Very few Hollywood stars will ever reach the same level of fame as Marlon Brando — you might have heard of him a few times in your lifetime. As an icon and a cinematic staple, particularly of the 1950s through the 1970s, Brando inspired a generation of actors who could only hope to match part of his talent and prestige in a lifetime.
In fact, Brando almost created a small generation of his own — quite literally. Besides being the face of The Godfather and the epitome of old Hollywood chic, Brando followed a common trend of the time: the fathering of many children. The term 1950s term “baby boom” might as well have been coined for Brando himself — what a trendsetter.
To put it in modern pop terms: Brando was the old Hollywood equivalent of Nick Cannon, only with far more talent, but equally as controversial. With that image in mind, let’s take a look at all of Brando’s known heirs.
How many children did Marlon Brando have?
As far as we know, Marlon Brando had 11 children between 1958 and 1994 — some born through his three marriages, others through adoption or extramarital affairs. The actor’s oldest son, Christian Brando, was born in 1958 while Brando was still married to Indian-Welsh actress Anna Kashfi, whom he divorced a year later. Christian passed away from pneumonia after living a tumultuous and criminally-ridden life.
In 1960, Brando married Mexican-American actress Movita Castaneda, with whom he had two children: their son Miko in 1961, and their daughter Rebecca in 1966. Although the couple divorced in 1962, they appeared to have reunited at times, resulting in the birth of Rebecca Brando. Both Rebecca, now a clinical psychologist, and Miko, an actor, are thriving in their respective fields.
Also in 1962, Brando married for the third and final time, to French Polynesian actress Tarita Teriipaia — the only one of Brando’s three wives who is still alive. Together, they had two children: Teihotu, born in 1963, and their late daughter Cheyenne, born in 1970. The couple separated in 1972, but Brando adopted two of Tarita’s relatives: her daughter Maimiti, born in 1977 from another relationship, and Tarita’s niece Raiatua, born in 1982. Of the aforementioned names, Cheyenne is the only one who did not survive to see her father’s final days, having passed away by suicide in 1995.
When Brando and Tarita separated, the actor also adopted Petra Brando, who was born in 1972. She is the daughter of his longtime assistant, Caroline Barrett. According to some reports, Barrett and Brando were romantically and physically involved for several years during her more than 20 years of employment with him. Petra has continued much of Brando’s humanitarian work by founding the Brando Fischer Foundation, which helps children in need.
The last of Brando’s children came from his relationship with his housekeeper, Maria Cristina Ruiz. Together, they had three children: daughter Ninna Priscilla Brando, born in 1989; son Myles Jonathan Brando, born in 1992, who later became a model; and his youngest son, Timothy Gahan Brando, born in 1994. He became a grandfather to over 30 grandchildren — some of whom were left out of his will, but that’s a different conversation.
Curiously enough, despite the number of children — three of whom were adopted — and numerous romantic relationships, Brando wasn’t just a womanizer. The actor was known for being sexually ambiguous, often dating both men and women — he was likely what we would today call bisexual, though the term was not widely used at the time. It seems he simply had a lot of love to give, I guess.