Do you think you know Michael Bolton? You probably don’t. Though Michael has been a successful pop-rock and smooth rock singer, winning Grammys for his versions of “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You” and “When A Man Loves A Woman,” there’s a lot more to Michael. Like – how he started as the lead singer for hard rock band Blackjack in the late 1970s. Or how he didn’t find success until his fifth album – or, by the time he finally made it, he was married with three kids!
“By my late 20s, I was already married [to Maureen McGuire] and had three daughters [Isa, Holly, and Taryn Bolton],” Michael told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2019. “Guys in their 20s don’t have a clue who they are as human beings. They know what they want to become – a doctor, a lawyer, a politician – but the proper study of one’s own self? Men don’t get around to that until their 30s or 40s, which is roughly 10 years later than most women, who seem to know exactly who they are. Once you have a family you realize pretty quickly, because your kids become front and center. They become the most important thing.”
Here’s what you need to know about Michael Bolton’s kids:
Isa Bolton
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Because the Boltons are generally private, and Michael became a father before he became famous, it’s unclear when his daughters were born. One report claims that Isa Bolton, the oldest of the three, was born on Aug. 3, 1975. According to an Instagram account attributed to Isa, she runs Loved, a women’s boutique and consignment shop. Isa is also a proud mom of two sons. On Feb. 23, 2021, she posted an Instagram Gallery of her with her family, including dad Michael.
“I remember sitting at the kitchen table in depression about the food money that we needed and the rent check that was probably going to bounce,” Michael told Billboard in 2019. “If a gig got snowed out in Connecticut, that was my food and rent money. By the time I was 27, I had three daughters. I know that I couldn’t let the kids know how bad it was. My wife knew. The hardest of times never leaves you, and it’s amazing how close to the surface it is.”
Michael and Maureen McGuire were married from 1975 to 1990. His ex-wife is reportedly a yoga instructor, according to a local Connecticut website.
Holly Bolton
Similarly to her sisters, Holly Bolton’s birthday is unconfirmed, but one report lists it as of July 7, 1977. According to an Instagram associated with Holly, she’s “living, loving, and laughing in LA” with her young son. She also shares photos of her family, including one where Michael teaches her son to play cards.
Michael really struggled to provide for his family at first but found success when he released The Hunger in 1987. “Before The Hunger, my records came and went,” he told Classic Pop in 2020. “I’d had one single, ‘Fool’s Game,’ that reached No. 82 and then just stopped. And that had been my biggest song. That creates a sense of caution. It wasn’t until my second Grammy, two albums later, that I finally felt ‘I’m going to be OK and my family is going to be OK.’ When people sent flowers to my hotel room, I didn’t understand it. Everyone around me was celebrating, except me.”
Taryn Bolton
While it’s clear that Taryn Bolton is the youngest of Michael’s three daughters, her exact date of birth remains uncertain, though one report claims it’s Oct. 3, 1979. She was 31 in 2010 when she gave birth to Michael’s first grandchild, per PEOPLE. It was the first time Michael was a “grandpa,” but it wasn’t the last, with Holly and Isa both starting families soon afterward.
“It’s just such a great source of joy, looking in their eyes,” Michael told PEOPLE in 2019 of his six grandchildren. Michael also said that “GPa” isn’t allowed to put the kids to sleep. “I’m not going to be putting [the grandkids] to sleep,” he said. “Ten minutes after they think the kids are going to sleep and I’m reading to them … I’m chasing them around the room!”