Whatever Happened To Frank Sinatra's Kids?
Frank Sinatra, the famous 20th-century crooner, was also known for his womanizing nature. Officially, Frank had three children: Nancy, Frank Jr., and Tina. However, plenty of other women have featured throughout his life, and some say that their children are Frank's, too. The three children mentioned above were from his first marriage to Nancy Barbato Sinatra, whom he was married to from 1939 to 1950. However, Frank Sinatra was married four times. Following Nancy, he married actor Ava Gardner in 1951 only days after his divorce from Nancy was finalized (via Entertainment Weekly). Their marriage was a tumultuous one. Gardner filed for divorce in 1954.
His third marriage was to actor Mia Farrow. Lasting only two years, the pair were married from 1966 to 1968, tying the knot when Farrow was 21 and Frank 50. His final marriage was to socialite Barbara Marx in 1976. Their marriage lasted until Frank's death in 1998, but he never had children with any of his wives after Nancy. Nevertheless, Nancy, Tina, and Frank Jr. seemingly remained close to their father in spite of his dalliances during and after his marriage with their mother. Nancy and Tina in particular have undertaken work to keep their father's legacy in the spotlight, a not-too-difficult task considering the span of Frank's achievements both musically and in his personal life.
Nancy Sinatra
A singer in her own right, Nancy Sinatra was born on June 8, 1940. The oldest child of Nancy and Frank Sinatra, she had her first hit with "These Boots Are Made for Walkin," released in 1966, and followed this up with a cover of Cher's song "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)." Nancy seemed close to her father Frank. She played his daughter in a 1965 comedy called "Marriage on the Rocks," and the pair collaborated once again with the release of a duet titled "Somethin' Stupid." The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967. Overall, she released 14 full-length albums from 1966 to 2004, per All Music, with all but three coming out in the late '60s and early '70s.
Nancy also acted in a few films throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In 1985 Nancy published a book titled "Frank Sinatra: My Father." In the 1990s, she posted for "Playboy" magazine at the age of 54 in order to finance her album "One More Time." She told The Independent that the decision made her feel "a nervous wreck" but that her father was supportive. In 2020, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin" was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame. In 2022, Nancy, then 82, told Grammy.com that a picture book based on her life titled "Nancy Sinatra: One For Your Dreams" would be coming out soon.
Frank Sinatra Jr.
Born on January 10, 1944, Frank Sinatra Jr. was the only son of Nancy and Frank Sinatra. Though he aspired to be a musician like his father, Frank Jr. ultimately lacked the attributes that made his father such a sensation. In 1963, when he was 19 years old, Frank Jr. was notably kidnapped by Barry Keenan, a former classmate of his sister Nancy. As reported by The Washington Post, Frank Jr. disliked talking about the incident and refused to discuss it throughout his life. He released his first album "Young Love for Sale" in 1965, and was the opening act for several other musicians.
Later on in his life, Frank Jr. acted as the musical director for his father, though he disliked overt comparisons to their singing careers. According to The Independent, Frank Jr. had a strained relationship with his father despite emulating his music. From the 2000s onwards he made appearances on a few television shows as himself, including an episode of "The Sopranos" in 2000 and three episodes of "Family Guy" from 2006 to 2016. Also in 2006, Frank Jr. released an album called "That Face!" While on tour in 2016, Frank Jr. died of a heart attack at the age of 72.
Tina Sinatra
Frank Sinatra's third child, Tina (full name Christina) Sinatra, was born on June 20, 1948. Tina dabbled in entertainment behind the scenes as a producer with the 1990 television special "Sinatra 75: The Best Is Yet To Come" and the 1992 miniseries "Sinatra," serving as the executive producer for both. Following in the footsteps of her sister, the third Sinatra child also wrote a book. Titled "My Father's Daughter: A Memoir," it was released in 2000.
Judging by the different endeavors she dabbled in to share his life with the world, Tina appeared to admire her father to an extent. When asked by The Independent in 2000 how she was most like her father, she answered, "An inability to sleep. And his temperament, to a degree." Per Tatler, Tina was additionally involved in producing a musical based on her father called "Sinatra the Musical" which premiered in the U.K. in 2023. "We're breaking something for a world audience," shared Tina. "That was the endeavor — to put Dad's music on a live stage for all generations to learn about and enjoy."
Frank Sinatra reportedly fathered other children
In addition to his three children with Nancy Sinatra, Frank Sinatra allegedly also had more unacknowledged children. According to Express, one of these children is Julie Sinatra, who legally changed her name in 2000 from Julie Lyma. When Julie was 53, her mother told her that her father was the famous crooner, according to her 2007 book "Under My Skin: My Father, Frank Sinatra The Man Behind the Mystique." Supposedly she is the child of Frank from his brief fling with hostess Dorothy Bunocelli.
Interestingly, actor Mia Farrow also fuelled speculation that her son Ronan Farrow, an investigative journalist, is Frank Sinatra's. The rumor started in a 2013 Vanity Fair interview when Farrow was asked if Ronan was the singer's son and she replied, "Possibly." Though Ronan was born in 1987, almost 20 years after their marriage ended, Farrow and Frank remained close following their divorce. Finally, as reported by the Express, actor Eva Bartok has claimed her daughter Deana is Frank's following a short affair. Per The Daily Mail, Deana uses the surname Sinatra.