Marvin Gaye’s 3 Children: All About Marvin III, Nona and Frankie (and Why They Fought for Their Father’s Legacy in a 2013 Lawsuit)

It was so sweet for Marvin Gaye to be loved by his three children: Marvin III, Nona and Frankie.

The Prince of Soul became a father for the first time when he and his first wife, Anna Gordy, adopted son Marvin III in the 1960s. The couple were married in 1963 and divorced in 1977. Gaye then wed Janis Hunter that same year. The couple welcomed two children throughout their relationship: daughter Nona in 1974 and son Frankie in 1975. Gaye and Janis split four years later and divorced 1982.

The Motown icon died in 1984 after being shot by his father, Marvin Gay Sr., amid a domestic altercation. At the time, Marvin III was in his late teens, Nona was 9 and Frankie was around 8. Though the younger kids didn’t get much time with their dad, Janis made sure to keep his memory alive, both at home and in the public eye.

“From the time she met my father, she was exposed to the way he saw this world was aching, and she did her best to preserve his legacy as he was taken from us far too early,” Nona said in a statement following Janis’ 2022 death, per The Hollywood Reporter. “She took every moment to speak about every word and every note of his music, and she wanted to make sure everyone knew the man she fell in love with.”

Two of the “Let’s Get It On” singers kids — Marvin III and Nona — followed his footsteps into the entertainment business, while Frankie has lived a life out of the spotlight.

Here’s everything to know about Marvin Gaye’s children: Marvin III, Nona and Frankie.

Marvin Gaye III

Gaye and Gordy welcomed their son Marvin III via adoption in the late ’60s.

With both parents heavily involved in the music business, he grew up surrounded by the industry. The family home even included its own music studio.

Gaye’s reputation remains a top priority for Marvin III, who proudly stood beside his mom to accept his father’s posthumous induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, according to The Guardian.

In 2013, he was thrust more into the public eye when the family estate sued Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for their song “Blurred Lines” due to its similarities to Gaye’s song “Got to Give It Up.” In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Marvin III said that he just wanted to “see my father get credit for his work.”

In the same interview, Marvin III’s attorney, David Rudich, revealed that his client was also dealing with serious health problems. “Marvin is suffering from diabetes and he needs a kidney,” he said. “So if the publicity that comes out of this causes someone to come forward to help save the life of the son of the famous Marvin Gaye, then that will be a good thing.”

The estate won the lawsuit in 2018 and was awarded $5 million dollars, per Billboard. Marvin III also successfully found a kidney donor, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. After seven potential people were not a match for the younger Marvin, Rick Greene saw his plea on Entertainment Tonight and decided to get in contact. In May 2014, Greene successfully gave his kidney to Marvin III.

The eldest Gaye sibling married Wendy Gaye in March 2010. Three years later, he released an EDM song called “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” and the music video featured his then-wife. The relationship reached a breaking point in January 2023 when Marvin III was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge after an alleged physical altercation with his wife and her cousin.

The former couple officially divorced in 2024, per documents obtained by RadarOnline.com. Around the same time, a Jane Doe sued Marvin III for assault, battery and false imprisonment surrounding the events of January 2023. In response to the lawsuit, he told Us Weekly, “No way did that happen. It’s all bulls—. I wouldn’t do that. These are false claims.”

According to court documents, Marvin III is the father of two sons from a previous relationship: Marvin Gaye IV, born in 1995, and Dylan Gaye, born in 2000.

Nona Aisha Gaye

Gaye and Janis welcomed their first child together, daughter Nona, on Sept. 4, 1974.

She was just 9 years old when her father died, so she learned more about him from her mother and from listening to his music.

“I didn’t understand the work, I was too young,” she told Entertainment Tonight in the ’90s. “[When] I got older, and I started listening to it and listening to how troubled he was about the way the world was, and the way his life was … It made me cry, once I got old enough to understand.”

Nona followed her father into the music industry, releasing her debut album, Love for the Future, with Atlantic Records in October 1992 when she was just 18. The album featured songs “I’m Overjoyed” and “The Things That We All Do for Love.”

To keep her dad’s memory alive, Nona released an album called Inner City Blues in 1995, which reimagined Gaye’s songs and featured major artists like Madonna, Stevie Wonder and Bono. She used her platform to honor her father, telling ET, “It just makes me really happy that people still love him as much as they always have — more, I think, now that he’s gone.”

Nona also collaborated with and dated music legend Prince — the pair recorded four songs together before going their separate ways. She then had an acting career, starring in films like Ali and Crash, and playing the character Zee in two films of the Matrix series.

In her personal life, Nona is the mother of at least one child, a son named Nolan Pentz, whose middle name is shared with his famous grandfather.

Frankie Christian Gaye

Gaye and Janis welcomed their son Frankie Christian in 1975 and named him after Marvin’s brother, who was also a musician.

Though Frankie leads a private life, he did participate alongside his siblings in sharing an open letter about the “Blurred Lines” lawsuit in 2013.

“We will celebrate what would have been our dad’s 76th birthday next month, and though we miss him every day, it is through his music that we find our compass and our paths moving forward,” Marvin III, Nona and Frankie wrote, per Rolling Stone. “We are his children, but we too are his fans and we hold his music dear.”