In 1967, R. Kelly was born in the Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park, at the Chicago Lying-In Hospital with his birth name Robert Sylvester Kelly. He is the third kid in a family of four, including an elder brother, a sister, and a younger brother. His mother, Joanne Kelly, was a skilled singer who brought up her kids in the Baptist church while taking the lead in the choir. It is unknown who Kelly's father is; he has never been present in Kelly's life. His family resided in the Ida B. Wells Homes public housing project in the Bronzeville district of Chicago.
Kelly started singing in the choir at the age of eight. According to Kelly's high school music teacher, Kelly's childhood home was 'bare.' 'One table, two chairs.' 'There was no father there; I knew that, and they had very little.' He stated that when his mother and grandmother weren't around, the women in Kelly's large family acted differently. Kelly was sexually abused by an older female family member from the ages of eight to fourteen. Kelly stated in his 2012 autobiography, 'Soulacoaster,' that he was 'too terrified and ashamed' to tell anyone, which is why he never did.
Upon his engagement at Kenwood Academy, Kelly began to play music on the streets of Chicago. He later performed a Stevie Wonder song there.
In 1994, R. Kelly reportedly married Aaliyah secretly. Aaliyah was just 15 years old at the moment. The two began dating when she was 13 or 14 years old. while R Kelly's age would have been around 26 at that time. In 1995, the marriage was annulled.
Later, in 1996, he married dancer Andrea Lee; they had three children before divorcing in 2009.