The Brazilian Football legend, who died in December at the age of 82, was the father of seven children: Kely, Flávia, Sandra, Edson, Jennifer, Joshua, and Celeste.
Pelé, the legendary Brazilian football player, died at the age of 82 while undergoing treatment for colon cancer.
“King Pelé’s path was distinguished by inspiration and love, and he died peacefully today. Throughout his journey, Edson charmed everyone with his athletic brilliance, stopped a war, conducted social work all over the world, and preached what he thought to be the remedy for all our problems: love “a statement on his Instagram account stated. “Your life message will be passed down to future generations.”
Pelé was the father of seven children in addition to being a soccer legend. Throughout his life, he had various partnerships, some of which ended in romance and others in scandal.
Pelé married three times, the first time in the late 1960s with Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi. They welcomed three children: daughters Kely and Jennifer, as well as son Edinho Nascimento.
Several decades later, when Pelé was romantically related to Brazilian singer Xuxa, the couple divorced. The World Cup winner reportedly dated the pop sensation for four years before splitting up in 1986.
In the 1990s, Pelé married his second wife, Assiria Lemos Seixas. They had twins, Celeste and Joshua, at the same time. Pelé and Assiria split after a 12-year marriage.
Marcia Cibele Aoiki, a Brazilian entrepreneur, became the star’s third and last marriage several years later.
Pelé also had two children with women he did not marry: Sandra Regina Machado, his fourth daughter, with housemaid Anizia Machado, and Flávia, his fifth, with journalist Lenita Kurtz.
1. Kely Christina Arantes do Nascimento
Kely is Pelé’s first child and eldest daughter, born on January 13, 1967, to his first wife, Rosemeri. Kely has always admired her father’s passion, discipline, and humility as an athlete, as well as the way he inspires young people.
As she grew older, Kely and her sisters established the Nascimento Foundation, an organization dedicated to creating a sustainable and peaceful future for children around the world via sports and the arts.
She has recently shifted her attention to sports diplomacy and sports for development, where she has helped to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through global travel and storytelling. She gave a TEDx Talk about breaking down barriers for women in soccer in June.
Kely is currently in post-production on her feature documentary, Warrior of a Beautiful Game, which will focus on gender discrimination in sports. When she isn’t working, she enjoys spending time with her four children, Malcolm, Ruby, Enzo, and Ella, as well as going to the soccer field.
2. Flávia Arantes do Nascimento
Pelé had his second child, Flávia, with journalist Lenita Kurtz in 1968, while still married to Rosemeri (and would remain so for many more years).
Flávia is currently employed as a consultant at a large hospital in Brazil. It was named one of the best specialty hospitals in the world in 2021. She was also invited to join the Board of Trustees of the Little Prince Hospital.
3. Sandra Regina Machado Nascimento
Sandra Regina Machado, Pelé’s second daughter, was born in 1963 as the consequence of an affair with housemaid Anisia Machado. For many years, the soccer legend denied being her father and refused to submit to a DNA test.
Sandra later took the soccer star to court, suing him in 1991. Based on DNA evidence, courts determined Sandra to be his daughter two years later. Despite Pelé’s appeal, it was upheld in 1996, and she was allowed to use his father’s surname.
Sandra eventually wrote a book, The Daughter the King Didn’t Want, on her traumatic path in the aftermath of her father’s rejection. In addition, she was elected to the Santos City Council.
In 2001, she filed another complaint against her father, claiming that she was not receiving the same amount of money from Pelé as her half-siblings Kely, Edson, and Jennifer. The claim was denied by the court.
Sandra died in October 2006 from cancer. Her spouse and two children were left behind.
4. Edinho “Edson” Arantes do Nascimento
Edinho is Pelé’s fourth and first son, born on August 27, 1970, to Rosemeri. Edinho, nicknamed Edson after his father’s given name, was a Brazilian soccer player who played professionally before retiring in 1999.
Edinho was a goalkeeper for four Brazilian clubs throughout his professional career: Santos, Portuguesa Santista, So Caetano, and Ponte Preta. But his time on the field did not stop with his retirement.
Edinho joined Santos in 2007 as a goalkeeping instructor and was promoted to assistant coach in 2015. In the years thereafter, he has worked as a manager at various different clubs, including his father’s local club, Tricordiano, although he eventually returned to Santos as a development coordinator and then as a manager in 2019.
Aside from soccer, Edinho was arrested in 2005 and ultimately imprisoned for money laundering and narcotics trafficking in 2014. While denying all charges, Edinho admits to having a drug issue in the past despite being clean for many years. Pelé paid him multiple visits in jail.
Edinho was hired as the coach of the Brazilian soccer team Londrina in early December 2022. He is now putting up the team for the 2023 season.
5. Jennifer Cholby Arantes do Nascimento
In June 1978, the World Cup champion and Rosemeri welcomed their fifth child, Jennifer Cholby Nascimento. Jennifer, unlike her siblings and famous father, has decided to live a solitary life. There are little details about her and only one published photo of her, which depicts Pelé clutching her as a newborn.
6. Joshua Arantes do Nascimento
Pelé and his wife Assiria welcomed boy-girl twins on September 28, 1996, making them his sixth and seventh offspring. His son, Josh, prefers to keep his life quiet on social media, but public documents show that he, like his older half-brother, Edson, and his father, was a soccer player.
While he no longer plays, records suggest that he was a member of the club Santos in 2013 and 2014. In 2016, he relocated to the United States to play forward for the Spartans soccer club at the University of Tampa.
Josh has a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology and human performance, according to his Instagram bio. He now lives in the United States and works in the field of strength and conditioning. He also coaches at Florida’s Golden Goal Soccer Academy.
7. Celeste Arantes do Nascimento
Celeste, Josh’s twin sister, was born on September 28, 1996 to Pelé and Assiria. Although she likes to keep the majority of her life private, she does occasionally make appearances on her half-siblings’ social media profiles.
