The Most Complicated Musical Families in Pop Culture History: A Guide
A Guide to the Most Complicated Musical Families in Pop Culture History: From the Jacksons to Judds
A handful of families have produced multiple music stars, building a legacy of intergenerational talent that reaches farther than most solo artists can hope — but along the way, many of these families have faced controversy, tragedy and chaos.The Jackson family, for example, dubbed the "Royal Family of Pop," yielded over a dozen successful musicians, most notably Michael Jackson . However, the family was fractured when Michael — who died of an overdose in 2009 at 50 years old — was accused of sexual abuse.In the years since his death, the Jackson family has been embroiled in a feud, with additional abuse allegations, estate arguments and multiple lawsuits tearing them apart.The Jackson family crossed over with another major musical family in 1994 when Michael married Lisa Marie Presley , the only daughter of Elvis Presley . Their marriage only lasted two years, but Michael played a huge part in the lives of Lisa Marie and her eldest children, Benjamin Keough, for the better part of a decade.Lisa Marie went on to welcome twin daughters Harper and Finley with husband Michael Lockwood in 2008 before her own death in 2023, the most recent of a series of several tragic losses in the Presley family.Below, Us Weekly breaks down some of the most complicated musical families in pop culture history and the controversies that surround them:
Credit: Hulton Archive/The Jackson Family
Hailing from Gary, Indiana, the Jackson family burst onto the music scene when The Jackson 5 — consisting of brothers and Michael and managed by father — was founded in 1964. Joe and wife had 10 children total, many of whom embarked on successful solo careers. (Several of the Jackson children have claimed that Joe was abusive to them growing up and pressured them into the entertainment industry, while other Jackson siblings have denied these claims.)
Michael and Janet's solo careers raised the family to unprecedented levels of fame, with the former earning the moniker "King of Pop" as he became one of the most successful entertainers of all time.
Michael's career was plagued by controversy when he was accused of sexually abusing several minors at his private amusement park, Neverland Ranch. When the ranch was raided, the "Thriller" singer was indicted on 10 criminal counts, including child molestation, but he was eventually acquitted of all charges.
The abuse allegations caused a major rift among Jackson family members, as did Michael's death in 2009. He overdosed on sedatives prescribed by his doctor, Conrad Murray, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter two years later.
Following Michael's death, there have been several reports of conflict, feuds, lawsuits and abuse allegations among the Jacksons, including Michael's children (formerly known as Blanket), whom he shared with his ex-wife Debbie Rowe.
Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/The Presley Family
Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll," Elvis rose to fame from relative obscurity after he released his first single in 1956. A successful music career quickly became a multimedia empire, and he brought his friends, family and team to live with him at his Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee, which would quickly become a cultural landmark.
Elvis married Priscilla Presley in 1967 when he was 32 and she was 21. The pair welcomed their only child together, Lisa Marie, in 1968 before their divorce in 1973. Shortly thereafter, Elvis' health steadily declined, bolstered by the deluge of drugs he was taking on a daily basis, many of which were prescribed by his doctors. He died at age 42 in 1977 of a heart attack caused by a combination of drugs in his system.
While their relationship was often strained, Priscilla raised Lisa Marie — with the help of the Church of Scientology, to which she was introduced by John Travolta — following Elvis' death. Lisa Marie's adolescence was fraught with substance abuse and instability, with the young Graceland heir going in and out of boarding schools and rehabilitation centers.
After Lisa Marie met Danny Keough through Scientology and married him, they welcomed daughter Riley Keough in 1989 and son Benjamin Keough in 1992. Just 20 days after divorcing Danny in 1994, Lisa Marie married Michael Jackson , who was in the midst of fighting against child molestation charges. They divorced in 1996, and Lisa Marie went on to marry Michael Lockwood, with whom she welcomed twin daughters Harper and Finley in 2008. They ultimately divorced in 2021.
While she had a difficult relationship with music due to the pressure of being Elvis' daughter, Lisa Marie released three full-length studio albums in the early aughts. She also distanced herself from the Church of Scientology in 2013.
Lisa Marie's youngest child, Benjamin — whom she compared to her father, writing in her memoir, "Ben was so much like him it scared me" — died by suicide at 27 years old in 2020. Riley wrote in her and her mother's memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, that the grief from Ben's death together with Lisa Marie's addiction issues ultimately contributed to her mother's own death from cardiac arrest in early 2023.
While Riley is primarily an actress, she has also dabbled in music, notably in the Emmy-nominated series Daisy Jones & the Six, in which she plays a singer in a '70s rock band. Following her mother's death, Riley — who welcomed daughter Tupelo with husband Ben Smith-Petersen in 2022 — became the sole owner of the Graceland estate, inciting legal issues and further personal strain on her relationship with her grandmother Priscilla.
Credit: Kevin Mazur/ for iHeartMediaThe Cyrus Family
Billy Ray Cyrus was already famous in the country music world with his No. 1 single "Achy Breaky Heart," he became a household name along with daughter Miley Cyrus when they costarred on the hit Disney Channel series Hannah Montana.
The show aired from 2006 to 2011 and launched Miley's career as both an actress and a musician, spawning movies, music tours and merchandise. Meanwhile, Billy Ray and wife Tish Cyrus ' other children, including , were all pursuing musical careers of their own.
Following the conclusion of Hannah Montana, Cyrus went on to embrace a more adult image in her music, provoking controversy with her risqué 2013 album, Bangerz, especially. Over the next decade, she established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry, becoming one of the most successful artists of the 2010s and earning critical acclaim for her album Endless Summer Vacation.
Meanwhile, Tish filed for divorce from Billy Ray in April 2022, prompting rumors of a family rift between the Cyruses. Billy Ray moved on with , whom he married in 2023 (they divorced less than a year later). Tish moved on with Dominic Purcell , whom she also married in 2023.
Noah and Braison were not present at their mother's wedding, leading to speculation that the Cyrus family's relationship was fractured (in part because Noah had previously had a relationship with Purcell before her mother started seeing him).
Credit: Bettmann/The Wilson Family
Carl Wilson, along with their cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine, formed The Beach Boys in 1961. Managed by the Wilsons' father, , the band rose to prominence with their distinctly Californian sound, dominating the radio waves in the 1960s.
Murry was accused of physically and verbally abusing his children and he was dismissed as their manager in 1964, but he still held control of the band's publishing for four more years, which later became the subject of several legal disputes. Murry died of a heart attack in 1973 at age 55.
When their momentum began to falter in the early 1970s, the band began to fall apart. Brian struggled with substance abuse and mental health issues and eventually became estranged from the group, while Dennis drowned at age 39 in 1983 after years of struggling with substance abuse (which was compounded by a friendship with famed cult leader Charles Manson). Carl, meanwhile, died of lung cancer in 1998 at 51.
Following Carl's death, Love was granted the right to use the "Beach Boys" name while touring, and he hit Jardine with legal action when he attempted to do the same. Love also sued Brian on multiple occasions because he did not receive credit for cowriting hit Beach Boys songs.
Brian's daughters, Wendy Wilson, whom he had with ex-wife Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford, found success of their own in the music industry as part of the group Wilson Phillips (joined by another member of a famous family, Chynna Phillips ). In 2024, Brian was placed under a legal conservatorship due to a "major neurocognitive disorder."
Credit: Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch viaThe Phillips Family
Another group that dominated the 1960s, The Mamas & the Papas, was formed by husband-and-wife duo Michelle PhillipsDenny DohertyCass Elliot. While they achieved commercial success in music, personal turmoil was tearing them apart behind the scenes.
Michelle was expelled from the group in 1966 following her affairs with Doherty and Gene Clark of the Byrds. She eventually rejoined, but the conflict between members, especially Michelle and John, continued until the band's split. Already a father to Mackenzie Phillips from his relationship with his first wife, Susan Adams, John welcomed daughter Chynna Phillips with Michelle before they divorced in 1969. (Chynna went on to team up with Carnie and Wendy Wilson for the pop trio Wilson Phillips.)
From 1972 to 1995, John was married to Geneviève Waïte, with whom he had children Bijou Phillips. After a decades-long battle with substance abuse, he died of heart failure in 2001 at age 65.
Eight years later, Mackenzie released a memoir detailing accusations of extensive sexual abuse from her father, including the claim that the conceived a child with John, a pregnancy she ultimately aborted.
Bijou, meanwhile, went on to marry Danny Masterson, who was convicted of rape in 2023. She filed for divorce in September of that year.
Credit: Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/The Gallagher Family
Liam Gallagher, along with their school friend Paul McGuigan, founded British pop-rock band Oasis in 1991. That year marked the beginning of a successful career in the music industry — but also a decades-long feud between the siblings.
As early as 1994, after their commercial breakthrough, Noel and Liam became known for their bickering, which even escalated to physical violence. During a concert that year, Liam hit Noel over the head with a tambourine, and in 1995, Noel hit Liam on the head with a cricket bat while recording music.
Years of verbal and physical fighting followed, and the band — which had several other members over the years, with Noel and Liam the only constants — broke up just before they were set to perform at the Rock En Seine festival in Paris in 2009.
"We were backstage waiting to go onstage to 30,000 people in Paris," Noel told NPR of the breakup in 2012. "The tour manager came in and said, 'Five minutes!' We broke up within that five minutes. I'm not proud of that, but all things come to an end."
In August 2024, the band shocked fans when they announced a 2025 reunion tour , which will mark their first time on stage together in 16 years.
Credit: Ron Davis/The Judd Family
In 1983, Naomi Judd and her daughter formed the music duo The Judds, which went on to become one of the most successful acts in country history. Naomi's other daughter, Ashley Judd , went on to have a successful acting career of her own.
After Naomi was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 1991, The Judds split. While Naomi eventually overcame the odds and recovered from her illness, she died by suicide at 76 years old in 2022 after decades of mental illness struggles — just one day before The Judds were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Following the dissolution of The Judds, Wynonna embarked on her own solo career and found success. While there were rumors of a feud between sisters Wynonna and Ashley, Wynonna told Us that they put all drama aside after the death of their mother.
"Now that Mom's gone, it feels like there's more of a solidifying — and that grout between the stones is God," Wynonna told Us in her June 2024 cover story . "We're both believers so we have such a strong connection now. There's no drama there, and if there is, it doesn't last as long as it used to. We're older now and we realize we have only so much time left."
Credit: Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/The Van Halen Family
Alex Van Halen made up one half of the band titled after their surname, which was active from 1973 to 2020. One of the best-selling music groups of all time, and often credited with the resurgence of hard rock in mainstream music, Van Halen was a mainstay of the '80s music scene.
The brothers, however, were still plagued by many of the issues that other famous families experienced: tension, drug addiction and mental illness.
In 1982, Eddie agreed to perform a guitar solo on Michael Jackson's "Beat It," against his brother's wishes. Jackson's album went on to outperform Van Halen's 1984 album.
"Why would you lend your talents to Michael Jackson? I just don't f-ing get it," Alex told Rolling Stone in 2024, reflecting on his brother's actions. "And the funny part was that Ed fibbed his way out of it by saying, 'Oh, who knows that kid anyway?' You made the mistake! Fess up. Don't add insult to injury by acting stupid."
Eddie struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction his entire life, and he died of a stroke in 2020 at age 65 after battling cancer.
