How many wives and children did James Brown have? Marriages explored, as daughters open up on his abusive marriage

During a recent exclusive interview with People, the late singer-dancer James Brown’s daughters opened up about their father being an abusive husband to their mother Deidre Jenkins, and how over the years they have forgiven him. This comes in the wake of the four-part docuseries James Brown: Say It Loud that was released recently on A&E.

Younger daughter Yamma Brown (now aged 51) told the news outlet that she was “flat-out upset, mad with my dad” for abusing his mother. She added:

"When you see a family member being hurt, you're not feeling the best about the person that's hurting them… I still go back to that place every now and then, not to belittle my dad, but flashing back over my own life and the domestic violence situation in my life, thinking how much of that shaped me."

Likewise, elder daughter Deanna Brown Thomas (now aged 55) told People how her father’s presence in the house was always “intense” but he never got angry with his daughters. She added how circumstances between her parents were different which involved a lot of “rage.”

"There was a time when I didn't like my father. I didn't like him because of this type of behavior. I saw a lot growing up. I heard a lot growing up that could have damaged me for a lifetime," she stated.

In the wake of this revelation, here’s looking at James Brown’s three wives, one partner, and his at least nine children.

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Everything you need to know about James Brown’s marriages and kids

Velma Warren

Following his death on Christmas Day 2006 from congestive heart failure arising out of pneumonia-related complications, James Brown’s first wife, Velma Warren, filed a sworn statement revealing that she and the Live at the Apollo crooner married in 1953, as reported by Hollywood Life.

While she claimed that she had the right to Brown’s property as she never divorced him, TODAY reported at that time that the couple legally separated in 1969, as evident from the court documents obtained by them.

Together, they had three sons: Teddy Brown, who died in a car crash in 1973, Terry Brown, and Larry Brown.

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Deidre Jenkins

James Brown married Deidre Jenkins (nicknamed Dee Dee) in 1970. However, they parted ways in 1974 following domestic abuse charges against him. Later, they got divorced in 1981, as per Hollywood Life.

The couple shared two daughters, Dr. Yamma Noyola Brown Lumar and Deanna Brown Thomas. The former has a doctorate from the Mercer University School of Pharmacy, as per Atlanta Magazine, and also wrote a memoir about her tumultuous childhood titled Cold Sweat: My Father James Brown and Me (2014).

Meanwhile, Deanna is the head of the James Brown Family Foundation and has an Instagram account that she uses to keep her father’s legacy alive. She also released the recent TV documentary James Brown: Say It Loud.

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Adrienne Rodriguez

In 1984, James Brown tied the knot with Adrienne Rodriguez and had an on-again, off-again marriage. In 1988, the latter even filed for divorce, citing domestic violence; however, they later reconciled and stayed together until Rodriguez passed away in 1996, as reported by Hollywood Life. It remains unknown whether they shared any children.

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Tomi Rae Hynie

Following Rodriguez’s death, Brown got involved with one of his band’s background singers Tomi Rae Hynie. While Brown never confirmed being married to her, Tomi claimed during an interview with CNN’s Larry King that she and James tied the knot in 2002 and even produced an alleged marriage certificate, according to Hollywood Life.

However, the media around the time of her claims dismissed the same because she was still married to another man. Later, in 2003, Mr. Dynamite announced via Variety that she and Tomi were splitting.

However, when nine years after he died, in 2015, a judge ruled in favor of Hynie and declared her as Brown’s legal widow and gave her rights to his estate. But that was nullified in 2020 when the South Carolina Supreme Court stated that Hynie failed to annul her previous marriage and was therefore never really James’ wife.

Notably, Hynie and Brown reportedly shared a son named James Joseph Brown II who is also a musician and his youngest known child.

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James Brown’s children out of wedlock

According to Hollywood Life, James Brown had multiple children out of wedlock including daughter Venisha Brown who succumbed to pneumonia in 2018 at the age of 53. Brown shared her with soul singer Yvonne Fair.

Likewise, The Payback singer also fathered a son named Daryl Brown with musician Beatrice “Bea” Ford. Daryl is a drummer and guitarist and wrote a 2014 memoir called My Father the Godfather.

According to Wiki, the funk musician also had a son named Michael Brown, and daughters LaRhonda Petitt, Cinnamon Brown, and Jeanette Bellinger. However, not much is known about them.