The Tragic Life Of Nelly’s Late Sister’s Kids

Nelly recently faced major backlash after his decision to perform at Donald Trump’s inaugural ball. 

During a live conversation he had with rapper Willie D, Nelly defended himself by saying that he didn’t know that his followers supported him because they cared about who he voted for.

He claimed that he didn’t know that he had to agree with their political choices.

He went on to say that if people followed what he did, referring to the charitable and honorable things he’d done in life, then there shouldn’t have been an argument about his decision.

Why Nelly Adopted His Sister Jackie’s Kids

Over the years, Nelly has done a lot of philanthropy.

But not everyone knows that he also did something seriously admirable in his personal life, too.

In 2005, his sister Jackie Donahue lost her battle with leukemia, according to TODAY.

She left behind a son named Shawn and a daughter named Sydney. 

Their father reportedly wasn’t a part of their lives, which meant that they were almost like orphans.

However, Nelly stepped up and chose to raise the two children as his own by officially adopting them. 

It was a big sacrifice, especially since he was already raising his two biological kids pretty much by himself.

Before he hit it big with his debut album Country Grammar in 2000, Nelly had already welcomed a daughter and a son with his then-girlfriend, Channetta Valentine. 

Their daughter Chanelle was born in 1994, and then their son Cornell came along 5 years later. 

Nelly’s TV Show ‘Nellyville’ 

The world got to know Nelly’s family when his reality show Nellyville aired on BET in 2014. 

The show followed their lives as the rapper tried to balance his career with fatherhood. 

A report by the Atlanta Blackstar revealed that in one episode, Nelly told the cameras that people should remember that there weren’t only single mothers out in the world.

He reminded everyone that there were single fathers, too. 

He added that it was very important. 

Nelly Speaks Out About Adopting Late Sister’s Kids

Nelly spoke about what it was like to take his niece and nephew in after he lost his sister during an interview on the Tamron Hall Show.

He explained that after Jackie passed away, it was a ‘no-brainer’ situation for him. 

He didn’t think twice about it. 

It was just what needed to be done.

Nelly shared: “That’s what family is there for. We pick up the pieces, and we mold each other and help shape each other.”

But the rapper didn’t want to take all the credit. 

He knew that it would take a village to raise the children.

He credited his half-sister’s biological mom for helping out, as well as his brother and other family members who each did what they could to lend a hand. 

Nelly admitted that he was the one who had to bear the financial side of taking care of Shawn and Sydney. 

He reportedly was also responsible for the discipline part when it was needed. 

But he made it clear that he couldn’t have looked after all the children alone. 

Nelly later confessed to Tamron that his 4 kids helped raise him as much as he helped raise them.

He went on to say that he didn’t know where he’d be without them, without their genuine spirit, and without having that love around.

Nelly’s Nephew Shawn Follows Nelly’s Footsteps 

Jackie’s oldest child, Shawn, was only 8 years old when he tragically lost his mother. 

When he got older, he took a page out of his uncle’s book and turned to making rap music under the stage name Lil’ Shawn.

The last post he shared of himself singing on his YouTube Channel was in February 2024, with 400 views. 

But his most popular music video got 86 thousand views.

Nelly’s Nephew Shawn Becomes A Father 

A report by PEOPLE revealed that Shawn started his own family with his girlfriend Kristia.

In July 2020, the pair welcomed a daughter named Mahalia.

Nelly’s nephew often shares pictures of his family on Instagram. 

In January 2025, he posted a photo of him and Kristia posing in front of a mirror together.

He captioned the picture with: “Me and Mine.”

And in July 2024, he and Kristia took Mahalia to Disney World for the first time to celebrate her 4th birthday.

One month later, Shawn uploaded a picture of their little girl on her 1st day of preschool.

She held up a sign that said that she loved the color pink, giving hugs, dancing, playdates, and her mommy and daddy.

The sign also showed that she had dreams of becoming a dancer one day.

All About Nelly’s Niece Sydney

According to PEOPLE, Nelly has a funny nickname for his niece Sydney. 

He lovingly refers to her as ‘Stink.’

An article by The List claimed that Sydney had her sights on becoming a professional model when she was younger. 

It’s not known how much success she had with that line of work, but her Instagram reveals that she went in a more entrepreneurial direction.

She uses her social media to promote her own make-up company. 

She reportedly began a business called That Girl Collection.

The official website describes it as a vegan lipgloss company, with products that smell nice, last long, and are very pigmented but not sticky.

Nelly’s Niece’s Baby Father Dies 

In 2020, Sydney also made Nelly a grandfather.

She and her baby’s father, Christian Wimbley, welcomed a little son into the world, who they named Cross.

Sydney’s life has been filled with a lot of tragedy, though. 

Because on top of losing her mom, she and her baby also lost Christian. 

There aren’t many details about what happened to him, but it is known that he left this world before his time. 

So, Sydney had to raise Cross as a single parent. 

Over the years, Sydney has also used her Instagram to post updates on her child as he grows.

She shared a cute reel with her 180,000 followers of Cross on his first day back to school, geared up with his oversized Batman backpack.

And in January, she announced that she was the mother of a 5-year-old as she celebrated Cross’s birthday by sharing photos and videos of him. 

Nelly’s Niece Sydney’s Relationship With A Woman 

But there’s more that can be learned from Sydney’s social media about her personal life than just how her son is doing. 

Because in August 2024, she shared something that a lot of online users found shocking. 

She revealed that she had someone new in her love life.

But some people were surprised by the pictures that she shared of the two of them posing together.

The photos revealed that there was a side of Sydney that she’d never shared with the public before. 

Because the other person in the photo with her was a woman.

The pair shared a joint post of a photoshoot they’d taken where they were smiling and hugging each other. 

She captioned the post with: “Me & my Bookie.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sydney Michelle (@stink_mylife)

Online Users Defend Nelly’s Niece

Though the post got some negative comments from a few users, many of Sydney’s followers defended her and said that they were happy for her. 

As a response to online haters, one person wrote: “Y’all gotta be so miserable in y’all life to sit up on someone else’s page and criticize who they date… Get a life!”

Other social media users commented on how nice the couple’s smiles looked in the photos, and they told Sydney that she deserved happiness.

In November 2024, she shared a video of her and her partner snuggling together as they posed in front of a bathroom mirror, and she captioned it with a heart emoji. 

Nelly Speaks Out About Challenges Of Parenthood

In the past, Nelly has openly spoken about the challenges of parenthood.

But he also recognized that in this day and age, it’s not easier being a kid or a teenager, either. 

While speaking to the HuffPost, Nelly claimed that life for his kids was “definitely different” than how things were for him when he was growing up.

He explained that as much blame as people gave their kids for what they were not doing, he also would try to give them as much credit for dealing with things that he didn’t have to deal with.

Nelly said: “Bullying was one-on-one and face-to-face. Now it’s all over the internet.”

He went on to talk about the unique problems that come with being the children of a celebrity, and the bullying and discrimination that came along with that from their school peers.

An example he gave was that his kids were sometimes targeted for just expressing an opinion.

He said: “Everybody voices their opinion and then when it stops at them, all of a sudden their opinion is coming because of who their father is.”

The rapper said that he would regularly have to remind his children that they couldn’t just bank on their father’s name when it worked for them. 

Sometimes, they had to deal with the downsides of fame, too.