The father of seven children, Kely, Flávia, Sandra, Edson, Jennifer, Joshua, and Celeste, the Brazilian football legend died in December at the age of 82.
Pelé, the legendary Brazilian footballer, died at the age of 82 while undergoing colon cancer treatment.
“King Pelé’s life was marked by inspiration and love, and he died peacefully today. Throughout his journey, Edson “enchanted everyone with his athletic brilliance, stopped a war, conducted social work all over the world, and preached what he believed to be the cure for all our problems: love,” according to a statement on his Instagram account. “The message of your life will be passed down to future generations.”
Pelé was a soccer legend as well as a father of seven children. He had several relationships throughout his life, some of which ended in romance and others in scandal. Pelé married three times, the first time with Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi in the late 1960s. They had three children: two daughters, Kely and Jennifer, and a son, Edinho Nascimento.
The couple divorced several decades later when Pelé was romantically involved with Brazilian singer Xuxa. The World Cup winner dated the pop sensation for four years before splitting up in 1986, according to reports.
Pelé married his second wife, Assiria Lemos Seixas, in the 1990s. Celeste and Joshua, their twins, were born at the same time. After a 12-year marriage, Pelé and Assiria divorced. Several years later, Marcia Cibele Aoiki, a Brazilian entrepreneur, became the star’s third and final marriage.
Pelé also had two children with women he did not marry: Sandra Regina Machado, his fourth child with housemaid Anizia Machado, and Flávia, his fifth child with journalist Lenita Kurtz.
1. Kely Christina Arantes do Nascimento
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Kely is Pelé’s first child and eldest daughter, born to his first wife, Rosemeri, on January 13, 1967. He has long admired her father’s athletic passion, discipline, and humility, as well as the way he inspires young people.
Kely and her sisters established the Nascimento Foundation as she grew older, an organization dedicated to creating a sustainable and peaceful future for children all over the world through sports and the arts.
She has recently shifted her focus to sports diplomacy and sports for development, where she has used global travel and storytelling to help advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In June, she gave a TEDx Talk about breaking down barriers for women in soccer.
Warrior of a Beautiful Game, Kely’s feature documentary about gender discrimination in sports, is currently in post-production. She enjoys spending time with her four children, Malcolm, Ruby, Enzo, and Ella, as well as going to the soccer field when she is not working.
2. Flávia Arantes do Nascimento
While still married to Rosemeri, Pelé had his second child, Flávia, with journalist Lenita Kurtz in 1968. (and would remain so for many more years).
Flávia is currently working as a consultant in a large Brazilian hospital. In 2021, it was named one of the best specialty hospitals in the world. She was also invited to join the Little Prince Hospital’s Board of Trustees.
3. Sandra Regina Machado Nascimento
Pelé’s second daughter, Sandra Regina Machado, was born in 1963 as a result of an affair with housemaid Anisia Machado. For many years, the soccer legend denied being her father and refused to be tested for DNA.
Sandra later sued the soccer star in court in 1991. Two years later, courts determined Sandra to be his daughter based on DNA evidence. Despite Pelé’s appeal, the decision was upheld in 1996, and she was granted permission to use his father’s surname.
Sandra eventually wrote a book about her traumatic experience in the aftermath of her father’s rejection, The Daughter the King Didn’t Want. She was also elected to the Santos City Council.
She filed a new complaint against her father in 2001, claiming that she did not receive the same amount of money from Pelé as her half-siblings Kely, Edson, and Jennifer. The court dismissed the claim. Sandra died of cancer in October 2006. Her husband and two children were abandoned.
4. Edinho “Edson” Arantes do Nascimento
Edinho is Pelé’s fourth and first son, born to Rosemeri on August 27, 1970. He, also known as Edson after his father’s given name, was a Brazilian soccer player who retired in 1999. Edinho spent his professional career as a goalkeeper for four Brazilian clubs: Santos, Portuguesa Santista, So Caetano, and Ponte Preta. But his time on the field did not end when he retired.
Edinho began his career with Santos as a goalkeeping instructor in 2007 and was promoted to assistant coach in 2015. Following that, he worked as a manager at various clubs, including his father’s local club, Tricordiano, before returning to Santos as a development coordinator and then as a manager in 2019.
Aside from soccer, Edinho was arrested in 2005 and eventually imprisoned in 2014 for money laundering and drug trafficking. Despite his denial of all charges, Edinho admits to having a drug problem in the past despite being clean for many years. Pelé visited him in jail several times.
In early December 2022, Edinho was hired as the coach of the Brazilian soccer team Londrina. He is currently assembling the team for the 2023 season.
5. Jennifer Cholby Arantes do Nascimento
Jennifer Cholby Nascimento, the World Cup champion and Rosemeri’s fifth child, was born in June 1978. She, unlike her siblings and famous father, has chosen to live alone. There are few details about her and only one published photo of her as a newborn, which shows Pelé clutching her.
6. Joshua Arantes do Nascimento
Pelé and his wife Assiria had boy-girl twins on September 28, 1996, their sixth and seventh child. Josh, his son, prefers to keep his personal life private on social media, but public records show that he, like his older half-brother, Edson, and his father, was a soccer player.
While he no longer plays, records show he was a member of the Santos club in 2013 and 2014. He moved to the United States in 2016 to play forward for the Spartans soccer team at the University of Tampa.
According to his Instagram bio, Josh has a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology and human performance. He now resides in the United States and works in the strength and conditioning industry. He also coaches at the Golden Goal Soccer Academy in Florida.
7. Celeste Arantes do Nascimento
Josh’s twin sister Celeste was born on September 28, 1996, to Pelé and Assiria. Although she prefers to keep the majority of her life private, she does occasionally appear on the social media profiles of her half-siblings.
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