Chubby Checker Has Long-Lasting Relationship With Wife Of 59 Years But Has A Famous Daughter With Another Woman

Oct 09, 2022

Chubby Checker was born Ernest Evans on Oct. 3, 1941, in Spring Gully, South Carolina. He is a rock n’ roll singer and dancer that is best known for popularizing many dance styles, including “The Twist.” The song made it to the top of Billboard's list of the most popular singles that have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut, which was in 1960. Evans also brought the dance “Pony Time” to mainstream attention. Another factor that kept Evans in the news was his interracial marriage to Catharina Lodders in 1964. Evans was 22 and Lodders, who is a Dutch supermodel, was 21. 

Evans got the name Chubby Checker when he was young. At the time, he was working for a man named Tony A, who was the manager at Produce Market, and the first person to call Evans “Chubby.” Later, after getting recommended by a local songwriter, Chubby got to do a private recording for Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand.” After Evans finished doing a Fats Domino impression, Mrs. Clark asked for his name, and he replied, “My friends call me Chubby.” To which she replied, “As in Checker?” The name has stuck ever since.

The singer and Lodders faced many difficulties living in America before interracial marriage was legalized everywhere in the United States in 1967. But they have stuck together through it all and have three wonderful children: Bianca Johanna Evans, Ilka Evans and the musician Shan Egan. Evans also has a daughter with another woman. Keep reading to learn more about Evans and Lodders and what they went through when they first got together.

"The Twist" wasn't Evans' first single but actually his second. His first was a song titled "The Class," which featured him singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" in the style of other popular performers. It became a small hit and led to him being signed by the record label Cameo-Parkway Records. Then in 1960, Evans struck gold with "The Twist."

The song has endured and is still well known to this day. Thinking back on what makes the song special, Evans said: “I think that people are addicted to simplicity. Keep it fun. Keep it stupid. Make sure it's a little sexy. ‘The Twist’ has all of these elements.” The song is fun and lighthearted, and the point of it seems to be to just have a good time. 

Evans followed up the success of "The Twist" with "Let's Twist Again" one year later. Funnily enough, it's this song that is his best-known nowadays. On top of popularizing the Twist dance, Evans also helped to popularize the Pony dance, the Limbo and the Fly.

But on top of his successful music career, Evans has also had a great personal life, specifically, his marriage with Lodders, who is a Dutch model who's best known for being Miss Holland as well as the 1962 Miss World.  

It sounds like the moment Evans saw Lodders, it was love at first sight. He told Philadelphia Magazine in 2015 that he met his wife “in the Philippines in 1964. I saw a girl in a spotted bathing suit, and I said, ‘I’m going to marry that woman.’ I didn’t even want to get married, but I couldn’t breathe. That woman was Catharina Lodders, Miss World 1962. She’s from the Netherlands, and we are still married today.” 

Being an interracial couple, Evans and Lodders underwent some difficult times, but the singer added that when people found out he was marrying a white woman, he said: “I didn’t care. Love ain’t got no color on it.” For him, the discussion would've been over, but there were still challenges for him and Lodders to overcome. One example is that they struggled to buy a house together because they were an interracial couple. This led Evans to take the opportunity to speak out against segregation, and he said that he and his wife were not going to take it. They eventually found a home together in Philadelphia, and they still live there to this day. 

There were also rumors at the beginning of their relationship that Evans’ mother did not like Lodders because she is white, but the singer cleared up that assumption. He stressed that his family accepts Lodders, and they are all very happy together. 

It is also said that Evans and Lodders had a hard time finding a church where they could get married. Eventually, they were wed on Apr. 12, 1964, at Temple Lutheran Church in Pennsauken, New Jersey. In an article published soon after their marriage in 1964, Evans spoke about his and his wife's relationship. He said:

"We are merely two people with the same outlook on life."

At the time, he said, "I love it" about being married, and it seems that hasn't changed one bit. Evans and Lodders celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary in 2023, and their 60th milestone isn't too far off.

While Evans has proven his life to his wife, he has also proven to be a great father to his children. One of those children is Mistie Bass. Evans never married Pam Bass, the mother of Mistie, but has continued to work on having a strong and impactful relationship with his daughter.

Back in 2006, the Tampa Bay Times reported that Mistie, then a basketball player at Duke University, received a voicemail from her father during the week about preparing for the Final Four. Evans had said, “Keep a cool head.” The singer later attended William’s final home game and even sang the national anthem.

Evans talked about how proud he is of Mistie. “It’s been wonderful, an experience I’ve never had,” he said. “She’s a blessed person, an angel, and she’s made all the right decisions. I’ve never seen a group of girls fight so hard to win.”

He added, “...She’s so good at being able to stay focused. When I’m at her games, I get a heart attack. I’m so nervous for her…”

Mistie graduated from Duke in 2006. That same year, the Phoenix Mercury drafted her, but she was later traded to the WNBA team the Houston Comets. She is currently a free agent.

Mistie explained how she and Evans have always gotten along and how they have both put in the effort to make their father-daughter relationship work. “I’ve always had a relationship with my father, and my mother’s done a great job of making sure I knew there was always love there,” she said. “It’s only gotten stronger as I’ve gotten older.”

Are you a fan of Chubby Checker? Did you know about his incredibly long and successful marriage to Catharina Lodders or his life as a father? Let us know, and feel free to send this on to your loved ones.