John Lennon's 2 Children: Everything to Know (2024)

The late John Lennon was best known for being a member of the 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 series The Beatles: Get Back allowed 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."

In 2019, on the 39th anniversary of his father's death, Sean posted a family photograph on Instagram. The photo showed Lennon with his arm wrapped around Ono and a young Sean posing in the foreground.

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

Julian Charles John Lennon, 60

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

Julian was born John Charles Julian Lennon, but made the decision to change his name to Julian Charles John Lennon in 2020. Speaking on the Word in Your Ear podcast, Julian spoke about why he felt the name change was best for him.

"It was in 2020, just before we all got locked in a cage that I finally actually decided to legally change my name by default," he said. "Because originally my name was John Charles Julian Lennon, and the crap that I had to deal with when traveling and security companies and this and that and the other."

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."

Following in his father's footsteps, Julian is a successful musician. He has released seven studio albums to date, including 2022's Jude, a reference to the Beatles' classic song "Hey Jude," written by Paul McCartney in 1968 as a means of consoling young Julian as his parents went through a divorce.

"It was very much reflective, looking in the mirror deeply and trying to find that place of peace," Julian told PEOPLE of Jude. "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."

During an interview with his younger brother on BBC Radio in 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 a trilogy of children's books aimed to teach kids about eco-awareness. In the book, titled Touch 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, 48

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

Sean posted a sweet tribute on what would have been his father's 78th birthday — as well as it being his own 43rd — sharing a snap of the two blowing out the candles on a cake.

"Happy Bday To Us…" he captioned the throwback photo.

Sean grew up in New York City and lived next door to singer Roberta Flack. The pair formed a decades-long friendship that Sean recalled in Roberta, 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. With a huge discography under his belt, he has released three solo albums, five with his mother Ono and three with psychedelic rock band the Claypool Lennon Delirium, and more. Additionally, he has been credited as a producer on a number of albums, including Lana Del Rey's 2017 release, Lust For Life.

Sean also has a strong bond with his half-brother Julian, who is 12 years his senior. In 2021, the pair attended a screening of The 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 and Elton 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 making Double Fantasy and 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 at Coachella in 2005, have worked on a lot of music projects together, including the band The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger.