R Kelly net worth: age, children, wife, family, criminal charges, case, profiles
Popularly known as R Kelly, Robert Sylvester Kelly is an embattled American Grammy Award recipient, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is famous for redefining R&B music, and most people refer to him as the King of R&B. He is renowned for hits like I Believe I Can Fly. So, how about diving into details about his life?
R Kelly had a rollercoaster of upbringing. His mother raised him in a house full of women. He was molested when he was fourteen, and in his autobiography, Robert revealed he was afraid and ashamed of disclosing the ordeal to anyone. His biography reveals unknown details about the embattled singer.
R Kelly's profile summary
- Full name: Robert Sylvester Kelly
- Stage name: R Kelly
- Nickname: Pied Piper of R&B, the King of Pop-Soul, the King of R&B
- Date of birth: 8th January 1967
- Age: 54
- Zodiac sign: Capricorn
- Place of birth: Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Nationality: American
- Occupation: Singer, songwriter, record producer, philanthropist
- Years active: 1989–2019
- Labels: Rockland, Jive, RCA
- Associated act: MGM Public Announcement, Aaliyah, The Isley Brothers, Jay-Z, K. Michelle
- Genres: R&B, soul, Gospel, hip hop
- Height in cm: 185 cm
- Height in feet: 6 ft 1 in
- Weight in kg: 91 kg
- Weight in pounds: 200 lb
- Hair colour: Black
- Eye colour: Black
- Marital status: Divorced
- Spouses: Aaliyah (1994-1995), Andrea Lee (1996- 2009)
- Children: 3
- R Kelly's Instagram: rkelly
- R Kelly's Facebook: R. Kelly
R Kelly's biography
For the better part of his life, fans honoured him for mentoring artists and cementing R&B as a music genre. However, his life took a different turn when he started battling court cases. The once-celebrated icon became the villain, and fans boycotted his music. Why so? Read on for answers.
R Kelly's age
Robert Sylvester Kelly was born on 8th January 1967 in Chicago, USA. He is the third born of his mother's four children. So, as of 2021, the estranged R&B singer is fifty-four years old.
R Kelly's family
Where is R. Kelly originally from? His mother gave birth to him at Chicago Lying-in Hospital in Hyde Park. Robert has two brothers and one sister. His mother, Joanne, a professional singer, raised her four children in the Baptist Church, where she sang in the lead choir. Not much is known about R Kelly's father.
R Kelly's wife
Who was R Kelly's first wife? In 1994, he helped Aaliyah with her album, Age Ain't Nothing But a Number. While working on the project, the pair became romantically involved. They got married later that year, despite Aaliyah being 12 years younger than Robert. Her family pressured her to have the union dissolved since she was only 15.
Who is R Kelly spouse? In 1996, Robert moved on and married Andrea Lee, a dancer. Their marriage lasted thirteen years. They got divorced in 2009 and had three children. In an interview in 2018, Lee opened up about her ex-husband being abusive.
R Kelly's children
Does R. Kelly have a daughter? His marriage of thirteen years gave rise to three children, Jay, Robert Kelly Jr. and Joanne, also known as Buku Abi. Joanne recently opened up about her complicated relationship with her father and how his criminal allegations had affected them.
R Kelly's songs
The star realized his love for music at a tender age, and while in high school, his teacher convinced him to give up basketball for music. His music career blew up in 1989, and in 1990, he released Why You Wanna Play Me. Some of his most loved hits include U Saved Me, I Believe, Sign of a Victory, to mention a few,
R Kelly's albums
Robert has released 18 studio albums, six video albums, and three compilation albums throughout his music career. Some of his best selling albums include:
- Born into the '90s
- Chocolate Factory
- Double Up
- The Best of Both Worlds
R Kelly's movies and tv shows
As an actor, Robert featured in the following movies and TV shows:
- Trapped in the Closet: Chapters 23-33
- Fade to Black
R Kelly's net worth
How much money is R Kelly worth right now? The once-iconic king of R&B's empire crumbled when he started facing court cases. At the peak of his career, he was worth a whopping $100 million. However, in 2020, he revealed to a judge that he owed IRS $1.9 million. Currently, his net worth is negative $2 million.
R Kelly's criminal charges
His secret marriage to Aaliyah in 1994 marked the beginning of scrutiny of his controversial lifestyle. His troubles escalated in 2002 when authorities found a videotape that allegedly showed Robert having sex with an underage girl. However, Robert denied the allegations claiming he is not the man in the video.
In June 2002, Robert was indicted in Chicago on 21 counts of child pornography. Later that month, he was arrested at his Florida vacation home and spent one day in jail. He was released after posting a $750,000 bail bond.
In June 2008, a Chicago jury found him not guilty of 14 out of 14 counts of child pornography after the alleged victim refused to testify at the trial.
"Sex cult"
In July 2017, three sets of parents accused Robert of holding their daughters in a "sex cult". Robert and the alleged victims denied the claims. However, in March 2018, BBC World Service compiled and aired a documentary entitled R Kelly: Sex, Girls and Videotapes, which explored the 2017 allegations. In May, the documentary continued with interviews of the parents of the alleged savage daughters.
Surviving R Kelly
In January 2019, Lifetime aired a six-part docuseries detailing misconduct and sexual abuse allegations against Robert. Two weeks later, Robert launched a Facebook account to discredit the revelations by the accusers in the documentary. However, Facebook removed the page claiming he had violated the site's standards by sharing the accusers' contact details.
The second part of Surviving R Kelly premiered in January 2020.
R Kelly's case
Robert faces one charge of racketeering, which positions him in a criminal enterprise that preyed on minors. He also faces eight counts of trafficking women and girls across state lines of prostitution. He risks spending decades in prison.
Robert was initially arrested in July 2019, although the pandemic delayed his trial. Nonetheless, in their closing arguments, the prosecutors referred to Robert as a predator who ruined the lives of the people around him. The accused pleaded not guilty on all counts, although he declined the opportunity to testify in his defence.
The accused has not been charged with assault or rape, although the prosecutors have been allowed to table evidence of crimes related to the racketeering charge. As a result, they have gathered more than ten male and female victims, whom they described being approached by the singer or his associates in public places and being slipped a phone number. According to the allegations, the singer would trade mentoring their music career with sexual favours.
Despite the strength of the accusers and the evidence tabled against the singer, his defence alleges the accusers are jilted lovers seeking revenge after falling out with the star.
R Kelly found guilty in sex trafficking trial
After two days of deliberation, the jury found R Kelly guilty of using his stardom to manipulate and abuse women and children sexually. Robert was found guilty of one count of racketeering and eight counts of sex trafficking. His sentencing will be on 4th May 2022, and he risks spending the rest of his life in prison.
These details highlight the turmoil that is R Kelly's life.
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Source: Briefly News