Jaya Kelly: All About R. Kelly’s Transgender Daughter

American singer, Jaya Kelly is the transgender daughter of the famous American R&B singer R. Kelly. The 23-year-old announced that he is a transgender male in 2014. Since then, the spotlight has been on him.

Apart from being the child of the musical legend, Jaya has been making headlines as a transgender individual. Stay tuned to uncover the truth behind his journey and experiences.

Jaya Kelly Biography

More about R. Kelly’s Transgender Child

Jaya Lee Kelly was born in the USA in the year 2000. He is the child of American choreographer Andrea Kelly and singer R. Kelly. Despite being assigned female at birth, Jaya boldly came out as a transgender male in 2014. Jaya’s mother, Andrea, stood by him with unwavering support, doing everything she could to help him navigate this new chapter in his life. Sadly, his father held a different stance and was not accepting of Jaya’s identity.

Growing up, Jaya had to persevere through lots of bullying from his peers because of his choice to dress as male. However, he embraced his true self. Jaya’s journey led him to complete his transition, and he now lives authentically as a transgender male.

While in high school, he started practicing and honing his musical career. Furthermore, Jaya made the decision to fully dedicate himself to music instead of pursuing higher education.

Jaya Kelly’s Family

Jaya Kelly’s father, Robert Sylvester Kelly, is a well-known R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. He gained immense success in the music industry, selling over 75 million records worldwide. R. Kelly is considered the most commercially successful male artist in R&B and is recognized as one of the world’s top-selling musicians.

However, his fame and recognition were overshadowed by serious legal issues. He has been arraigned for a series of crimes including racketeering and sex offenses, facing multiple allegations of sexual abuse. In 2022, R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in jail after being found guilty of eight counts of sex trafficking and one count of racketeering in a New York court. Currently, R. Kelly is serving his jail term as an inmate at Butner Federal Prison located in North Carolina.

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On the other hand, Jaya’s mother is Andrea Kelly. She was born on 28th January 1974 in Chicago. She is an American choreographer, actress, and dancer. Little is known about her personal life. She came into the limelight through her marriage to R. Kelly. Before the marriage, she was R. Kelly’s backup dancer. They got married in 2006 but got divorced in 2009 – 13 years after their marriage.

After her divorce, Andrea remarried Brian McKee in 2012. However, they got divorced two months after their marriage.

Jaya Kelly is one of their parents’ three children. He has an elder sister, JoAnn Kelly, who was born in 1998. She is a singer, and her stage name is Buku Ab. Jaya and JoAnn have a younger brother, Robert Kelly Jr. He was born in 2002 and is currently a basketball player.

The Kellys’ Reaction to Jaya’s Transition

In a recent interview, Jaya Kelly spoke about his family’s response to his decision to transition gender. He shared that his mom and sister have been supportive of his decision.

After Jaya publicly announced that he was a transgender male, he experienced deep depression, leading him to stay in a psychiatric hospital for a few weeks. During this tough time, his mom was there for him every step of the way, being his biggest supporter.

R. Kelly, however, hasn’t been so supportive of the decision. Despite this, Jaya still has hopes that their relationship will get better.

Conclusion

Despite not being universally accepted, Jaya Kelly has forged a path for himself and has been a source of inspiration to many.