Lauryn Hill, who rarely is available to the media, has been getting more attention lately. For the first time in years, she recently reunited with her former group, The Fugees, for a performance last weekend at a Philadelphia music festival.
It might have been one of their last reunions for some time to come as, one of the members, Pras Michel, was found guilty in April of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., witness tampering and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government and faces up to 20 years in prison.
The Philadelphia performance was in the midst of Hill select-city tour.
Out of the Public Eye
Much of Hill’s diminished visibility may be due to her highly publicized three-month prison sentence in 2013 for not reporting more than $2.3 million in income by intentionally failing to file tax returns for five years.
Another factor in her reclusive celebrity life is her full-time focus on being a mother. She is the mother of five children with Rohan Marley, son of the iconic reggae singer Bob Marley. She also has one other child whose father has not been named.
“Everybody asks me ‘What’s your next move?’, and right now my focus is just being a good mother,” she told The Guardian in a 2003 interview. “If I could do that properly, I’d be really, really happy. If I could be half the parent that my parents were to me, then I’d be very happy.”
She added, “Like any woman on the planet who decides to have children, that’s an extremely important role. You have these empty vessels that you have to fill with all the information, and all the knowledge and all the proper tools for them to end up being happy, healthy, compassionate, caring people. That’s really crucial to me. So I love music, and I always put my 100% into making music, but now I have to put 200% into being a mother.”
Even during her tax issues, her focus seemed to be on her children.
Following a guilty plea, she was sentenced to three months in prison in July 2013 and three months of home confinement with electronic monitoring. She also had to pay a $60,000 fine.
Hill, who at the peak of her career has a net worth of $25 million, now purportedly has a net worth of $9 million. Although there are no public details of her estate planning, this could be a fortune she could leave for her six children to inherit.
The Fugees
In 1996, the Fugees released their album “The Score,” which was a huge commercial success. The album sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
Hill co-wrote and sang on many of the album’s songs, including the hit singles “Killing Me Softly with His Song” and “No Woman, No Cry.”
In 1998, Hill released her debut solo album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” The album is often listed as one of the top albums of the century. Between 1996 and 1998, Hill earned an estimated $25 million from touring and record sales. She was one of the highest paid entertainers in the world at the time.
Hill’s financial success did not last, however. In the years since her heyday, she has struggled financially due to many factors, including unpaid taxes, lawsuits, and declining record sales. She also became known for being unpredictable, canceling or not showing up for scheduled performances.
The singer, who has won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” is the only woman to win five Grammy Awards in one night.
Hill’s Kids
These children are part of the Marley family’s $500 million legacy.
Zion Marley, her eldest child, is a 25-year-old father to his son Zephaniah, making Hill a grandmother.
Selah Marley, 24, is a model and singer who once wore and defended Kanye West’s controversial “WHITE LIVES MATTER” shirt, saying those who objected had a “hive mind mentality.”
Joshua Marley, 21, who announced the birth of his first child, son Caleb, in 2022, is pursuing a career in music.
John Marley, the youngest Marley son, is a 20-year-old student at St. John’s University.
Sara, 13, is a high school student.
Lauryn’s sixth and youngest child, Micah Hill, was born in 2011.
