Berry Gordy - Personal Life

Personal Life

Gordy, who married and divorced three times, has eight children: Hazel Joy, Berry Gordy IV, Terry James, Kerry Ashby, Sherry, Kennedy William, Rhonda Suzanne, and Stefan Kendal. His publishing company, Jobete, was named after his three eldest children, Joy, Berry and Terry.

With first wife Thelma Coleman, whom he married in 1953 (divorced in 1959), he has three children:

• Hazel Joy (born August 24, 1954)
• Berry Gordy IV (born October 1955)
• Terry James (born August 1956)

In the spring of 1960 he married second wife Raynoma Mayberry Liles (divorced in 1964). Together, they have one child who was born that previous year:

• Kerry Ashby (born June 25, 1959)

With Jeana Jackson, Gordy has one daughter:

• Sherry

With his then-mistress/girlfriend Margaret Norton, Gordy has a son who would later become more popularly known as Motown musician Rockwell:

• Kennedy William (born March 15, 1964)

Gordy has a daughter with successful Motown female artist Diana Ross, with whom he had an intimate relationship from 1965 through the 1970s:

• Rhonda Suzanne (born August 14, 1971)

Gordy's eighth and youngest child is a son he has with Nancy Leiviska, known by his stage name as Redfoo of the duo LMFAO (the other member of the duo is Skyler Gordy, born August 23, 1986, and known professionally as SkyBlu; he is the grandson of Gordy and Thelma Coleman through their son Berry Gordy IV, and his wife, Valerie Robeson):

• Stefan Kendal (born September 3, 1975)

After dating for eight years, Berry married Grace Eaton on July 17, 1990; they divorced in 1993.