Her mum quit art school at 18 to raise her — Adele’s parents and the half-brother she barely knew
Adele's parents are Penny Adkins, an English mother who raised her as a single parent, and Mark Evans, an estranged Welsh father who passed away in 2021. She also has one younger paternal half-brother, Cameron O'Sullivan.
Source: UGC
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Adele was raised primarily by her single mother after her father walked out on the family when she was just a toddler.
- Adele's father passed away from bowel cancer at age 57 in May 2021.
- The singer has a younger paternal half-brother, Cameron O'Sullivan, born to Mark Evans and a subsequent partner, Siobhan O'Sullivan.
Profile summary
Full name | Adele Laurie Blue Adkins |
Gender | Female |
Date of birth | 5 May 1988 |
Age | 38 years old (as of 2026) |
Zodiac sign | Taurus |
Place of birth | Tottenham, London, England |
Current residence | Los Angeles, United States |
Nationality | British |
Ethnicity | White |
Religion | Christianity |
Sexuality | Straight |
Height in inches | 5'9'' |
Height in centimetres | 175 |
Hair colour | Blonde |
Eye colour | Green |
Father | Mark Evans |
Mother | Penny Adkins |
Siblings | Cameron O'Sullivan |
Relationship status | Married |
Husband | Rich Paul |
Children | Angelo Adkins |
Education | Chestnut Grove School, BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology |
Profession | Singer, songwriter |
Net worth | $220 million |
Social media |
Meet Adele’s parents, Penny Adkins and Mark Evans
English singer Adele was born on 5 May 1988 in Tottenham, London, to Penny Adkins and Mark Evans. Her parents separated when she was very young, and she was mainly raised by her mother in South London. Below is all you need to know about Adele's family members.
Source: Getty Images
Penny Adkins
Adele’s mother, Penny Susan Adkins, was born in 1968 in Islington, North London. She was an 18-year-old art student when she became pregnant with Adele. She decided to drop out of her college courses to become a full-time mother.
During a March 2021 interview with The Guardian, Adele said:
She fell pregnant with me when she would have been applying for uni, but chose to have me instead. She never, ever reminds me of that. I try to remember it.
After separating from Mark Evans, Penny raised Adele as a single mother in London. She worked several jobs, including as a masseuse, furniture maker, and office administrator. Recognising Adele’s musical talent from a young age, Penny bought her first guitar and paid for music lessons.
Source: Getty Images
Adele has often described her mother as her best friend and has credited her for much of her success. Speaking about their close relationship, Adele told The Telegraph in 2011:
[We are] thick as thieves. She's the love of my life. She doesn't worry about little things. She's never disappointed, even when I know she probably is. You know that parent thing, 'I am not angry; I am disappointed.' Like a bullet. She's not like that. She's honest and open and so supportive. I was one of those kids who was like … ‘I want to be a ballet dancer. No, a saxophone player. No, a weather girl.’
Penny has also reportedly been the inspiration for several of Adele's iconic hits, including Hometown Glory, Million Years Ago, and her cover of The Cure's Lovesong.
In 2013, as documented by Metro UK, Adele bought her mother a £600,000 luxury apartment in London's Notting Hill neighbourhood, as a thank you for helping her become a star.
Mark Evans
Source: UGC
Mark Evans was a plumber from Penarth, Wales, who met Adele’s mother, Penny Adkins, in London in 1987. They moved in together, and Adele was born on 5 May 1988. However, Mark left the family when Adele was just three years old.
Although he stayed in contact for a while, their relationship worsened over the years, especially after he struggled with alcohol addiction. Adele cut ties with him at age 12 after he failed to show up for a Father’s Day visit. She told The Independent in July 2022:
I decided to stop seeing him when I was 12. I’d gone to Penarth to surprise him for Father’s Day, and my nanna [told him to come] and he didn’t… I saw him very briefly when I was about 15, when my great-grandma died, and he did apologise then, but I was 15, I didn’t want to hear it then.
Over the years, Evans gave interviews to the press about their strained relationship. This frustrated Adele, and during her 2017 Grammy Awards speech, she notably stated she loved her manager like a father but did not love Evans. She said:
I love you like you're my dad. I love you so, so much. I don't love my dad, that's the thing, so that doesn't mean a lot, but I love you like I would love my dad.
Source: UGC
In 2013, Mark was diagnosed with bowel cancer. After learning his illness was terminal, Adele visited him in Wales, and the two eventually reconciled. They found forgiveness and closure before his death in May 2021, with Adele even sharing her album 30 with him over a Zoom call shortly before he passed away. She told The Independent:
When I found out that he was ill a few years ago, I got the call, and I drove straight there. It was hard, but it was definitely one of the biggest moments of my life in a good way, when I went to go and see him.
She added:
I made peace with him when I found out he was sick. And we really got on, which was amazing, but also sad because he was really bloody funny. He is really funny, and I don’t remember that when I was little. But it was really nice. We laughed, and we gossiped, and we cried. It was great for both of us.
Does Adele have siblings?
Source: Twitter
Adele has a half-brother named Cameron O'Sullivan, born to Mark Evans and a subsequent partner, Siobhan O'Sullivan. The two grew up entirely separate from one another and did not meet until 2007.
As reported by The Daily Mail, in 2016, Cameron told The Sun that they are not very close due to Adele's busy global schedule, stating:
It’s hard because we never see each other. We’re not close at all, and that’s the most difficult thing. I’m really close with her mum, Penny, but that’s it. I keep in contact with Penny on the phone. But I hardly speak to Adele. There's nothing there. She's so busy we're not really close. I've not spoken to her for a while.
However, the two were reunited when Cameron attended Adele's show at Genting Arena during her 2016 world tour. As published by Young Hollywood, Adele told British newspaper The Scotsman that Cameron strikingly resembles her, saying:
He looks like my twin - same hair and everything. When you see each other, it's as if you've spent every day of your lives together.
Like Adele, Cameron maintained an estranged relationship with their late father. Because of this, he chose to use his mother's surname instead of "Evans."
FAQs
- Who is Adele? Adele is an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful voice and hit albums like 21, 25, and 30.
- What is Adele’s nationality? Adele is a British national. She was born and raised in London, England.
- Who are Adele’s parents? Her parents are Penny Adkins and Mark Evans.
- What happened to Adele's parents? The popular singer’s parents split up when Adele was a toddler.
- How old was Adele's mom when she had her? Adele’s mom was 18 years old when she gave birth to her.
- Does Adele speak to her dad? Adele’s father passed away from cancer in May 2021, though they did find closure and reconcile shortly before his death.
- What did Adele's parents do for a living? Her mother worked various jobs, including furniture making and massaging, while her father worked as a plumber.
- How many siblings does Adele have? Adele has one sibling, a younger half-brother from her father's side.
- Who is Adele's half-brother? Her half-brother is Cameron O'Sullivan.
- Does Adele speak to her brother? Adele and Cameron rarely speak and remain distant because they grew up completely separate from one another.
Adele’s parents separated when she was a toddler, and she was raised mainly by her mother, who had the biggest influence on her life. Her father was absent for much of her childhood, and she has one known half-brother on her father’s side.
Legit.ng recently published an article about Usher's kids. Usher is a proud father of four children, and his kids have often been part of his personal life away from music.
He shares two sons, Usher “Cinco” Raymond V and Naviyd Ely Raymond, with his ex-wife Tameka Foster, and two younger children, Sovereign Bo and Sire Castrello, with his partner Jenn Goicoechea. Despite his busy career, Usher has spoken about how fatherhood is one of his most important roles.
Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
