John Lennon's 2 Children: All About Julian and Sean

Mar. 15, 2025

Julian Lennon and Sean Ono Lennon.Photo: Rich Fury/Getty

The lateJohn Lennonwas best known for being a member ofthe Beatles, whose hits included “Here Comes the Sun,” “All You Need Is Love” and “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Lennon died in 1980 after being murdered in New York City, but the singer and songwriter left behind a legacy, not only of chart-topping hits, but also of his two children.

Lennon fathered two sons. He shares his older son,Julian Charles John, with his ex-wife Cynthia Lennon, and his younger son,Sean Tara Ono, with his widow,Yoko Ono.

The brothers often look back on their father’s life fondly. Julian revealed that watching the 2021 documentary seriesThe Beatles: Get Backallowed him to revisit childhood memories with his late father.

“I remembered him as a kid — goofy, funny, sarcastic, charming,” he told PEOPLE after watching the documentary. “I fell in love with him again because that was the guy I remember before it all went pear-shaped.”

Here’s everything to know about John Lennon’s two children, Julian and Sean.

Julian Charles John Lennon, 61

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Lennon’s older son, Julian, was born in Liverpool, England, on April 8, 1963.

Julian was born John Charles Julian Lennon, but made thedecision to change his nameto Julian Charles John Lennon in 2020. Speaking on theWord in Your Earpodcast, Julian spoke about why he felt the name change was best for him.

He continued, “Whenever you had to present yourself, especially on like boarding passes, just as an example, you know they only use your first name, and so it would always be ‘John Lennon, John Lennon.” Julian went on to say he became “quite fearful and anxious about those scenarios, because there would always be wisecracks or jokes.”

“It was very much reflective, looking in the mirror deeply and trying to find that place of peace,” Julian told PEOPLE ofJude. “I found it one or two times before, but it got lost in the muddle of life. Working on the album was about getting in touch with myself and who I am.”

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During an interview with his younger brother onBBC Radioin 2020, Julian spoke about one of his last conversations with his father before Lennon’s death.

“Dad and I had been getting on and speaking a lot more on the phone, you know. When I was sort of 15, 16 and 17,” he shared. “I just remember I was living in North Wales at the time and I’d spent six months or a year in boarding as well and I’d finally come home. And I was living at mom’s house and I was finishing up at school. I remember him playing ‘Starting Over’ [Lennon’s final song before his death] over the phone, he just mixed it.”

He added, “I just remember that as being the last kind of moments, listening to him being extremely happy in a happy place, and doing what he loved, and the music that he played me at that particular point, Starting Over, and some of the other album tracks. I was very happy for him and looking forward to seeing him again. Anyway, in another dimension …”

In addition to his music career, Julian has embarked on other creative endeavors, such as filmmaking, photography and writing. In 2017, he released the first in atrilogy of children’s booksaimed to teach kids about eco-awareness. In the book, titledTouch the Earth, Julian pays a subtle tribute to his rockstar father.

“I would hope that these books would serve as a gentle reminder of how beautiful the world we live in is, as well as the problems we face on a daily basis,” he told PEOPLE. “And also I hope it would nurture the relationship between parent and child, and prompt discussion about life and love, too.”

Sean Taro Ono Lennon, 49

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Lennon shared his second son,Sean Lennon, with his wife, Yoko Ono. Sean was born on Oct. 9, 1975, which also happened to be Lennon’s 35th birthday.

Sean grew up in New York City and lived next door to singerRoberta Flack. The pair formed adecades-long friendshipthat Sean recalled inRoberta, a documentary chronicling Flack’s life.

“I was very blessed that I grew up with the coolest neighbor in the world,” he said in the film. “At first, I didn’t even think of Roberta as this incredible artist and musician, she was just this really cool neighbor. We used to call her Aunt Roberta, and we were very close.”

Like his father and half-brother, Sean is also a talented musician. He has released four solo albums, five with his mother Ono and three with the psychedelic rock band the Claypool Lennon Delirium. Additionally, he has been credited as a producer on a number of albums, includingLana Del Rey’s 2017 release,Lust For Life.

“I never played music because I was good at it,” Sean told PEOPLE in November 2024. “I lost my father and I didn’t know how to fill that void. Learning how to play his songs on guitar was a way to process the loss with an activity thatmade me feel connected to him.”

He continued: “When you’ve lost a parent, things like that motivate you — because you’re trying to find them. Making music always made me feel like I was getting to know him better.”

Sean also has astrong bond with his half-brotherJulian, who is 12 years his senior. In 2021, the pair attended a screening ofThe Beatles: Get Back, despite Julian’s reservations.

“I was like, ‘I don’t need to do that,’ " Julian told PEOPLE at the time. “But Sean was adamant and felt committed, and we were both in L.A. … so I said, ‘Listen, I’ll go with you. Let’s go together, let’s go as a team.’ And it was great to do that.”

Speaking of his relationship with his younger sibling, Julian called Sean his “best mate,” adding, “We’re brothers and we love each other deeply on that level,” he says. “We just talk daily, same as anybody would.”

In 2020, Sean hosted a special BBC Radio show to honor what would have been his father’s 80th birthday. Guests included Lennon’s family and friends, with conversations from the likes of McCartney andElton John.

“I honestly do worry about crying because sometimes I think when I talk about certain songs that Dad wrote, they’re just so emotional,” Sean shared during the interview. “They are hard for me to even think about, let alone listen to some of them, especially the later stuff just because I have so many memories of them makingDouble Fantasyand some of that stuff just breaks my heart because… it’s like a time machine, it takes me right back to those moments before [his death].”

Sean has been in a long-term relationship with musician and model Charlotte Kemp Muhl, who is known in her professional life as Kemp Muhl, since 2007. The pair, who met atCoachellain 2005, have worked on a lot of music projects together, including the band The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger.

source: people.com