Jean-Jacques Goldman is a singer apart. He is one of the most beloved and popular French singers of his generation, but also an artist of almost pathological discretion. More than celebrity, for him, it is his family that has always held a central place in his life. While he has stayed away from the spotlight for many years, continuing to write for others (including Celine Dion), he has always taken care to protect his private sphere rigorously. “He really separates his family life and his life as a star,” said Jean Bender, a childhood friend of the singer, to Tele-Loisirs. “And he didn’t want it to mix! He always wanted to keep this barrier between Jean-Jacques and Goldman. And remain Jean-Jacques for his family and friends.”
The three children: Caroline, Michael, and Nina
In July 1975, Jean-Jacques Goldman married Catherine Morlet. They were both 24 years old. He had just completed his studies in commerce and sociology, and had released an album with his band, Tha Phong. She is a psychologist. Three children were born from their union. Caroline, the eldest, was born in December 1975. She chose to follow in her mother’s footsteps by becoming a psychotherapist: she has a doctorate in child psychology and has specialized in working with children and adolescents. She herself is the mother of four children.
Michael, the youngest, was born in July 1979, and he may be the most well-known to the general public. Like his father, he works in the artistic field. An entrepreneur and producer, he founded Bamago, a music publishing company where he signed artists like Amel Bent and Yannick Noah. In 2007, My Major Company was born, a crowdfunding platform with its own music label (which notably produced Joyce Jonathan and Grégoire). In 2013, he launched Tipeee, another crowdfunding platform dedicated to creation on the Internet. In 2022, he became the artistic director of the Star Academy on TF1, bringing a breath of fresh air to the show after a ten-year break. Almost nothing is known about his private life except that he is the father of two children.
Nina, the youngest, was born in February 1985. Also very discreet, she has become a pediatrician. She practices in an office located in the 15th arrondissement of Paris with Christian Spitz, the famous “Doc” from the 90s on Fun Radio!
Being the children of Jean-Jacques Goldman has never been a burden for the three eldest children of the “Envole-moi” artist. In an interview with Tele-Loisirs in 2022, Caroline Goldman explained that their father’s fame had never been a subject within the family. At school, the three children even preferred to say that their father was a plumber, in order to escape the weight of celebrity! “This dimension never had the slightest place in our family values. It was unimportant to our parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts and therefore never really had an impact (positive or negative) on us, the children,” she said. “It has always remained an external factor, a bit like the weather.”
The three youngest children: Maya, Kimi, and Rose
Nathalie Thu Huong-Lagier, the second wife of Jean-Jacques Goldman, shares his love for discretion. Their meeting, however, seems like a beautiful story. In 1995, while attending one of his concerts as a fan, Nathalie dared to make a spontaneous gesture: knocking on his dressing room door. This was followed by several years of exchanges, initially by letters, before, two years later, their relationship took on a sentimental turn. Despite the 28 years that separate them, the singer and the mathematician built a strong relationship. They married in 2001 and together welcomed Maya in 2004, Kimi in 2005, and Rose in 2007.
The family lived for many years in Marseille before moving to London in 2016, and then returning to the city. Of the three daughters of the couple, who grew up away from the media frenzy, none chose to pursue an artistic path like their father. According to Voici, Maya is studying business in Lyon, Kimi is at Sciences-Po, and Rose is in her first year of medical school.
Every summer, the Goldman family gathers in a symbolic place: a large house in Burgundy owned by Caroline. “In the summer, her house in Burgundy is never empty. You almost have to make a reservation!” confided her brother Michael to Marianne.
