Usher's 4 Kids: All About Usher V, Naviyd, Sovereign and Sire

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: David Livingston/Getty ; Usher Instagram

Grammy-winning artistUsherhas one of the most versatile careers — having acted in films, performed on Broadway and served as a coach onThe Voice—but his most important role is dad.

The Super Bowl 2024 halftime performer is a proud father of four children. He shares sons Usher “Cinco” V and Naviyd Ely with his ex-wife, Tameka Foster, as well as daughter Sovereign Bo and son Sire Castrello with his wife, Jenn Goicoechea.

He toldEssencein 2008 that he evaluated “what I feel like I missed from my own father — knowing that I was accepted. That I mattered. And hearing that he cared enough to put me before himself” and vowed to provide his children with the support and security he never had.

“There was a moment between a son and a father [in the movie] and it got to me — I started crying. So my kids, they look over at me and they’re like, ‘Are you crying?!’ " Usher recalled. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m crying!’ They’re like, ‘You cry?!’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I cry, and it’s okay to cry.’ "

Instagram/usher

Both of Usher’s children with Goicoechea were born during the COVID-19 pandemic. He opened up about the experience during a September 2020 appearance onThe Late Late ShowwithJames Corden.

“I think everybody’s had the opportunity to take a beat back and realize what really matters in this time —it’s family,” he said. “It is coming closer to your loved ones and appreciating the ones that you have while you have them.”

Leading up to his major Super Bowl 2024 halftime performance, Usher shared that his kids oftenavoid attending events with himbecause of his star power. “My kids – sometimes, they don’t want me to come. They don’t want me to be at their basketball game or their recital, or they wanna be very, very low-key, ‘cause they don’t want that energy,” he told football commentatorShannon Sharpeon his podcastClub Shay Shay.

Usher continued, remarking on the challenges of his kids' upbringing being so different from his own. “That access and that reality that they’re looking at – it gives them some expectation and unfortunately I can’t take it back,” he said. “I walked so that we could ride. And now that you’re riding, I want you to understand the importance of walking.”

Here’s everything to know about Usher’s children: Usher V, Naviyd, Sovereign and Sire.

Usher “Cinco” Raymond V, 17

Paras Griffin/Getty

Usher’s first son, Usher Raymond V, was born on Nov. 27, 2007, to Usher and his then-wife Foster.

Ahead of his birth, Usher expressed his hopes for his firstborn during an interview with PEOPLE.

“I just want my son to fully be coherent and to be healthy, first and foremost,” he said. “You can wish for a million and one things. But I hope that my son has the same energy I had as a child. Hopefully, he won’t be as bad as me. I hope that he’s just a healthy son.”

In 2008, Usher and Usher V appeared on the cover ofEssencetogether. In his interview, the artist discussed how becoming a parent made him reflect on his own father’s role in his life, and how he intended to be a better role model for his son.

“You should never abandon that responsibility, which is to be there, reading with your child, being supportive of your child’s growth,” he told the outlet. “That is communicating. That is making the choice to put your child before your own vanity.”

When Usher V was just 5 years old, henearly drownedafter getting his arm stuck in a pool drain while trying to retrieve a toy.

More than 10 years after the accident, Usher told PEOPLE it was “one of the hardest days of my life”. He compared it to seeing Foster lose her 11-year-old son, Kile, in atragic boating accidentin 2012.

“To know that I would have a similar situation that could have just taken my son’s life. It’s like I understand and have great empathy for what both her and Ryan, her ex-husband, had to deal with because I’ve experienced a portion of it in real-time,” he said.

In 2014, Usher V was diagnosed withtype 1 diabetesat 6 years old. While speaking at the JDRF’s Promise Ball the following year, which aims to raise awareness and money for diabetes research and a cure, Usher shared how proud he was of his son.

“A child that every day has to prick himself and has to be cautious of what he eats and also to carry this disorder around — that really is the type of bravery that we all aspire to have,” he said.

After doctors determined that Usher V was diabetic, the “OMG” singer said that co-parenting with Foster became “very complicated” because it requires a “great deal of consideration and commitment” to manage the disease.

“From the moment that Type 1 diabetes was a conversation, it was a re-acclimation to life. The life that we knew changed,” he told PEOPLE in 2023. “The breeding ground of disaster is lack of communication.”

“I have one son, Cinco, who does not like to be called Usher, who tries to get away from it,” he toldTamron Hall.

Naviyd Ely, 16

Gary Gershoff/WireImage

Usher and Foster welcomed their second son, Naviyd Ely, on Dec. 10, 2008.

In June 2009, Usher filed for divorce from Foster. Their divorce was finalized in November and Usher was grantedfull custodyof their two boys.

When Naviyd was just 3 years old, he joined his dad and brother at the 2011 premiere of the documentaryJustin Bieber: Never Say Never. Usher served as the “Holy” singer’s mentor when he first broke onto the music scene a few years prior.

After filming his 2016 movieHands of Stone, Usher told PEOPLE that he took a break from his career to “focus on my kids and personal things.” He then described a perfect moment he spent in Italy with Usher V and Naviyd, who were 8 and 7 at the time.

“I went on an air balloon trip with about 15 people and we were about 3,000 feet in the air,” he said. “Both my boys were up there with me … The whole family was up there. It was cool to just have that little moment away.”

That same year, Usher V and Naviyd attended their dad’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony on Sept. 7, 2016. The family posed for photos together with Usher’s star on the red carpet.

Usher Instagram

In a November 2022 conversation with Tamron Hall, Usher shared that unlike his older brother Usher V, Naviyd “really loves entertainment.” He not only watches all of his dad’s shows, but he also gives him critiques.

“He’s like, ‘You missed this thing. you didn’t do this thing.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah that’s the point. It’s not supposed to be the same every night,’ " Usher said.

Naviyd and Usher Vsupported their dad at the BET Awardsin June 2024. While on stage accepting his lifetime achievement award, Usher talked at length about fatherhood. “It’s100% all about my childrenand making certain you understand that your dreams can come true if you’re truly committed,” the R&B star said.

Sovereign Bo, 4

Jennifer Goicoechea Instagram

Sovereign Bowas bornabout a month early on Sept. 24, 2020. She is Usher’s first child with wife (then girlfriend) Goicoechea.

Usher announced that he and Goicoechea wereexpecting their first childtogether a few weeks prior on Sept. 2, 2020.

“Babies always bring such joy to a family and [I’m] really excited for my young one — well, my bean’s arrival,” he said onGood Morning America.

Usherrevealed the symbolismbehind his first daughter’s name in a May 2021 interview withExtra.

“Sovereign, man, is such a beautiful word and name to me, you know, a supreme ruler is obviously the defined name,” he explained. “She’s definitely ruling the household, but Sovereign Bo — Bo is at the end of it, so [she’s] my little ‘reign-bo.’ "

Sovereign is Usher’s only daughter, and she was born knowing what she wants, as he toldEllen DeGeneres.

“She came out early,” he said. “She was scheduled to be a Scorpio but decidedshe had a different plan. Libras, you know, they kinda have their minds made up what they wanna do.”

Talking about his Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace, Usher toldGood Morning Americain July 2021 that he was “loving being a girl dad.”

“I’m even changing my colors; I’m wearing pink and cool stuff like that,” he added.

In October 2022, Usher shared anadorable photoof Sovereign dressed as Mirabel Madrigal from Disney’s Encanto for Halloween.

Sire Castrello, 3

Sire Castrello,was bornto Goicoechea and Usher on Sept. 29, 2021.

“The second time, I came fully equipped,” he revealed onThe Ellen Degeneres Show. “I had my Mophie. I had speakers. I had backup batteries. Ihad a whole playlist that I had worked on for about two weeks. It was crazy. It was great.”

“Me and him have a really cool relationship. He’s different than any of my other kids,” he told PEOPLE. “I’ve managed to have a little code going with him when I talk to him and how we speak to each other. He makes me mush … My new little boy, he’s something special.”

In September 2024, Usher shared videos and photos from Sire’sCars-themed third birthday party onInstagram. Not only did they celebrate with cups, plates, napkins, and balloons that all matched the theme, but Sire also got to enjoy a two-tier cake with Lightning McQueen on top.

“Celebrating Sire!! Happy birthday to U!” he captioned the photo.

source: people.com