How Many Kids Does Chaka Khan Have? 2 Children

The Short Answer: Two Children

Chaka Khan has two children: daughter Indira Milini Khan, born December 21, 1973, in Chicago, and son Damien Holland, born in the late 1970s. The two have different fathers, reflecting two distinct chapters of Khan's young adulthood.

Milini's father was Rahsaan Morris, a relationship from Khan's late teens. Damien's father was Khan's second husband, Richard Holland, whom she married in 1976. Khan was barely out of her teens when she became a mother, and she raised both children through the most chaotic years of her fame: the Rufus breakup, the solo superstardom of I'm Every Woman and I Feel for You, and her well-documented battles with drugs and alcohol.

As of October 2026, Milini is 52 and Damien is in his late forties. Khan, now 73, has described motherhood as the thing that kept her tethered through the wildest years, and grandmotherhood as the reward. She's a grandmother several times over, most notably to Daija Jade Holland, Damien's daughter, of whom Khan won permanent custody in 2011.

Indira Milini: The Daughter Born in 1973

Indira Milini Khan, born December 21, 1973, in Chicago, is Khan's eldest child. Now 52, Milini inherited her mother's formidable voice and followed her into the entertainment industry, performing under the stage name I-Khan and releasing a steady stream of singles in 2022 and 2023.

Growing up as Chaka Khan's daughter meant a childhood on tour buses and backstage, surrounded by her mother's famous friends. Milini has spoken about suffering from horrible stage fright as a young performer and about her mother's backstage advice: Milini, it's just singing. The two have collaborated musically, and Khan has said Milini started singing as a baby, like Natalie Cole.

Milini is herself a mother, making Khan a grandmother through her daughter as well. Mother and daughter were photographed together at Khan's 60th birthday celebration in 2013, a rare public glimpse of a relationship Khan has otherwise kept largely private.

Damien Holland: The Son and the Trial

Damien Holland, born in the late 1970s during Khan's marriage to Richard Holland, is her younger child and only son. His life took a harrowing public turn in 2006, when he was accused of murder after 17-year-old Christopher Bailey was shot to death. Khan testified on her son's behalf, defending his innocence; Damien maintained the shooting was an accident, and he was found not guilty.

The trial was national news and a crucible for the family. Khan has described the ordeal as both devastating and clarifying, saying it forced her into the present moment and deepened her faith. The shooting itself dated to 2004, when a teenage Damien killed a friend with an assault rifle during an argument; the case took two years to reach trial.

Damien is the father of Daija Jade Holland, Khan's granddaughter. In December 2011, Khan won permanent custody of Daija after reporting that the child's mother, Damien's girlfriend, was unable to raise her due to drug addiction. It was a full-circle moment: the once-chaotic young mother, now sober since 2005, becoming the stable guardian for the next generation.

Two Marriages: Hassan Khan and Richard Holland

Khan married Hassan Khan in 1970, when she was just 17. The marriage, to a bass guitarist, was brief, ending within about a year, but she kept his surname professionally, becoming Chaka Khan for the rest of her life. (Her birth name is Yvette Marie Stevens.)

Her second marriage, to Richard Holland in 1976, lasted until 1980 and produced her son Damien. The marriage reportedly caused friction with her Rufus bandmates, particularly drummer Andre Fischer, and coincided with Khan's break from the band toward solo stardom.

Both marriages ended in divorce, and Khan never remarried. She's been candid that the music, the addictions, and the sheer velocity of her life in those years left little room for stable partnership, and that her children, not her husbands, became the enduring relationships.

Who Is Chaka Khan? A Quick Biography

Born Yvette Marie Stevens on March 23, 1953, in Chicago, Illinois, Khan grew up the eldest of five siblings, formed the girl group The Crystalettes as a teenager, and joined the Black Panther Party's breakfast program, where she was given the name Chaka. In the early 1970s she became the lead singer of the funk band Rufus, fronting hits like Tell Me Something Good, Sweet Thing, and Ain't Nobody.

She went solo in 1978 with I'm Every Woman (later covered by Whitney Houston), and her 1984 cover of Prince's I Feel for You, featuring Grandmaster Melle Mel's rap, became a massive crossover hit. Across five decades she's won 10 Grammy Awards, earned the title Queen of Funk, and been sampled by generations of hip-hop artists, most famously Kanye West's Through the Wire (from Through the Fire).

Her personal struggles were public: cocaine and heroin use through the 1980s, an on-and-off battle with alcoholism until she declared herself sober in 2005, and a 2016 rehab stay. She's been open about all of it, framing survival as its own art form.

Grandmotherhood: The Newest Chapter

As of October 2026, Khan is 73 and a grandmother several times over. The 2011 custody win for granddaughter Daija Jade Holland was a defining late-life event: the woman who'd spent decades battling her own demons proving, in court, that she was the stable home a child needed.

She's also watched Milini become a mother, extending the family's musical line into a third generation. Khan has spoken about grandmotherhood with the same outsized emotion she brings to everything: it's the reward for surviving, the proof that the chaos didn't win.

Her children are now middle-aged adults with their own complicated stories, and Khan's relationship with them has settled into something steadier than the wild years. The Queen of Funk's funkiest role, she'd likely tell you, turned out to be Grandma.

Chaka Khan's Kids: Quick Facts

How many kids does Chaka Khan have? Two. What are their names and ages? Daughter Indira Milini Khan (born December 21, 1973, age 52) and son Damien Holland (born late 1970s, late forties). Who are the fathers? Milini's father is Rahsaan Morris; Damien's father is ex-husband Richard Holland (married 1976-1980). Was she married? Twice: Hassan Khan (1970-1971) and Richard Holland (1976-1980). Does she have grandchildren? Yes, several, including granddaughter Daija Jade Holland, of whom she won custody in 2011. How old is Chaka Khan? 73, born March 23, 1953, in Chicago.

The Kids, Grandkids, and Musical Dynasty

Chaka Khan's two children were born during her rise to fame. Hassan Khan, born in the early 1970s, arrived when Chaka was still a teenager herself, fronting Rufus. Indira Milini Khan, born in the mid-1970s, followed as the band's hits (Tell Me Something Good, Sweet Thing, Ain't Nobody) made her mother a star.

Khan has described raising kids on tour buses and in recording studios, a chaotic childhood that both children survived with humor. Indira followed her mother into music as a singer, while Hassan has worked behind the scenes in the industry.

Now 73, Khan is a grandmother several times over, and she's spoken about grandmotherhood as her favorite role. Born Yvette Marie Stevens on March 23, 1953, in Chicago, the Queen of Funk has been married twice (Hassan Howard, Doug Rasheed) and remains one of music's great survivors: ten Grammys, a Rock Hall induction (2023), and a family that's grown up alongside the legend.

Queen of Funk: Five Decades

Chaka Khan's career began in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of Rufus, the funk band behind Tell Me Something Good (1974, Grammy), Sweet Thing, Do You Love What You Feel, and the platinum Ain't Nobody (1983). Her voice, a force of nature, made her the band's undeniable center.

Solo, she soared higher: I'm Every Woman (1978), I Feel for You (1984, Grammy, featuring Stevie Wonder's harmonica and Melle Mel's rap), Through the Fire, Ain't Nobody (re-released). Ten Grammy Awards, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction (2023), and the title Queen of Funk, earned across five decades.

Born Yvette Marie Stevens on March 23, 1953, in Chicago, she's now 73, a grandmother, and still performing. Her children, Hassan and Indira Milini, grew up on tour buses and in studios; her grandchildren are growing up with a legend for a grandma.

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