Music legend Chaka Khan (nee Yvette Marie Stevens) was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023, and the milestone moment will air during the induction ceremony on ABC on January 1. The achievement comes amid a truly monumental career — she’s won a whopping 10 Grammy Awards between 1975 and 2008, out of 22 nominations. In 1998, she was honored with the Lena Horne Career Achievement Award at the Soul Train Awards, and she garnered a similar honor in 2009 as the distinguished recipient of the Legends Career Achievement Award.
Behind the scenes, Chaka, 70, holds an even more important role — that of mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. Find out what we know about her two children below.
Indira Millini
Indira Millini was born to Chaka and Rahsaan Morris in 1973 — after Chaka embarked on a short marriage to Hassan Khan that ended in 1971. She clearly loves her only daughter, and on December 21, 2020, she took to Instagram to pay tribute to her on her birthday. “Happy Happy BornDay to my baby girl Indira Khan (I’m the only one who calls her Milini) Love You,” she captioned the sweet montage of throwback pics.
And in a 2015 Facebook post, Chaka gushed over her talented daughter ahead of a movie role. “So proud of my daughter, Indira Milini Khan, rocking it as me for the upcoming Miki Howard movie!!” she captioned a photo of her daughter in a makeup chair having her hair done.
Indira is credited as having a role in the 2016 film, Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story. She’s also a musical artist, having inherited her mother’s powerful voice.
Damien Holland
Chaka welcomed her son, Damien Holland, now 44, with second husband Richard Holland, whom she married in 1976. Damien has seemingly led a troubled life — he was accused of murder in the 2006 shooting death of a teen named Christopher Bailey, though he was acquitted, claiming it was accidental and occurred during a dispute. His mother reportedly testified on his behalf at the trial.
Though the criminal trial failed to produce a conviction, a civil trial found him liable in the death of Bailey, and he was ordered to pay 1.3 million in a wrongful death suit. And in 2015, TMZ reported that Damien was booked for possession of a stolen vehicle after being spotted by police in a stolen Audi Q5 in Beverly Hills. He was with Jason Davis, the grandson of Marvin Davis at the time.
Chaka was awarded custody of Damien’s daughter in 2011, per TMZ, when she was 10 years old.
What Has Chaka Khan Said About Family?
Though little else is known about her family life, in a December 2023 interview, she admitted she has great grandchildren and wants to spend more time with them. “Some people, that’s all they have, you know?” she explained about not touring in the future during an interview with Rolling Stone. “I got this rich-a** life. I’ve got great-grandchildren I want to get to know better. So I will not do another tour.”