All About the Singer’s Sons and Daughters

Bobby Brown’s brood includes children with four different women: sons Landon, Bobby Jr. and Cassius and daughters La’Princia, Bobbi Kristina, Bodhi and Hendrix. But for the Grammy Award-winning singer, fatherhood has been a combination of love and loss.

The legendary New Edition singer first became a father in 1986, when he and Melika Willliams Payne welcomed a son named Landon. Brown went to have two more children — daughter La’Princia and son Bobby Brown Jr. — with Kim Ward, whom he dated on and off for 11 years in the 1980s and ’90s.

In March 1993, Brown and his then-wife Whitney Houston welcomed their only daughter together, Bobbi Kristina Brown.

Brown and Houston split in a strained 2007 divorce, but the R&B artist wasn’t done growing his family. He welcomed three more children with Alicia Etheredge-Brown, his longtime friend and manager whom he married in 2012. Together, they share a son Cassius (born in 2009) and daughters Bodhi and Hendrix (born in 2015 and 2016, respectively).

Fatherhood hasn’t always been an easy road for Brown, however. The “My Prerogative” singer has suffered the loss of two of his children: Bobbi Kristina, who died in July 2015 after being found unresponsive in a bathtub, and Bobby Jr., who died in November 2020 from an accidental drug overdose. The untimely deaths of his children left Brown devastated — and feeling partially responsible for the role his own substance abuse struggles may have played.

Now, Brown takes solace in his remaining children, who he told PEOPLE in 2022 help him through his darkest days. The legendary singer also thinks of his late daughter and son in his dreams, where he says they appear to him.

“I always see them at beaches or in fields. They’re running away, but they’re laughing. And they’re always together,” Brown described to PEOPLE. “That’s enough for a father to feel like God has them.”

From their tragedies to triumphs, here is everything to know about Bobby Brown’s children: Landon, La’Princia, Bobby Jr., Bobbi Kristina, Cassius, Bodhi and Hendrix.

Landon Brown, 39

Brown was only 17 years old when he became a father for the first time. His oldest child, son Landon Brown, was born on June 22, 1986. Landon’s mother is Melika Williams Payne, who dated Brown for a few years in the 1980s, splitting up when Landon was a toddler.

Landon was raised by both his famous father and his mother and her husband, The Cosby Show actor Carl Anthony Payne II. Payne has been Landon’s stepfather since he was 5 years old, the actor revealed in a March 2024 appearance on the Tamron Hall Show. But when he wasn’t with his mother and stepfather, Landon spent his time traveling on world tours with Brown.

“He came to pick me up all the time, took me around the world,” Landon shared in a 2016 interview with VladTV. “We spent my 7th birthday in Japan … We spent plenty of time in different countries.”

That time spent with his father led Landon to grow up with a love of music. As a result, he went on to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursue his own career as an R&B artist. Landon has even performed on stage with Brown, after he auditioned to be one of his back up vocalists in 2022 (which was chronicled on the A&E reality show Bobby Brown: Every Little Step).

Despite making his son audition to perform with him, Brown has always been supportive of Landon’s music career (which includes the single, “Again,” a tribute track to his late little sister, Bobbi Kristina).

“My dad would always tell me, ‘This is what you’re meant to do. This is for you, this is your life,’ ” Landon said about his music.

In his personal life, Landon married his wife Nirja in June 2022. He is also a father himself, welcoming his third daughter, Lyrai, in December 2023.

La’Princia Queenesha Brown, 35

La’Princia Queenesha Brown, Brown’s second child — and first with Kim Ward — was born on Sept. 17, 1989, and was raised in Massachusetts.

As a teen, La’Princia appeared with her famous father and stepmother, Houston, on the 2005 reality show Being Bobby Brown. She returned to reality television in 2022 when her wedding to her boyfriend of 10 years, Eddie Ray, was featured on an episode of A&E’s Bobby Brown: Every Little Step.

“My second born, La’Princia Queenesha Brown, is my heart,” Brown admitted in the episode. “She’s my road dog. She’s one of the goofiest people I know. Me and her laugh a lot. We laugh at the same things. We are basically just alike.”

Brown fought back tears as he escorted La’Princia down the aisle at her 2021 nuptials, which were attended by most of her blended family. In 2023, Brown wrote a sweet tribute to his daughter on Instagram in honor of her birthday.

“Being your father is an honor and privilege,” he wrote. “You are a precious gift from God and I will always be thankful. I love you endlessly.”

Bobby Brown Jr.

On Nov. 26, 1991, Brown welcomed his second child with Ward, Bobby Brown Jr.

Though they spent over a decade in an on-and-off relationship, Bobby Jr.’s parents were never together after he was born. Brown and Ward officially split in September 1991, when he became engaged to Houston. Brown and Houston were married in July 1992, less than a year after Bobby Jr. was born.

Despite his parents’ split, Bobby Jr. had a strong bond with his father, revealing in a 2012 interview with VladTV that Brown had “always been there” for him growing up. Bobby Jr. also spoke about how he felt his father was unfairly portrayed in the media as a “bad guy.”

“I can’t express more how much of a good guy my father is,” Bobby Jr. said. “I look up to him every day of my life.”

Not only did Bobby Jr. look up to his father, but he also pursued a career in music just like him, and was working on releasing new music before his death.

On Nov. 18, 2020, Bobby Jr. was found dead in his Los Angeles home at just 28 years old. His tragic death, which was from an accidental overdose of cocaine, fentanyl and alcohol, came just five years after the untimely death of his younger sister, Bobbi Kristina — and left his family devastated, particularly Brown.

“Losing [my son] was very, very unexpected, just like losing my daughter,” Brown opened up on Red Table Talk in April 2021. “We were just in the studio two nights before. It was something that hit me really, really hard. He was a musician, played piano, played drums, he was a great writer.”

He added, “He was a teacher and learner. He learned from everybody that he was around and he taught just as much as he learned.”

Bobbi Kristina Brown

Bobbi Kristina Brown, Brown and Houston’s only child, was born on March 4, 1993, in New Jersey.

Bobbi grew up in the spotlight from a young age: She appeared with her parents in a Barbara Walters interview at just 8 months old and went onstage with her mother at the 1994 American Music Awards as a 1-year-old, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Bobbi was also featured in some of Houston’s music, including the 1998 single “My Love Is Your Love” and the 2003 Christmas track “Little Drummer Boy,” and made appearances on Being Bobby Brown. As she got older, Bobbi even performed with Houston and recorded her own version of her mother’s hit “I’m Your Baby Tonight.”

But Bobbi also aspired to be a star in her own right. In 2012, she made her acting debut as Tina the receptionist on the Tyler Perry series For Better or Worse — and “did a fantastic job,” Perry told The Hollywood Reporter.

“That kid has such a future. She’s such an actor,” Perry added.

But Bobbi’s life was not without its challenges: Both of her parents struggled with addiction, they went through a messy divorce in 2007 and her mother died suddenly in 2012 — leaving her “plagued by demons,” a source told PEOPLE in February 2015. To help cope with the loss, Bobbi turned to her boyfriend Nick Gordon, who died in 2020 of a drug overdose.

On Jan. 31, 2015, Bobbi was found unresponsive in a bathtub in the home she shared with Gordon in Roswell, Ga. Bobbi later died in hospice care on July 26 from a combination of drowning and drug intoxication. She was just 22 years old.

After her death, Brown released a statement calling the loss of his daughter “unimaginable” and revealing he was “completely numb.”

“My family must find a way to live with her in spirit and honor her memory,” he added at the time.

One way Brown has honored Bobbi’s memory in the years since her passing is the founding and building of the Bobbi Kristina Serenity House, a safe haven for victims of domestic violence. (Gordon was found liable in Bobbi’s death in November 2016, and ordered to pay $36 million to her estate.)

“My daughter was a part of a domestic violence situation, and it cost her her life, so that’s mainly why we did this,” Brown told PEOPLE in 2024 at a benefit gala held in Bobbi’s honor. “She’s always on my heart. She’s always on my mind, and just to help others in her honor really helps me, it’s therapeutic somewhat to me.”

Cassius Brown, 16

Brown welcomed his fifth child, a son named Cassius, on May 30, 2009. Cassius is his first child with his longtime friend and manager (and current wife) Etheredge-Brown.

Cassius was present when his parents got married in Hawaii in 2012. The toddler, who was 3 years old at the time, served as ring bearer and matched Brown in a red suit and Adidas sneakers.

As he’s grown up, Cassius has become a “kind hearted and gifted, loving and loyal” teenager, according to a September 2023 Instagram post from Etheredge-Brown. He’s also inherited his father’s musical talents — and joined Brown in the studio in 2022 to record his own songs. The recording session was featured on Bobby Brown: Every Little Step.

“Cassius is a natural born entertainer,” Brown said in the episode. “I’m very glad that he is following in my footsteps. I was the exact age when I recorded my first record.”

Brown reiterated how proud he was of his son Cassius to PEOPLE in March 2024.

“My son’s a great little kid,” he said about his youngest boy. “He’s just a little cool little dude. He loves acting and singing and dancing.”

Bodhi Jameson Rein Brown, 10

Bodhi Jameson Rein Brown — Brown’s sixth child and second with Etheredge-Brown — was born on July 9, 2015. Her birth came at a tragic time for the family, as Bobbi died just two weeks later.

“God was gracious enough to give me a baby girl [daughter Bodhi] in the last two months, you know, after losing one,” Brown said in an interview on The Real in September 2015.

Bodhi has continued to be a light for her family. On her 8th birthday in July 2023, Brown shared a sweet message to his daughter on Instagram, writing that she “brings peace and total happiness to our family.”

As for her hobbies, Bodhi — and her younger sister Hendrix — are avid gymnasts.

“The little ladies love gymnastics. They’re flippers,” Brown told PEOPLE about his youngest daughters in March 2024. “They definitely keep us busy.”

Hendrix Estelle Sheba Brown, 9

Almost exactly one year after Bodhi’s birth, on July 21, 2016, Brown and Etheredge-Brown welcomed a second daughter together: Hendrix Estelle Sheba Brown.

On Hendrix’s 6th birthday, Brown provided a peek into what his youngest child is like with a touching Instagram post.

“Kind and stubborn, sweet and loving,” he wrote alongside a photo of Hendrix, before describing her as a “dancer, horseback riding, little mermaid just fearless.”

And though she is only 9 years old, Hendrix is no stranger to life in the spotlight: She’s appeared on Bobby Brown: Every Little Step (along with her sister Bodhi) and has attended red carpet events (like the annual benefit gala for her late sister Bobbi Kristina) with her blended family.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.