The Beatles Legend John Lennon: A Guide to His Two Sons
As fellow band member Paul McCartney would later remark, The Beatles’ John Lennon lived a life marred by tragedy.
Growing up in a tumultuous family setting, after his father Alfred left early and his mother Julia allowed her sister Mary “Mimi” Smith to raise him, John’s upbringing was fraught with challenges.
As an adult, John had two sons, Julian Lennon, now 61, and Sean Ono Lennon, now 49, and he was an entirely different father to each before his untimely passing at the age of 40 in December 1980.
Currently, the brothers “confront demons together,” Julian shared in a 2021 interview with Esquire.
“It’s amusing because there’s been a constant narrative, particularly in the UK press, about ‘Lennon Sons Feuding.’ We’ve never had a quarrel in our lives. It’s absolutely ridiculous,” he stated.
Continue reading for insights about the significant family members in John’s life.
Julian Lennon
John’s journey into fatherhood began controversially when he and girlfriend Cynthia Powell realized they were expecting a child after neglecting to use protection.
When John (then 21) learned that Cynthia (then 22) was pregnant, he made the decision to marry, and they wed in 1962. Their son Julian was born in April 1963; however, John missed the birth due to his commitments with The Beatles.
While John was present during Julian’s early years, he eventually left Cynthia for Yoko Ono, leading to a strained relationship with Julian throughout much of his life.
Julian later reflected on his complicated relationship with John in a 2020 interview with The Guardian.
“Then suddenly my dad vanished from my life. At least, that’s how it felt to me. He and Yoko Ono were deeply and overtly in love, and it seemed like my mom and I had been cast aside,” he confided to the publication. “There were perhaps 10 years where we barely spoke. I was really upset about how he abandoned the family. Thanks to my mom, we started interacting again. She was such a kind soul, always encouraging me to maintain a relationship with him.”
Julian, who inspired Paul McCartney’s song “Hey Jude,” written for him following John and Cynthia’s divorce, also mentioned that he eventually reestablished his connection with his father before his untimely death.
“I was nervous the first time I visited him in the US after my parents’ separation. I was becoming more aware of who this man truly was,” he shared with The Guardian. “To my relief, the visit went wonderfully. My dad was charming, humorous, and warm. From that moment, I remember us connecting better.”
Sean Ono Lennon
Unlike his parenting style with Julian, John was a significantly more involved father with his second son.
John welcomed Sean in October 1975 with his second wife, Yoko, and chose to step back from his music career to become a stay-at-home dad.
In a Playboy interview conducted in September 1980 and published in January 1981, John expressed how well he adapted to this new role.
“I’ve been making bread and caring for the baby… because, as every housewife knows, bread and babies are full-time jobs,” he stated at the time.
Tragically, John was shot and killed in December 1980, just when Sean was five years old.
Reflecting on the impact of his father’s death in a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, Sean shared that he retains memories of his dad’s life.
“Many people don’t remember their experiences at five,” he reflected during the conversation. “I’ve never consulted a psychologist, but I’ve presumed that the trauma of my dad’s death caused many of those early memories to persist. I recall more events from being four and five than I do from being 16.”
Julia and Alfred Lennon
John’s parents, Julia and Alfred Lennon, first met as teenagers and secretly wed a decade later in 1938. John was born in 1940, but Julia entrusted his upbringing to her sister Mary “Mimi” Smith.
Fellow Beatle McCartney spoke about John’s difficult upbringing during the 2023 Tribeca Festival.
“As a child, his mother was deemed insufficient to raise him… His father left home when John was just three. That’s not an ideal situation,” McCartney, now 82, reminisced. “It gave me insight into why he had that vulnerability. I always respected how he handled it because I’m not sure I would have coped with what he experienced so well.”
Julia tragically lost her life after being struck by a vehicle at the age of 44 in 1958, when John was still just a teenager.
“That was another significant trauma for me. I lost her twice — once when I was five and moved in with my aunt, and then again when she passed away,” he shared with Playboy in 1980. “That fueled my bitterness; the chip on my shoulder grew substantially during that time. Just when I was re-establishing my bond with her, she died.”
John and Alfred had a strained relationship throughout most of their lives, but they reconciled at Alfred’s deathbed in 1976.
Mimi Smith
John was brought up by his aunt, Mimi, and her husband George Smith. Throughout his life, Mimi remained a significant figure for John. After his rise to fame with The Beatles, John purchased a home for Mimi in Dorset, U.K., where she lived until her passing in 1991.