John Lennon Children

John Lennon had two sons, born twelve years apart to two different women. Julian grew up in England with a father who was often absent. Sean grew up in New York with a father who stepped away from music to raise him. Both are now musicians, and both have spoken in public about what that difference meant.

This guide covers John Lennon’s children: who they are, what they do and what they have said about their father. Each fact names the outlet that reported it, and we point out where the reports differ. For more on the man himself, see our John Lennon life timeline, and for another life story told through family, read our Selena Quintanilla autobiography guide.

Quick Facts

Number of children: two sons, Julian and Sean.
Julian Lennon: born April 8, 1963 in Liverpool, to Cynthia Powell, according to Hollywood Life.
Sean Lennon: born October 9, 1975 in New York, to Yoko Ono, according to Hollywood Life and Biography.com.
Ages in December 1980: Julian was 17 and Sean was 5, based on those birth dates.
Relationship: half-brothers who share a father.
Joint plans: Julian said in 2023 that the two have a plan to make music together.

1. Two Sons, Two Mothers

Hollywood Life lists the facts plainly. Julian, the older son, was born on April 8, 1963 in Liverpool. His mother was Cynthia Powell, John Lennon’s first wife. Sean was born on October 9, 1975 in New York, and his mother is Yoko Ono, John’s second wife. Biography.com adds that Sean was the only child of John and Yoko.

That makes the two sons half-brothers. The 98.3 TRY report on Julian’s interview says John married Cynthia in 1962 and that they divorced in 1968, during his affair with Yoko Ono. Because the birth dates come from reference pages, the ages given for 1980 are our own simple arithmetic, not a figure any outlet printed.

2. Julian’s Early Years With His Mother

In a January 28, 2025 episode of Here’s The Thing with Alec Baldwin, covered by 98.3 TRY, Julian talked about his childhood. He said his father left when he was about three or four years old and that he had nightmares about it afterward. He said others filled the gap, and that his mother raised him. He praised her for handling the divorce with dignity and grace, and quoted her saying she could have screamed and shouted but did not.

He also talked about his first stepfather, who was Italian and who acted like an older brother. Julian said they stayed close until the man’s death roughly twenty years earlier. One piece of advice from his mother stuck with him: she told him he was very much like her during the week and like his father at the weekends. He took it to heart during a harder stretch of his life.

At the time of the interview he was promoting his book Life’s Fragile Moments, released in September 2024, according to the same report.

3. What Julian Says About His Father

Julian has been direct about how little time he had with John. In an interview with Esquire, reported by 96.1 The Fox on December 20, 2023, he said he saw his father “maybe a couple of times” before he died, and that he rarely saw him after his parents separated. The same report says Julian spoke about “Hey Jude,” the song Paul McCartney wrote to console him, and said fans often quote it to him without knowing the pain behind it.

Music Times, on January 6, 2025, drew on a Guardian interview from the day before. It says Julian described having “nothing to do” with The Beatles or his father after John left. He said he and his mother were largely cut off, and that he was never part of the inner circle. He added that he learns about Beatles projects much as fans do, and that Sean keeps him informed when he can.

4. Sean’s Birth and the Househusband Years

The Beatles Bible says Sean Taro Ono Lennon was born on October 9, 1975, John Lennon’s 35th birthday, by caesarean section. He weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces. John reportedly said he felt higher than the Empire State Building, and then began a five-year retirement from public life to raise his son. He set a routine that began at 6am, planned meals and activities and shelved a planned album, Between The Lines.

Biography.com tells the same story in other words: John quit the music business to be a househusband until he was shot outside the Dakota in 1980. It adds that at 11 Sean was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland, Institut Le Rosey, and four years later returned to the Dakota and attended schools in Manhattan.

5. Two Careers in Music and Beyond

Both sons followed music, along different roads.

Julian. Hollywood Life describes him as a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, filmmaker, photographer, author and philanthropist. It says he founded the White Feather Foundation in 2007.

Sean. Hollywood Life calls him a songwriter, musician and producer who runs the label and arts collective Chimera Music. Biography.com traces a long list of milestones: his first appearance on record on his mother’s Season of Glass in 1981, a part in Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker video in 1988, a debut solo album, Into the Sun, in 1998, and the album Friendly Fire in 2006. From 2008 he formed a band called The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger with Charlotte Kemp Muhl, and in 2015 he formed the Moonlandingz with members of Fat White Family. It also lists film scores he composed in 2009 and 2012.

How the Brothers Stay Connected

The same Biography.com article says Julian joined Sean for parts of the 2006 Friendly Fire tour. It does not describe their relationship beyond that.

More recently, Gold Radio reported on September 19, 2023 that Julian, speaking as a guest on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, said he and Sean have a plan to make music together when they both have time. He described wanting to explore how their voices sound together, but did not reveal what the project would be. The outlet does not quote Sean in that article.

Their Story at a Glance

1962: John Lennon marries Cynthia Powell, per 98.3 TRY.
April 8, 1963: Julian is born in Liverpool.
1968: John and Cynthia divorce.
October 9, 1975: Sean is born in New York, and John begins a break from music.
December 1980: John Lennon dies, when Julian is 17 and Sean is 5.
2006: Julian joins parts of Sean’s Friendly Fire tour.
2007: Julian founds the White Feather Foundation.
September 2023: Julian says the brothers have a plan to make music together.
January 2025: Julian speaks to Alec Baldwin and The Guardian about his childhood.

Across the interviews, the two sons describe a very different relationship with the same man. That is our reading of the coverage, not a claim made by any outlet.

Where the Sources Disagree

When John left Julian’s life. The 98.3 TRY report says Julian was about three or four when his father left. The 96.1 The Fox report on the Esquire interview says his parents separated when he was five. These may describe different moments, since leaving home and a formal separation are not the same thing.
Sean’s years at home with John. The Beatles Bible says five years of retirement from public life. Biography.com says househusband until 1980. These fit together, but they use different wording.
Feud rumors. Some search results suggest a rift between the brothers. We found nothing in the outlets we could open that confirms one, so we did not include it. The reports we used describe cooperation, such as the 2006 tour and the 2023 plan.
The ages in 1980. We worked these out from published birth dates. Hollywood Life gives the dates, and we could not open a second page to confirm them.
Sources we skipped. Many low-quality websites rank for this topic, with copied text and no sources. We did not use them. A major magazine page we tried to open failed to load, so we did not rely on it.

FAQ

How many children did John Lennon have? Two sons, Julian and Sean, according to Hollywood Life.

Who are Julian Lennon’s and Sean Lennon’s mothers? Julian’s mother is Cynthia Powell, and Sean’s mother is Yoko Ono.

How old were Julian and Sean when John Lennon died? Based on the birth dates in Hollywood Life, Julian was 17 and Sean was 5 in December 1980.

Are Julian and Sean Lennon brothers? They are half-brothers who share a father.

Did John Lennon spend time with Julian? Julian told Esquire that he saw his father “maybe a couple of times” before he died, per 96.1 The Fox.

What do Julian and Sean Lennon do? Both are musicians. Julian is also a filmmaker, photographer, author and philanthropist, and Sean runs a label called Chimera Music.

Will the brothers make music together? Julian said in 2023 that they have a plan, but gave no details, per Gold Radio.

Final Thoughts

John Lennon’s two sons grew up in very different worlds, and their words about him are honest rather than polished. Julian speaks about distance and what it cost him. Sean was raised by a father who chose to stay home. Today they share a surname, a gift for music and a plan that fans are still waiting to hear.

For more life stories, read our John Lennon life timeline or browse the whole Celebrity category.

Sources: 98.3 TRY (iHeart) · 96.1 The Fox (iHeart) · Music Times · Gold Radio · The Beatles Bible · Biography.com · Hollywood Life

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