Marlon Brando was a father to at least 11 kids: Christian, Miko, Rebecca, Simon, Cheyenne, Maimiti, Raiatua, Petra, Ninna, Myles and Timothy Brando
One of the most famous actors of the 20th century, Marlon Brando is an icon for his early roles in films like On the Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire, and for his later appearances in movies like The Godfather. But Brando was famously disinterested in his fame, preferring to focus on his family, which spanned the world.
The two-time Oscar winner was married three times. He wed Indian-Welsh actress Anna Kashfi in October 1957, and their son Christian Brando was born in May 1958. They divorced in 1959, and Brando married Mexican-American actress Movita Castenada the following year. Together, Brando and Castenada welcomed son Miko in 1961, and daughter Rebecca in 1966, despite splitting in 1962.
The same year, Brando married for a third time to French Polynesian actress Tarita Teriipaia. The couple met in Tahiti when starring in Mutiny on the Bounty together. They had two children: Teihotu, born in 1963, and Terita Cheyenne (who went by Cheyenne), born in 1970. The couple split in 1972. Afterwards, Brando adopted Tarita’s daughter from another relationship, Maimiti, who was born in 1977, and Tarita’s niece Raiatua, born in 1982.
Brando also adopted Petra Brando, born in 1972, the daughter of his longtime assistant Caroline Barrett, who worked for the actor for more than 20 years and was romantically involved with him for some of those years.
Later, Brando became involved with his longtime housekeeper Maria Cristina Ruiz. They had three children: daughter Ninna Priscilla Brando, born in 1989; son Myles Jonathan Brando, born in 1992; and son Timothy Gahan Brando, born in 1994.
“My family’s so weird and spaced out,” Christian told the Los Angeles Times in 1991. “We’d have new additions all the time. Like I’d sit down at the table with all these strange people and say, ‘Who are you?’ ”
Miko, though, has strongly happy memories of his father, who died in 2004. “He was a loving, caring, funny father and just a good person to be with,” he told The Guardian in 2015. “When we were around him, he wasn’t Marlon Brando, the famous, two-time Oscar winner, legend actor. He was just Dad, and you played around with him, you wrestled with him and told jokes ... My recollection is of good times.”
Keep reading for everything to know about Marlon Brando’s 11 children.
Brando kept his early life private from his kids
Brando had a troubled upbringing and a difficult relationship with his parents, and often said that he wanted to be a better father than the one he had — but he kept the details of his parents from his children.
“He never spoke bad about his parents to us or put them down,” Miko told The Guardian in 2015. “And he’d always say to me, ‘Miko, you learn by your mistakes.’ I guess what I’m trying to say is that he never made us feel the way supposedly his father did him. He always made us feel number one and happy and cherished. Loved.”
Rebecca remembers her dad intimidating her boyfriends
When your father portrayed one of the most famous mobster roles of all time, you’re naturally going to be nervous introducing your boyfriends to him — and Rebecca told British GQ in 2020 that some of the boys she brought home to Brando were not up to the challenge.
“He was always asking me about boys, of course,” she said. “I had some boyfriends that were just too scared — they couldn’t handle it. He would always turn and say to us, ‘No hanky-panky,’ which of course I was mortified by. I was like, ‘Dad, of course!’ ”
Christian pled guilty to killing Cheyenne’s boyfriend at Brando’s home
On May 16, 1990, Christian, Cheyenne and her boyfriend Dag Drollet were gathered at Brando’s Los Angeles home. At the time, Cheyenne was 20 and eight months pregnant. That night, she told Christian that Drollet had hit her, and Christian confronted the other man with a gun. According to Christian, they were struggling and the gun went off; though according to information police gave the Los Angeles Times in 1990, there was no sign of a struggle, and Drollet was found shot in the head, sitting on the couch. Brando tried to revive him, but Drollet died on the scene.
“I did not go into that room to kill Dag Drollet,” Christian told the Los Angeles Times in 1991. “I just wanted to scare him.” Cheyenne later admitted that she had fabricated the claims of Drollet’s abuse. “I feel like a complete chump for believing her,” Christian added.
During the trial, Brando was despondent in his testimony. “I think that perhaps I failed as a father,” he said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “I’m certain that there were things that I could have done differently, had I known better at the time, but I didn’t.”
Christian pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was released after serving 4 ½ years of his term. After his release, according to The Guardian, Christian started using drugs and was arrested for drunk driving. He later pled guilty to spousal abuse of his then-wife Deborah Presley and was sentenced to three years probation.
Cheyenne died in 1995
After her son Tuki Drollet was born in 1990, Cheyenne faced years of difficulty. In an attempt to prevent her from testifying in her brother’s trial, Brando quickly sent her back to Tahiti, where she was deemed mentally incompetent to testify by a French court, per the Los Angeles Times.
Cheyenne died by suicide in her mother’s home in Tahiti in 1995, after losing custody of her son. She was 25.
Miko has worked for the Michael Jackson estate for decades
Brando was longtime friends with Michael Jackson, and his second-born son worked for the singer for more than 30 years, according to The Guardian. Originally, Miko was his longtime bodyguard. After Jackson’s death, Miko remained an employee of the estate, cataloging the singer’s possessions.
Brando didn’t want his kids to be in show business
Though he was a decorated actor, Brando didn’t think much of the profession and devoted his private time to social causes. He also didn’t want his children to be involved in Hollywood.
“He never encouraged us to be actors,” Rebecca told The Guardian. “He thought acting was just completely unrealistic and you’re in the illusion that you are this grand person and why? Because you’re an actor? It didn’t make sense to him. He thought that people who were educated and who made a difference in this world were the ones who should be getting paid millions of dollars: the Nobel prizewinners, the scientists, the teachers, the doctors.”
Christian died in 2008
Despite Brando often referring to him as his “number one son,” Christian lived a troubled life. The acrimony between his parents continued long after their initial split, with Christian often put in the middle of unusually difficult situations. According to the Los Angeles Times, Kashfi was initially awarded custody but in 1964 had her custody removed because of her “reliance on drugs and alcohol.” Christian lived with his aunt until 1972, when Brando won custody and sent him to boarding school in Ojai, Calif.
“I grew up with an extremely violent mother,” Christian told the Los Angeles Times in 1991. “She drank and we had a lot of problems.”
Christian died from complications with pneumonia on Jan. 26, 2008. He was 49 years old.
Petra has carried on her father’s humanitarian work
Petra, who lives in London, established the Brando Fischer Foundation, which helps children in need.
“During his life, my dad was passionate about helping children in need,” she told the Golden Globes in 2019. “During the ‘60s and ‘70s, he was very involved with UNICEF and traveled the world visiting villages in developing countries, and later recruited artists to perform in a variety show in order to raise awareness of children in need. To be associated with that organization gave him what he said was the greatest pride and satisfaction. I know he’d be proud of what we’re doing.”
Some of the Brando kids turned their father’s private island into a luxury resort
In 1966, Brando purchased the Tahitian island of Teti’aroa, where the actor spent a lot of time with his children and grandchildren. Ten years after his death, Brando's children opened The Brando, an eco-resort on the island.
Now the resort is a pricey retreat for the rich and famous. Lady Gaga is reported to have stayed there, and Pippa Middleton is rumored to have spent her honeymoon there.
Parisian chef Guy Martin, who oversees the resort’s restaurants, told PEOPLE that "there is no other place like it anywhere else on Earth."
Rebecca thinks her father would be happy with his 2015 documentary
The 2015 documentary Listen to Me Marlon reveals a more personal side of the actor, and uses never-before-seen footage and audio recordings from Brando’s life. To make the film, director Stevan Riley needed permission from the famously private actor’s children.
“Stevan took such a sensitive approach to the film and this was important to us,” Rebecca told British GQ. “So many books have been written, so many lies told, and we were never allowed to speak to the press and have our say, but this film is our way of doing that. Growing up with all those negative stories was so hurtful. We wanted something more truthful to be made about my father.”
Because of the film’s honesty about her father and his life, Rebecca added, she felt that he would have liked the end result. “He would have been proud, I hope,” she said. “He knew those tapes would be found and used in some way — he was no dummy. I feel this was his document, his diary unlocked for us to discover. He could have destroyed them if he wanted to. In a way, the film is my father coming back to us, a very personal part of his legacy.”
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