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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Bob Marley’s parents were Cedella Malcolm, widely known as Cedella Booker, and Norval Marley. The National Library of Jamaica gives his father’s full name as Norval St. Clair Marley. Bob was born in St. Ann, Jamaica, on February 6, 1945, and was raised chiefly by his mother.
Who were Bob Marley’s mother and father?
His mother is identified in records and biographies by several versions of her name: Cedella Malcolm, Cedella Malcolm Marley, Cedella Marley and Cedella Booker. These names refer to the same person. “Booker” is the name by which she became widely known as an author and in accounts of her life.
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His father is generally called Norval Marley. The National Library of Jamaica records his full name as Norval St. Clair Marley, while the Jamaica Information Service refers to him as Captain Norval Marley. These are source-specific forms of his name and title.
Bob Marley’s birth and family background
The Bob Marley official biography and the National Library of Jamaica both give his birth date as February 6, 1945, in St. Ann, Jamaica. The official biography says he spent his early life in Nine Miles and that Cedella was 18 when he was born.
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According to the official biography, Norval and Cedella married in 1945, and Norval’s family disapproved of the marriage. The Jamaica Information Service describes Bob as the child of an interracial marriage. Those details provide context for his family history, but they do not by themselves establish the private circumstances of his parents’ relationship.
How much contact did Bob have with his father?
The official Bob Marley biography recounts that Norval took Bob to Kingston when the boy was around five. Cedella later discovered that Bob was not attending school and brought him back to Nine Miles. The biography describes that return as the last time Bob saw his father. This is the account given by the official biography; it should not be taken as proof that there was no support or communication of any kind.
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Why accounts differ on Cedella’s age and the age gap
Sources give inconsistent details about the ages involved. The official Bob Marley biography says Cedella was 18 at Bob’s birth. The Los Angeles Times obituary says she was 18 when she married Norval and describes him as 32 years older. Simon & Schuster’s page for Cedella’s memoir says Norval was about 40 years older and that Cedella was 16 when their relationship began; a review excerpt on that page says she was 16 when she gave birth.
Those accounts conflict, so an exact age gap or a single settled account of the relationship’s beginning cannot be established from them. The clearest supported facts are the names, Bob’s birth date and place, and the official biography’s account of his childhood with Cedella.
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A first-person account from Cedella Booker
For her own perspective, Cedella Marley Booker co-wrote Bob Marley, My Son with Anthony C. Winkler. Simon & Schuster lists Taylor Trade Publishing, a February 21, 2015 publication date, 270 pages and ISBN 9781630760779. The publisher presents the book as Booker’s account of her upbringing, relationship with Norval, raising Bob in St. Ann and Kingston, and later life. It is a family member’s first-person account, not an independent neutral biography.
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