Lucky 13 (2008), Little City (2010) and Under the Influence (2014).
Amy Lee, Nelson’s 2nd Child With Connie Koepke is also a Singer
Amy was born on July 6, 1973. The 51-year-old also shares the musical talent of her father and has joined him on some of his tours.
Lukas Autry and Jacob Micah are Products Nelson’s Marriage with His third Wife, Annie D’Angelo
Nelson married his third wife, Annie D’Angelo, in 1991 and they have two sons together. Their kids are Lukas Autry and Jacob Micah.
Lukas Autry Nelson
Lukas was born on Dec. 25, 1988, and he is currently 35 years old. He has also followed his father’s career path and is known as the lead vocalist of the rock group, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, also known as POTR. His group has released several albums including Promise of the Real (2010), Wasted (2012), and Turn Off the News (2019).
Meanwhile, Lukas has worked on several projects with his father. He also won the Grammy in 2020 for his work on A Star Is Born.
Jacob Micah
Jacob is Willie’s youngest child and he is 34 years old, having been born on May 24, 1990. He is also a musician like his father and is particularly good with the drums. According to Jacob, his father has had a huge impact on him. He said in addition to music, he learned empathy, kindness, and generosity from his father.
He has released at least 7 albums including Time Capsule, (2022).
Rene Butts is a Product of Nelson’s Friendship with Mary Haney
The number of Nelson’s kids added up to 8 in 2012 when it was revealed that he had fathered a daughter named Rene Butts with his friend Mary Haney.
Rene Butts was born on January 22, 1953, and Nelson wrote about discovering that he had fathered a child with his friend in his 2012 memoir, Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road. According to him, he had an old dear friend whom he lost touch with but met after decades.
According to him, he reunited with Mary only to discover that they had a child together called Renee. Moreover, he also found out that his ‘newfound’ daughter was married and had a daughter named Noelle. Renee married her husband Joel Butts in 1976 and they lived near Houston where she worked as a graphic designer until she passed in 2017.
