Brenda Lee poses for a portrait; Brenda Lee with daughters Jolie and Julie during the annual Nashville Christmas Parade on Dec. 3, 1972 in Nashville, TN.Photo:GAB Archive/Redferns ; © Dale Ernsberger / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
GAB Archive/Redferns ; © Dale Ernsberger / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Singer Brenda Lee and her husband of over 60 years, Ronnie Shacklett, are proud parents of two adult daughters, Julie and Jolie.
Known as the iconic voice behind “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree,” Brenda met her future husband at a Jackie Wilson concert, where she passed him a note saying, “Hi, my name’s Brenda, here’s my number. But I’m going to be gone for three months in Europe, working," according toThe New York Times. He called when she returned to the U.S., and they married just months after, in 1963.
Now adults, Julie and Jolie have remained out of the spotlight. Brenda still performs, but as perRolling Stone, she described her life as “just the regular day of a woman that has kids, grandkids, a husband and a house.” She told the outlet in 2018: “The thing about me is I’ve always led a normal life … I’m probably one of the few artists that did.”
Brenda Lee, husband Ronnie Shacklett and family at the Music City Walk of Fame Park induction ceremony on Aug. 21, 2018 in Nashville.AFF-USA/Shutterstock
AFF-USA/Shutterstock
Here’s everything to know about Brenda Lee’s two children, Julie and Jolie.
Julie Shacklett
Brenda Lee with her husband Ronnie Shacklett on Nov. 14, 1964 in the United Kingdom.Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty
Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty
Brenda and Ronnie welcomed their first child together, daughter Julie Shacklett, on April 2, 1964. Brenda was 18 years old at the time.
According toTheNew York Times, Julie was born six weeks prematurely at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville.
Per theThe Tennessean, she married Keith Clay in October 1986 and has since welcomed children of her own.
Julie also helped her mother author the 2002 autobiographyLittle Miss Dynamite: The Life and Times of Brenda Lee.
Jolie Shacklett
Brenda Lee and husband Ronnie Shacklett at the Music City Walk of Fame Park induction ceremony on Aug. 21, 2018 in Nashville.AFF-USA/Shutterstock
Brenda and Ronnie welcomed their second daughter, Jolie Shacklett, a few years after Julie was born.
Jolie has remained out of the spotlight throughout her life. She did, however, join her family at a luncheon to celebrate Brenda’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2022. She also attended the Music City Walk of Fame Park induction ceremony in Nashville in 2018, where Brenda earned a star.
While Brenda hasn’t often opened up about her children’s private lives, she has shared insight into herlong-lasting marriage with Ronnie.
“I’m just me, and when I commit, it’s hard to get rid of me, and my husband will tell you that,” Lee said on a December 2024 episode ofSouthern Living’sBiscuits and Jampodcast. “I’m loyal to the ones that are loyal to me … and in this industry that’s hard because everybody’s so busy, and it’s normal, but they’re so busy just trying to survive what this business offers.”
source: people.com
