Rod Stewart’s 94-Year-Old Sister Joins Him Onstage For A Stirring Rendition Of 'Sailing'

Jul 19, 2023

Rod Stewart has left an indelible mark in the hearts and minds of millions of people worldwide and continues to make an impact in the lives of many up until today through his music. 

Rod is among the best-selling music artists of all time. He started his career in 1962, joining Jimmy Powell and The Five Dimensions as the band's harmonica player and vocalist, before he moved on to different groups and, eventually, his own solo career. To date, he has released a total of 32 studio albums and seven of those reached No. 1 on the UK album charts.

He is most known for his hits like “Sailing,” “Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright),” "Maggie May" and “You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim),” among many other chart-toppers that eventually became classic hits.

Rod is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades. In 1994, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005, was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006 and was awarded a CBE in the 2007 New Year Honours. For all his achievements over his six-decade career, Rod’s worth now stands at $300 million.

Despite his illustrious and heavily awarded career, Rod, 78, is known for being a great family man. On top of being a doting father to his eight children, Rod also became a grandfather for the first time in 2011.

Additionally, the family he was raised in is also a meaningful part of Rod's life, as he was the youngest of five children. In July 2023, he even brought out his 94-year-old sister onstage while he performed in Edinburgh. To learn more about Rod's deep love of family, keep reading.

Rod’s large brood is no secret. The rock star has a daughter, Sarah Stewart, from a teenage relationship; Kimberly and Sean Stewart with his first wife Alana Hamilton; Ruby Stewart from his relationship with Kelly Emberg; a daughter Renee and a son Liam Stewart with his second wife Rachel Hunter; and two sons, Alistair and Aiden Stewart from his current marriage to Penny Lancaster.

While some might argue that parents should treat all their children equally, Rod has a different approach to parenting. He believes each of his children should be treated depending on their needs.  

“I have to be several different fathers because of the different age groups of my kids. You really have to treat all of them as individuals with individual problems,” he told PEOPLE in an interview back in 2021.

He added he “couldn’t ask for anything better. What makes me happiest now is seeing all my kids and my wife with big smiles on their faces.” 

Rod's family obviously means a lot to him, and he certainly does to them too. After an article was published by the Daily Mail in June 2023, in which a close source revealed Rod’s children were worried about his health and wanted him to retire from the music industry completely, the musician set the record straight. The insider claimed several of Rod's kids believed it was time for him to “throw in the towel on music” and to focus on his retirement and his family, especially after his third grandchild was born.

Rod took to his official Instagram account to clarify any confusion and said, "I shall never retire!" The reason why was that he “was put on this earth to be a singer and will keep doing so for as long as the good Lord lets me.”

Rod’s clarification also came after the singer said he was looking to slow down his career and focus on his family instead. Life on the road has been part and parcel of Rod’s life for more than 60 years now. Back in October 2022, he dropped a bombshell that this was now going to change. He told the Daily Record:

“Next year will be the end of my rock ‘n’ roll touring. I want to do something different. It feels like an end of an era. All things must come to an end.”

The “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” singer explained this wouldn’t mean the end of his career. 

“I’m not retiring and I still love singing, I just want to do something new. I might do a few folk clubs playing guitar. Just be different,” he said.

Rod said a major reason he wanted to scale down his overseas ventures was the longing to be at home with his loved ones. “I don’t want to do the big tours any more, especially in America. It takes me away from my kids for so long. … It used to be OK because it was fun and games. It is still fun and games but I miss my kids so much,” he remarked.

With a packed 2023 tour that included stops in South America, Australia, Las Vegas, England and Scotland, Rod remarked they were likely to be the last time he’d be performing some songs from his repertoire. He told the outlet:

“I’m not retiring – I just want to move on. … These last shows will be quite the party and after that I won’t be performing songs like ‘Maggie May’ or ‘Hot Legs.’ I don’t want to be singing ‘Hot Legs’ when I’m 80.”

In June 2023, it was reported Rod had put his sprawling Los Angeles home in the high-end North Beverly Park area up for sale. The estate comprised a 28,500-square-foot English country-style main house and a 4,500-square-foot guest house with a total of 13 bedrooms and 19 bathrooms, as well as three acres of manicured lawns.

According to the Daily Mail, sources close to Rod claimed he had grown weary of Los Angeles’ “toxic” culture and felt that he had “zero privacy.” The insiders revealed the family also found traveling back and forth between Los Angeles and the UK – where his wife Lancaster works with the police and their two sons attend school – a “nuisance.”

Sources said Rod’s decision to sell the Los Angeles estate and stay in Essex full-time had the blessing of all his older children, who “all know how happy him and Penny are living there and that is all they want is for their father to be happy,” the Daily Mail reported. 

“Rod is so devoted to his family and is very close with all of them. He is at an amazing place in his life and is elated about being a grandfather to his three grandchildren,” an insider told the outlet.

Rod, Lancaster and their two sons live in Durrington House, which the couple purchased in 2016 for $5.8 million.

Rod has apparently always kept a special place in his heart for his homeland. “Rod has always considered Britain to be his home. Los Angeles was everything that he needed it to be for that time in his life, but it is obvious that he does not favor LA anymore. It has just gotten so toxic and he has zero privacy in the city,” a source told Daily Mail.

Rod’s family expanded in May 2023 after the legendary British rockstar welcomed two grandsons in a matter of days! 

Rod's daughter Ruby announced her engagement to her long-term partner Jake Kalic in January 2023 and also confirmed that they were having a baby boy in the spring. Rod was the first to know the gender of their baby because he sealed off the paper indicating the details to read out loud to his family, according to PEOPLE.

On May 9, 2023, Ruby and Kalic welcomed a baby into the world. Their son was named Otis Stewart Kalic. 

Three days after Otis's arrival, Rod's son Liam announced the birth of his firstborn son on Instagram as well. Louie Mark Roderick Stewart was born on May 12, 2023, and he is the namesake of his multi-awarded grandfather. Liam and his wife, Nicole, had a gender reveal party in December 2023, so they also knew that they were having a son. 

Both babies were born in Los Angeles, where Rod's other daughter, Kimberly, also lives. Born in 1979, Kimberly runs a business and has one daughter named Delilah Genoveva Stewart, who became Rod’s first grandchild when she was born in August 2011.

Aside from Ruby, Liam and Kimberly, Rod has six other children. His eldest, Sarah, was born in 1963. She is the daughter of Susannah Boffey, Rod’s ex-girlfriend from a long time ago.

Rod is also a father to Kimberly’s brother, Sean, born in 1980, and Liam’s sister, Renee, born in 1992. His youngest children are Alastair, born in 2005, and Aiden, born in 2011, with his current wife Lancaster.

As a 78-year-old grandfather, Rod is quite hands-on and involved. He helped out Delilah with a school project by doing a diorama of Maryland together. The child seems to have inherited her grandfather's musical talent as she knows how to play the violin and has performed in school plays with a lot of confidence.

Following his granddaughter’s birth in 2011, Rod released a statement saying that his joy as a first-time grandfather had been "indescribable" and he threw a party at an Italian restaurant to celebrate Kimberly and Delilah. 

As of press time, the musician has yet to release a statement about his two new grandsons' arrival. However, Lancaster already posted a comment on Liam’s Instagram. She wrote:

"Congratulations, that's the look of love. Can't wait for a hug."  

As a father to eight children, Rod told People that he has to adjust and treat each one of his kids as individuals because of their age differences. He also admitted that there were some rough periods with his older children because they experimented with alcohol or drugs or there were issues with their mothers, which were resolved over time. 

"As a dad, I've learned to listen and not blow my top," Rod said.  

With older age comes a greater perspective, and for Rod, that means having an appreciation for all of life’s blessings. He once said:

“I’ve grown up now. I have a wonderful wife, seven lovely kids, I really couldn’t be happier. It had its moments – when one is young, one enjoys life’s rich tapestry. I did it, I did it, and I enjoyed it, and I’ve lived a good life.”

In July 2023, Rod proved he's just as passionate about family as he is about music when he brought his older sister, Mary Stewart, onstage in Edinburgh. As "Sailing" began, Mary was escorted onstage by one of Rod's backup singers. Rod embraced his older sister and proudly told the crowd, "This is my sister! 94," in reference to her age.

The love between Rod and Mary was palpable. They embraced, and the singer gave her a kiss on the head. As they sang, Rod draped the Royal Banner of Scotland flag over Mary's shoulders. He even gave her a lesson in conducting the band behind them. Rod told The Mirror:

“At 94, she’s on a rock’n’roll stage and loving it. She has and continues to teach me about life.”

Having his sister at the Edinburgh leg of his tour was especially poignant because of their family's Scottish roots. All of the rock star's four siblings were born in Scotland before the family relocated to London, where he was later born.

Apart from Mary, Rod had another sister named Peggy Stewart, who died in 1975 from multiple sclerosis at the age of 40. The singer lost two brothers within months of each other in 2022. Don Stewart passed away in September 2022 at the age of 94, while Bob Stewart was 88 and died two months later. Rod shared his grief at the time:

“It’s with great sadness that I announce the loss of my brother Bob last night, who joins my brother Don on the great football pitch in the sky. I’ve lost two of my best mates in two months.”

In 2019, Rod said of his siblings:

"These guys were instrumental in supporting me, helping me get into music and just being there for me."

Did you know Rod Stewart was such a family man? What did you think of his 94-year-old sister Mary joining him onstage? Let us know, then pass this on to any fans of the musician you know!