Age, Biography, and Wiki
Lenny Kravitz was born Leonard Albert Kravitz on May 26, 1964, in New York City. His mother, Roxie Roker, was a celebrated actress, and his father, Sy Kravitz, was a news producer for NBC. Kravitz's early life was marked by his interest in music, starting to play drums at the age of three and guitar later on. He comes from a mixed cultural background, with his mother being Christian and his father Jewish, but he later adopted non-denominational Christianity.
| Occupation | Interior Designer |
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| Date of Birth | 26 May 1964 |
| Age | 61 Years |
| Birth Place | New York City, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Gemini |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Lenny Kravitz stands tall at 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm), but specific details about his current weight are not widely available.
| Height | 5 feet 9 inches |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Kravitz has been involved in several high-profile relationships, including with actress Lisa Bonet, with whom he had a daughter, Zoë Kravitz. He has also dated other celebrities, such as Vanessa Paradis.
His mother came from a Christian family that was of African-American and Bahamian descent. His grandfather was Russian-Jewish. Through his mother, Kravitz is a second cousin of television weather presenter Al Roker, as their grandfathers were brothers. Kravitz was named after his uncle, Leonard M. Kravitz, a private first class who was killed in action in the Korean War at the age of 20, while single-handedly holding off a Chinese attack, enabling most of his platoon to escape.
During his early years, Kravitz did not grow up in a religious environment. After a spiritual experience when he was 13, he started attending church and later became a non-denominational Christian. Kravitz grew up spending weekdays on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with his parents, attending P.S. 6 for elementary school, and spending weekends at his grandmother Bessie's house in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Kravitz began banging on pots and pans in the kitchen, playing them as drums at the age of three. He decided that he wanted to be a musician at the age of five. He began playing the drums and soon added guitar. He grew up listening to the music his parents listened to: R&B, jazz, classical, opera, gospel, and blues. He said, "My parents were very supportive of the fact that I loved music early on, and they took me to a lot of shows." Around the age of seven, he saw the Jackson 5 perform at Madison Square Garden, and they became his favorite performers. His father, who was a jazz promoter, was friends with Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Short, Miles Davis, and other jazz greats; Ellington played "Happy Birthday" for him on his fifth birthday.
In 1974, at the age of 10, Kravitz relocated to Los Angeles with his parents when his mother landed her role on The Jeffersons. At his mother's urging, he joined the California Boys Choir for three years, where he performed a classical repertoire, and sang with the Metropolitan Opera. He took part in Mahler's Third Symphony at the Hollywood Bowl. It was in Los Angeles that Kravitz was introduced to rock music, listening to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Kiss, Pink Floyd, and the Who, and he said he was "attracted to the cool style, the girls, the rock 'n' roll lifestyle." During his junior high school years, he was also introduced to marijuana; he has stated that he was a "pothead" during his youth. His other musical influences at the time included Fela Kuti, Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye, Pharoah Sanders, and Miles Davis. Later influences came in the form of John Lennon and Bob Marley. Kravitz attended Beverly Hills High School, where he was classmates with Maria McKee, Nicolas Cage, and Slash. He taught himself to play piano and bass and made friends with Zoro, who would later become his long-time collaborator. His parents divorced in 1985.
With record labels reportedly telling him his music was not "black enough" or "white enough", Kravitz decided to record an album on his own under the name Romeo Blue. Kravitz had met the recording engineer, keyboardist, and bassist Henry Hirsch in 1985 when recording a demo at his Hoboken, New Jersey, recording studio. The two shared an interest in using real instruments and vintage recording equipment, as well as a love of R&B, jazz, and rock. Kravitz would go on to collaborate with Hirsch on most of his albums. Kravitz began working on his debut album with Hirsch over the next year and a half, with Kravitz's father paying for the studio time. Kravitz met saxophonist Karl Denson and invited him to play on the song "Let Love Rule". Kravitz was so impressed with his playing that Denson played on much of the album. Beginning in the late 1980s, Denson toured with Kravitz for five years.
In October 1988, after completing most of the recording, Kravitz approached friend Stephen Elvis Smith, who had served as the music supervisor on Lisa Bonet's The Cosby Show spin-off A Different World. Smith had also worked with Kravitz's mother on the hit sitcom The Jeffersons. Kravitz urged Smith to manage his career and assist him in finding a record deal. In less than a month of shopping the recordings, five labels (Warner Bros, Elektra, Geffen, Capitol, and Virgin) were in a bidding war for Kravitz. Eventually, a deal was made with Virgin Records in January 1989, and signed by Virgin A&R executive Nancy Jeffries. The label was "excited" about the music he was making, music inspired by his relationship with wife Bonet and their new daughter, Zoe. On Smith's urging, Kravitz dropped the name Romeo Blue and reclaimed the Lenny Kravitz moniker. About his time as Romeo Blue, Kravitz said, "Ultimately, it got me back to myself. And when I finally did accept myself for myself, music started flowing out of me."
In 1991, Kravitz released his second album, Mama Said. The songs on the album were about Bonet and documented his depression over their breakup. The single, "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over", went to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. A second single "Always on the Run", a tribute to his mother, featured Slash on guitar. "Stand by My Woman" and "What Goes Around Comes Around" followed. Sean Lennon co-wrote and played piano on the song "All I Ever Wanted".
In 1985, Kravitz met actress Lisa Bonet backstage at a concert in California. They were close friends for two years before beginning a relationship. In 1987, Kravitz moved back to New York City, to move in with Bonet. They eloped in Las Vegas on November 16, 1987, her 20th birthday. Kravitz, still known as Romeo Blue at the time, found himself in the headlines of tabloids. He and Bonet had a daughter, Zoë Isabella Kravitz, on December 1, 1988, who became an actress, singer and model. Kravitz and Bonet separated in 1991. They divorced amicably in 1993.
Kravitz dated French singer and model Vanessa Paradis from 1991 to 1996. He began dating Brazilian model Adriana Lima in 2001, and they lived together before becoming engaged in 2002. The engagement was called off in August 2003. Lima was featured in the music video for Kravitz's 2002 single "Yesterday Is Gone (My Dear Kay)". He briefly dated and was engaged to Australian actress Nicole Kidman from 2003 to 2004.
Kravitz identifies himself as a Christian in a religious sense "through choice" but stated: "I'm also a Jew. It's all the same to me." During another interview, he stated: "I'm half Jewish, I'm half black, I look in-between." He notes that spirituality "has been an important issue in [his] growth", citing his upbringing by parents of different faiths. Such spirituality is prominently featured in many of his songs, such as the lyrics on his album Baptism, and a tattoo on his back which is inscribed with "My Heart Belongs to Jesus Christ". In 2011, he stated that his 2005 religious commitment to remain celibate until remarriage was unchanged. In a 2014 interview with Men's Health, however, he reconsidered his previous stance. In 2024, Kravitz reaffirmed his desire to remain celibate once again, stating that it was his father's infidelity that inspired him to make a change. "After the marriage, [to ex-wife Lisa Bonet] I became more like him. I was becoming a player... I didn't like it. I didn't want to be that guy. So I had to tackle that and it took years... by taking responsibility. Discipline. Not letting my own desires take over." Kravitz stated in the same interview that he had not been in a romantic relationship for 9 years at that point.
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| Husband | Lisa Bonet (m. 1987-1993) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Lenny Kravitz's net worth is estimated to be around $90 million. His earnings come from a successful music career, with over 40 million albums sold worldwide, as well as lucrative acting and business ventures.
In 1994, Kravitz recorded "Main Squeeze" with Teena Marie from her Passion Play CD. Kravitz also made a video to pay tribute to Teena Marie when she suddenly died on December 26, 2010. He recorded a funk-rock version of the song "Deuce" for the KISS cover album Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved. The track featured Stevie Wonder on harmonica and background vocals.
His cover version of the Guess Who's hit "American Woman" won him another Grammy at the Grammy Awards of 2000 and helped the Guess Who's song reach a new audience. Kravitz's version of the song originally came from the soundtrack of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and was added to 5 as a bonus track in 1999. Kravitz worked on two songs for Michael Jackson's Invincible album released in 2001; a snippet of "Another Day" was leaked, and the full version was officially released on the album Michael in 2010.
Career, Business, and Investments
- Music Career: Kravitz's music career spans over three decades, with notable albums like "Let Love Rule" (1989) and "5" (1998). His hit singles include "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" and "Fly Away."
- Acting Ventures: He has appeared in films such as "Precious" (2009), "The Hunger Games" (2012), and "The Butler" (2013).
- Business Ventures: Kravitz has delved into fashion, often attending high-profile fashion events, and has explored interior design through his company, Kravitz Design.
- Writing for Others: He has written songs for artists like Madonna ("Justify My Love") and Vanessa Paradis ("Be My Baby").
Aside from his music career, Kravitz has acted in films including Precious (2009) and the first two installments of The Hunger Games film series (2012–13). In addition, he also founded the creative studio Kravitz Design Inc. Kravitz was previously married to Lisa Bonet, with whom he has a daughter, Zoë Kravitz.
In January 2006, Kravitz contributed "Breathe" to absoluttracks, a project sponsored by Absolut Vodka. This song was re-mixed by ten musical producers and distributed via the internet. Kravitz appeared in the audience of Madonna's Confessions Tour (2006) during numerous shows. He later joined Madonna live on stage to play guitar on the song, "I Love New York", at the last of four Paris shows. Kravitz founded a design firm named Kravitz Design, stating if he hadn't been a musician he would have been a designer. Kravitz Design, focused on interior and furniture design, has designed residential spaces, as well as a chandelier for the crystal company Swarovski, named "Casino Royale".
Kravitz Design is a New York City–based company founded by Kravitz in 2003. Kravitz Design focuses on commercial, residential and product creative direction and design.
Social Network
Lenny Kravitz is active on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, where he engages with his fans and shares insights into his life and career.
Education
Kravitz attended P.S. 6 elementary school in New York City and later moved to Los Angeles, where he attended Beverly Hills High School before dropping out to pursue his music career.