Rock legend Rod Stewart is a global icon known from Sydney to Shanghai.
Born in London in 1945, singer-songwriter has enjoyed meteoric success with six consecutive number one studio albums in the UK making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.
Throughout his incredible career, Rod racked up a reputation for hard partying and a serious love of the fairer sex which has seen him marry three times, commit to one long-term girlfriend and enjoy an indiscriminate number of flings including a teenage tryst which made him a father at the tender age of 17.
Now 74 and happily married to Penny Lancaster, Rod has eight children with five women (two of whom are Penny’s).
New Idea investigates the personal life and journey of Rod Stewart and his vast brood with an age gap of almost half a century between eldest and youngest.
Rise to fame and music career
Rod Stewart captured the attention of music industry executives in the late 1960s thanks to his distinctive husky voice and his proficiency playing the harmonica.
Stewart’s early albums were a fusion of rock, folk, soul music and R&B, and in July 1965 Rod appeared as part of the group Steampacket to support the Rolling Stones.
Marketing himself as a a mod rocker, he became known as ‘Rod the Mod’ around November 1965 when he appeared in a TV documentary about the Mod scene in Britain.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he played with The Jeff Beck Group before joining The Small Faces and eventually establishing a solo career with his first solo album An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down.
Stewart’s 1971 new album Every Picture Tells a Story made him a star thanks to the hits Reason to Believe and Maggie May.
The album and single occupied number one in both the American and British charts simultaneously for the first time ever.
Stewart received praise from Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols and in 1975, he moved to Los Angeles where he released a cover of the Sutherland Brothers song Sailing which made it to number one in the British charts.
His cover of This Old Heart of Mine was another huge hit and in 1976 he covered The Beatles’ smash Get Back, followed by his own version of Cat Stevens’ The First Cut is the Deepest.
Rod Stewart went on to perform at the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in 1979 and donated the royalties from his iconic song Do You Think I’m Sexy to the charity.
In 2007, he played at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, an evening to celebrate the life of Princess Diana ten years after her tragic death.
He also sang at the Royal Variety Performance for Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall performing hits including Maggie May and Baby Jane.
In 2000, Rod Stewart was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. After an operation to remove a tumour on his vocal cords, Stewart had to re-learn how to sing.
Rod is an avid fan of Scottish football team Celtic.
Love, relationships and children
Rod Stewart is renowned for his long list of past romances.
The legendary rock star first dated art student Susannah Boffey between 1963 and 1964, a relationship which led him to become a father while he was still a teenager.
Stewart and Boffey had a daughter Sarah Streeter in 1963, but she was raised by adoptive parents and Stewart did not acknowledge her for a full 18 years after her birth, Daily Mail reports.
Between 1965 and 1977, Rod was in three different relationships with models Jennie Rylance and Dee Harrington and actress Britt Ekland, but these romances did not result in any children.
In 1979, Rod married his first wife model and actress Alana Hamilton who was previously married to actor George Hamilton.
The couple had two children, Kimberly Alana Stewart (born August 21 1979) and Sean Roderick Stewart (born September 1 1980).
In August 2011, Rod’s daughter Kimberly gave birth to her first child with Oscar-winning actor Benicio del Toro.
They named their daughter Delilah Genoveva.
Rod and Alana Stewart were officially divorced in 1984 but she continues to use his surname.
Stewart embarked on a longterm relationship with model Kelly Emberg in 1983.
In July 1987, the couple welcomed daughter Ruby Stewart. They parted ways three years later in 1990.
In 1990, Rod Stewart married his second wife model Rachel Hunter.
The couple share daughter Renee Cecili Stewart (born June 1 1992) and son Liam McAlister Stewart (born September 5 1994).
Stewart and Hunter separated in 1999 before eventually divorcing in 2006.
Since 2007, Rod has been married to model Penny Lancaster. The couple started dating in 1999 after his split from Rachel Hunter.
Their wedding was held at the cloistered medieval monastery La Cervara in Portofino.
The couple are parents to two sons, Alastair Wallace Stewart (born November 27 2005) and Aiden Patrick Stewart (born February 16 2011).
Sarah Streeter
Sarah, now 56, is Rod Stewart’s oldest child who he fathered when he was only 17-years-old.
Sarah was placed for adoption and only discovered who her father was when she turned 18.
According to Daily Mail, they were reunited but fell out of touch again until roughly eight years ago.
Of their estrangement and difficult relationship, the rock star has said: “At first it was hard to feel like she was my own, but I’ve worked hard at it and now it’s beginning to feel like we’re family.
“Sarah had something of a chip on her shoulder when we first met, but it’s understandable.
“She calls me Dad and I call her my daughter – we’re doing our best,” he said last year.
Their relationship reportedly improved after the death of Sarah’s adoptive mother in 2007.
Sarah now lives with her husband Chris in East Sussex, England.
Sarah and Chris accompanied Rod to a record signing for his new album, Blood Red Roses, in October last year.
Kimberly Stewart
Kimberly, 39, is the older of Rod’s children with Alana Hamilton.
She was five-years-old when her parents separated and has been candid that her father wasn’t around very often when she was growing up.
Kimberly was famously friends with socialite Paris Hilton during her youth, with the two enjoying wild nights of partying on the upper class Los Angeles social scene.
She has worked as a model, brand ambassador and clothing designer before meeting actor Benicio del Toro. The two were not in a relationship when she became pregnant; daughter Delilah Genoveva arrived in October 2011.
Sean Stewart
Sean, 38, has been dubbed the Black Sheep of the Stewart family on more than one occasion.
When he was a toddler, Rod split from mum Alana to tour the world and “chase blondes” leaving little four-year-old Sean without a father.
Sean fell into hard partying as a very young teenager, frequenting Hollywood nightclubs to get drunk and do drugs when he was little more than 13.
Dyslexic and bullied, he dropped out of school age 16 and first tried heroin at 19.
Of his difficult relationship with his dad, Sean has said: “I was hurting inside. I had no direction. I was searching for a kinship with my father.”
According to IMDb, Sean is a “songwriter, model and musician” who grew up in California and co-wrote the song In Crowd, the featured theme song in the failed 2006 reality series Sons of Hollywood which he also starred in and produced.
Daily Mail reports Sean has been clean since he turned 30 and as of 2017 was running a casual streetwear line called Dirty Weekend.
He is said to live in Los Angeles in an apartment which Rod pays for.
Ruby Stewart
Ruby, 31, is Rod’s daughter with Texan model Kelly Emberg, who moved to Manhattan Beach in California after their split in 1990.
Kelly married lawyer Mike Padilla and went on to have two children with him; meanwhile, it is said Ruby remained fiercely loyal to her mother – who she called “the most resilient woman I know” – and refused contact with the Stewart side of her family until her teens.
Having worked as a fashion and lingerie model, Ruby is now a successful country singer with the band The Sisterhood who are signed by Sony Records.
Renee Stewart
Beautiful brunette Renee, 26, is Rod’s daughter with New Zealand model Rachel Hunter.
0But despite being born to ultra-famous celebrity parents, Renee chose to shun the limelight to pursue a career in yoga instead, Stuff.co.nz reports.
The publication report Renee recently completed over 200 hours of training at the Sattva Yoga Academy in India to earn her qualification.
Renee is also an accomplished dancer and photographer and regularly shares stunning shots to her Instagram account.
Liam Stewart
Liam, 24, is Rod’s only son with Rachel Hunter.
Liam played junior ice hockey with the Spokane Chiefs in the US-Canadian Western Hockey League before going on to play professional ice hockey with the British team the Guildford Flames in the UK’s Elite Ice Hockey League.
Liam turned his back on a career in football in in favour of ice hockey, a choice he revealed his famous father wasn’t fully on board with.
1Speaking to Daily Mail, Liam said: “Dad’s supportive but he would have loved it more if I’d played football because that’s his sport. He loves coming to watch me play, he enjoys the sport, but I’m not sure he’s always been sure of the rules.”
Liam’s Twitter account humorously pokes fun at his Celtic crazed dad who traces his heritage to Scotland. While Liam appears to be a supporter of Liverpool FC, he writes: “I try to be a fan of Celtic, like Dad.”
Alastair Stewart
Alastair, 13, is Rod’s first child with current wife Penny Lancaster.
Rod credits model Penny for bringing his eight children together in a modern family unit.
Alastair is a keen footballer and Rod previously revealed he would love his second youngest child to play him in a move about his life.
Earlier this year, the rock star admitted he spends less time with teenage Alastair who is now more preoccupied with “Fortnite and girls”.
2Speaking on Ireland’s The Late Late Show, the Forever Young singer said while he accepts his son is going through an “awkward time”, he still “misses him so much” and misses the young boy in him.
Aiden Stewart
Rod Stewart’s youngest son Aiden, 7, is also an avid football player and – assumedly to his dad’s delight – a devoted Celtic supporter.
In February, the youngster was spotted honing his skills on a pitch in Scotland with proud father Rod watching on.
Aiden is Rod and Penny’s miracle son having been born after three rounds of IVF treatment.
Mum Penny has previously admitted their youngest is “a wild thing” who loves experimenting with fashion and has even dressed up as Mary Poppins.
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