Muhammad Ali Children: You Won't Believe The Number Of Kids He Has

Rajnandini Roychoudhury
Feb 28, 2023 By Rajnandini Roychoudhury
Originally Published on Dec 15, 2021
Edited by Luca Demetriou
Fact-checked by Niyati Parab
Muhammad Ali won the heavyweight championship title
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Age: 3-18
Read time: 6.9 Min

Muhammad Ali is unarguably one of the greatest boxers of all time.

Muhammad Ali won the heavyweight championship title a record three times by defeating Sonny Liston, George Foreman, and Leon Spinks. Ali retired in 1981 from boxing after a career fighting legendary boxers including the likes of Floyd Patterson and Joe Frazier.

Muhammad Ali's first wife was Sonji Roi, but Ali did not have any kids with his first wife. He married Belinda Boyd after that. Belinda eventually changed her name to Khalilah.

Apart from the seven kids, Muhammad Ali also had two daughters out of his marriages. Assad was the last child of Muhammad Ali, and he was raised in a small town in Michigan by Yolanda and Muhammad.

Ali had mixed relations with his children; some of them still love him and remember him, while with some, he had a negative relationship. His large extended family kept him busy out of the ring, and the children never left his side when he dealt with Parkinson's disease.

His last wife, Yolanda, stayed by the side of Ali until his death.

If you are interested in more such content, then keep on reading the articles on Antonia Novello facts and Antonin Artaud facts too.

How many children did Muhammad Ali have?

Muhammad Ali's charisma attracted many fans out of the boxing ring. Ali also established a large family out of the ring. The boxer was married four times throughout his life and had nine children, most of whom were with different women in and out of the marriage. Muhammad Ali had seven daughters and two sons with different women.

Muhammad Ali and Khalilah had four kids together. The second wife of the boxing legend gave birth to the twins Jamillah and Rasheda, Muhammad Jr., and Maryum.

All of them have grown up at present, and they are focused on their own careers and families. Muhammad Ali married Veronica Porsche after Khalilah and had two children with his third wife. Both of them were daughters named Hana and Laila.

Ali's daughter Hana was born a year before his divorce from Khalilah. His second daughter with Veronica, Laila, is probably the most famous child of Muhammad Ali. Laila carried on her father's legacy as a boxer and had a flourishing boxing career.

She was a professional boxer between 1999-2007 and retired in 2007 undefeated. The first (out of the marriage) daughter of Muhammad Ali was born to Patricia Harvell.

Their daughter was named Miya. He also gave birth to another daughter named Khaliah with Wanda Bolton.

Even though Ali never married Wanda, she still changed her name to Aaisha Ali. The legendary boxer did not have any child with his fourth wife, Yolanda Lonnie Ali. Rather, they adopted a baby boy and named him Assad Ali.

How many wives did Muhammad Ali have?

The charisma and charm of the heavyweight champion played even outside the ring, and "the greatest of all time" had many female followers. He tied the knot four times with four different women and also had affairs outside the marriage.

Muhammad married Sonji Roi in 1964; she was his first wife, and their marriage lasted only for two years. According to sources, Muhammad loved his first wife very much, and the couple tied the knot only after a month they met.

However, Sonji Roi was a cocktail waitress; she was devoted to her career. Her refusal to join the Nation of Islam started quarrels between them, which finally caused their marriage to end. They had no children together.

In 1967, Muhammad Ali met Belinda Boyd, whose family had already converted to the Nation of Islam. She changed her name to Khalilah after their marriage and had four children together.

Khalilah was only 17 years old when she married Ali, and their marriage ended when her husband started having an extramarital relationship with another young woman. He met 16-year-old Wanda Bolton in 1974 and married her in an Islamic ceremony that was not legally recognized in America.

Wanda changed her name to Aaisha Ali for Ali, and together with Ali, she raised her daughter Khaliah.

Aaisha was not only his only extramarital affair with whom he fathered a child. In the year 1972, he also had another daughter named Miya with Patricia Harvell.

In 1975, Muhammad Ali's affair with Veronica Porsche started, who later became the third wife of Ali. Veronica was a poster girl for his fight against George Foreman in Kinshasa; she was known for her Rumble in the Jungle fight poster.

This officially ended his marriage with Khalilah. Muhammad Ali, along with Veronica, welcomed his seventh child, Hana. Soon after the birth of daughter Hana, they tied the knot in 1976 and welcomed Muhammad Ali's most popular daughter, Laila Ali.

Their marriage ended in 1986 due to the continuous infidelity cases of Ali. The same year he married his last wife, Yolanda. Yolanda met Muhammad Ali when she was six years old, and he was 21.

She recalled being in love with Muhammad Ali's style since forever. Yolanda stayed with Muhammad Ali till Ali's death, and they adopted a boy together.

Muhammad Ali won the Olympics gold medal in the light heavyweight division at age 18.

Muhammad Ali's Sons

Among the nine children of the boxing legend Muhammad Ali, only two of Muhammad Ali's children were boys. Muhammad Ali Jr. was Ali's biological son who was born with his second wife. His other son Assad Amin was adopted as a small baby with Yolanda Ali.

Muhammad Jr had quite an unsteady relationship with his father from the time he grew up. He was spotted many times commenting negative things about his late father.

He is the father of two kids with his wife, Shaakira. They live in a south-side neighborhood in Chicago and live off food stamps and charities. He and his wife readily took care of their maternal grandfather, who also had Parkinson's disease.

Assad Amin was the adopted son of Ali. He was raised in a small town in Michigan by Ali and his final wife, Yolanda.

He passed out from the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Louisville. Assad had good relations with his father and saw him as a strong figure and said that even though Ali fought Parkinson's during his growing years, he never showed his weakness.

Muhammad Ali's Daughters

Muhammad Ali had seven daughters of his own with different women. They are Rasheda, Jamillah, Maryum, Miya, Khaliah, Hana, and Laila. All of them have grown up currently and are focused on their own lives.

Maryum Ali showed interest in music. She had a short career in the music industry and later graduated Magna Cum Laude. She completed her bachelor's degree in Social Work and worked towards youth development in juvenile delinquency prevention.

Rasheda Ali, one of Ali's twins, is an established speaker and author. She had a lovely son named Nico, who decided to follow in his grandfather's footsteps. Nic became a boxer, and after his first fight, Rasheda exclaimed that Nico's grandfather would have loved to see Nico win for the first time before dying.

The twin sister of Rasheda, Jamillah Ali, majored in Communications from the University of Illinois. She became an active member of Ephraim Bahar Cultural Center along with her children. It was a community that provided food and sanitary products to the underprivileged families of Chicago.

The two of Muhammad Ali's children from his extramarital relationship had a tough life. However, Khaliah emerged as a successful person in her own efforts. She was an all-rounder and also raised a son named Jacob.

She was also a talented fashion designer, real estate agent, and author. On the other hand, there is very little information about Miya. It is rumored that Miya was actually diagnosed with dyslexia as an adult.

Hana Ali was a renowned author; she published a few books circling her father's career. Her book At Home With Muhammad Ali was her latest release in 2018. Hana's sister Laila Ali was the most popular daughter of Ali. She was a professional boxer and retired in 2007 undefeated. Currently, she is a businesswoman and a TV personality.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Muhammad Ali children then why not take a look at Antoninus Pius facts, or Antonio Banderas facts

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Written by Rajnandini Roychoudhury

Bachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English

Rajnandini Roychoudhury picture

Rajnandini RoychoudhuryBachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English

With a Master of Arts in English, Rajnandini has pursued her passion for the arts and has become an experienced content writer. She has worked with companies such as Writer's Zone and has had her writing skills recognized by publications such as The Telegraph. Rajnandini is also trilingual and enjoys various hobbies such as music, movies, travel, philanthropy, writing her blog, and reading classic British literature. 

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Fact-checked by Niyati Parab

Bachelor of Commerce

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Niyati ParabBachelor of Commerce

With a background in digital marketing, Niyati brings her expertise to ensure accuracy and authenticity in every piece of content. She has previously written articles for MuseumFacts, a history web magazine, while also handling its digital marketing. In addition to her marketing skills, Niyati is fluent in six languages and has a Commerce degree from Savitribai Phule Pune University. She has also been recognized for her public speaking abilities, holding the position of Vice President of Education at the Toastmasters Club of Pune, where she won several awards and represented the club in writing and speech contests at the area level.

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