Meet Late Country Singer Kenny Rogers' 5 Children

The late country music legend was a father of five: Carole, Kenny Jr., Christopher, Justin and Jordan

NEED TO KNOW

• Kenny Rogers was a singer-songwriter best known for hits like “The Gambler,” “Lady” and “Islands in the Stream”
• The Country Music Hall of Famer died in March 2020 at the age of 81
• In addition to his musical contributions, the late Grammy-winning artist also left behind five children to carry on his legacy

Kenny Rogers' legacy is more than just a slew of albums full of cross-genre hits and awards — it's also the children he left behind to carry on his memory.

Throughout the course of his life, Kenny was the proud father of five kids he welcomed in various marriages: daughter Carole Lynne Rogers and sons Kenny Rogers Jr., Christopher Rogers, Justin Rogers and Jordan Rogers.

After earning countless accolades — including three Grammys and a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame — Kenny officially retired from music to focus on his family in 2017.

He revealed the news while announcing a worldwide farewell tour in 2015 on Today, saying, "I've done this long enough."

"I wrote in my book that sometimes there's a fine line between being driven and being selfish, and I think I crossed that line when I was younger," Kenny continued. "I really want to be there with my kids and my wife. They're very important to me, and I don't see enough of them."

That tour, named The Gambler's Last Deal after his famous song "The Gambler," kicked off in May 2016 but was ultimately cut short in April 2018 due to Kenny facing "a series of health challenges."

Nearly two years later, Kenny died at age 81 on March 21, 2020.

His family said in a statement that he "passed away peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family."

In honor of the sixth anniversary of Kenny's death, take a look inside his family life and get to know his five children.

Carole Lynne Rogers, 67

Kenny's firstborn child and only daughter is Carole Lynne, who was born on Sept. 15, 1958, to Kenny and his then-wife Janice Gordon.

"I understood how girls got pregnant and that guys had an obligation when they did," Kenny wrote in his 2013 memoir, Luck or Something Like It, referring to Janice's surprise pregnancy. "When my Janice got pregnant, I was fully prepared to take the step into married life. It never occurred to me to walk away from the responsibility."

However, Kenny and Janice's relationship didn't last long.

"You know what? I loved her," the singer-songwriter told Fox News in October 2012. "At 19, I thought, 'This is okay with me.' That was a thing where her parents thought I'd ruined her life and were determined to break me. It didn't work, and it's really sad because I think it could have worked. You can't say I'm afraid of commitment. I've been married five times!"

The pair, who married in 1958, went their separate ways in 1960, and Kenny didn't see his daughter often as his music career began to take off. In 1980, PEOPLE reported that Kenny was granted only two hours of weekly visitation with Carole.

He eventually lost touch with Carole, detailing their estrangement to Fox News and acknowledging that they did not keep in contact.

"That was my promise to them, that I would be her father, but he [his ex-wife Janice's second husband] would be her dad, and I don't want to disrupt that," Kenny told the news outlet in 2012. "He stepped in at a time that was really awkward for all of us, and he became her dad, and I love him for that. He was a good guy."

Kenny Rogers Jr., 61

In 1963, Kenny married Margo Anderson, his third wife. Together, they had Kenny Jr., born on May 24, 1964. The couple divorced in 1975 and, after Anderson resettled in Palm Springs with Kenny Jr.

In the years following their split, Kenny barely saw his son.

"I would wish desperately that my relationship with Kenny Jr. were better," he told PEOPLE in 1980.

In a 1982 interview with PEOPLE, Kenny said, "As you try to get ahead, it's too easy to think that these kids are still going to be kids tomorrow and that once you get your current project done, you'll spend some time with them."

"Then you say, 'Well, he's still a child, after all, so I'll go ahead and get one more project done,' " Kenny continued. "The next thing you know, the child is grown up, and you can't relate to him at all."

These days, Kenny Jr. is an actor and composer, having appeared in several TV movies and a TV miniseries, as well as contributing to soundtracks for 2010's Get Him to the Greek and 2016's Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.

Christopher Cody Rogers, 44

Christopher Cody was born on Dec. 4, 1981, to Kenny and his fourth wife, Hee Haw actress Marianne Gordon. He was born at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and Kenny passed out Hershey bars to celebrate.

Christopher experienced hyaline membrane disease (HMD) at birth, a respiratory disorder that was fatal to John F. Kennedy's infant son in 1963, but he overcame it.

"Before I leave in the mornings, I hold him and talk to him and get him to smile," Kenny told PEOPLE in March 1982. "Every day I see what he's doing that he didn't do the day before. I know the hard way that we cannot recapture this age, and I'm not missing those things, because I don't think I'm going to have another chance. This is it."

When Kenny and Marianne, who married in October 1977, decided to get a divorce in 1993, Christopher took it hard. Kenny recounted telling his son the news during an interview with the Irish Independent in June 2006.

"I remember when I told him — we were out in a golf cart together — I said, 'Chris, your mom and I are going to get a divorce,' and he started screaming," Kenny recalled. "I said, 'It's going to be okay, I won't spend as much time with you, but the time I spend will be quality time,' and he said, 'But will you still be my dad?' "

The "Lady" crooner continued, "So I told him, 'Of course,' and he said, 'I thought Mom was going to remarry and somebody else was going to be my dad and I could never tell people you were my daddy and you wouldn't look at me like I'm your son.' " It was just a 12-year-old sorting out those things in his head, but then he was fine."

Christopher is now an actor and director known for his work in the 1991 TV movie The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw and the 2017 short film Loneliness.

Jordan Edward Rogers and Justin Charles Rogers, 21

Twins Jordan Edward and Justin Charles were born on July 6, 2004, in Atlanta to Kenny and his fifth wife, Wanda (née Miller).

Kenny and Wanda tied the knot in 1997 and remained married until Kenny's death in 2020.

"Boy, has it ever changed my life," Kenny told PEOPLE in 2006 about his twins. "They say that twins at my age will either make you or break you. Right now I'm leaning towards break. I would kill for the energy they've got."

As the twins got older, they began to realize how famous their dad was.

"I'll hear Justin say to his friends, 'My dad's very famous,' " Kenny said on The Bobby Bones Show in September 2013. "Last year on New Year's Eve, we went on a Disney Cruise, and we go over to this Disney Island. We're coming back to get in line, there's 200 people in front of us, and I'm standing in line, and Jordan says, 'Hey, Dad, I thought we were supposed to be VIPs.' "

Kenny brought both Jordan and Justin with him on his farewell tour.

"My goal is to spend some time with them and take them to some places they might not have gone to without me," Kenny told Rare Country in 2016 (via Wide Open Country). "So, they can look back someday and say, 'My dad took me there.' That, to me, is my legacy for them."

In June 2023, Justin and Jordan graduated from high school. Kenny's team shared a photo of them on Instagram posing together in their cap and gowns, and the boys bore a striking resemblance to their late father. "Kenny always said, 'Friendships come and go, but families are forever.' Indeed," read the caption.

The following month, the twins revealed some of their favorite memories of their father.

"I used to be bullied a lot. I'd come home crying, and my dad would say, 'Just keep being yourself. You're very funny,' " Jordan told PEOPLE in July 2023. "Every day I still live up to that."

Justin added, "I miss everything about him. He was a really fun dad."

Justin and Jordan celebrated their 21st birthday in July 2025. The late country singer's team shared a rare photo of the twins on Instagram to mark the major milestone, writing, "It's virtually impossible to believe, but Kenny & Wanda's wonderful young men, Justin & Jordan, celebrated the Big 21 yesterday!"

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