John Travolta was married to late wife Kelly Preston for 29 years before her tragic death at age 58 in 2020.
The couple had one of the most enduring love stories in Hollywood history, welcoming three children over the years. The family also faced numerous tragedies, including John and Kelly’s son Jett Travolta dying at age 16 from a seizure in 2019.
Following Preston’s own 2020 death from cancer, Travolta and his two living children have often paid tribute to her dedication as a wife, mother and Hollywood star in her own right.
“You did a great job!! We love you,” Travolta wrote in a Mother’s Day tribute to his late wife via Instagram in May 2025.
Keep scrolling for a look at John Travolta’s family life through the years:
Kelly Preston
Travolta dated Eight is Enough star Diana Hyland, French film icon Catherine Deneuve and Taxi star Marilu Henner before he met Preston while filming the 1989 comedy The Experts. Travolta and Preston eloped in Paris at the Hotel de Crillon in 1991.
During a 2018 appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan, Preston reflected on the couple eloping overseas despite the original plan to tie the knot in New York City.
“The wedding got so big and so crazy, I thought, once the florist’s assistant got an assistant, I was done,” she quipped. “We ran away, eloped and went to Paris.”
Travolta and Preston lived a private life away from the spotlight in Ocala, Florida. In 2005, Travolta credited the longevity of his marriage to regularly attending couple’s therapy sessions.
“I know for a fact that we wouldn’t be together if we hadn’t had counselling,” he said. “We used to have counseling every six months for 12 years. Relationships grow and change. If you don’t update your relationship with someone, you grow apart.
“So we updated our needs and wants from each other every six months. As we’ve evolved and got to know each other over the years, we don’t use counseling as much.
“You begin to know the techniques a counsellor uses, so when there is a problem we say, ‘OK, let’s you and I do it.’ Then you figure it out. But sure, I could have seen us separating without counseling.”
Preston made her big screen debut opposite action movie icon Charles Bronson in 1983’s 10 to Midnight, but her breakout role came in 1985’s romantic comedy Mischief. She went on to make memorable appearances in Twins, Jerry Maguire, Jack Frost and What a Girl Wants. She shared the screen with husband Travolta in 2010 comedy Old Dogs.
Travolta announced on July 12, 2020 that Preston had died following a private, two-year battle with breast cancer.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer,” he wrote via Instagram. “She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many. My family and I will forever be grateful to her doctors and nurses at MD Anderson Cancer Center, all the medical centers that have helped, as well as her many friends and loved ones who have been by her side. Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered.”
Us Weekly reported that Preston died at her family home in Clearwater, Florida and that her husband and children regarded her as “the heart and soul who kept the family united.”
Jett TravoltaPreston and Travolta’s son Jett was born in April 1992.
Jett died at age 16 after suffering a seizure while the family were visiting the Bahamas on January 2, 2009. Following Jett’s death, Kelly disclosed on daytime series The Doctors that her son had a history of seizures and developed Kawasaki syndrome — a condition that can be associated with inflammation of the arteries — when he was “very young.” Jett was also diagnosed with autism in his youth.
“I’ve had enormous loss. Nobody should have to lose a child. It’s unfathomable,” Kelly said at the time. “But I’m here to say that you can get through it. You can live again. You can want to live again.”
John released his own statement about Jett’s death in 2009, saying, “Jett was the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for. We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives.”
The Saturday Night Fever actor candidly called Jett’s death “the worst thing that’s ever happened in [his] life” during a 2014 on-stage interview at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
“The truth is, I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” he acknowledged. “Life was no longer interesting to me, so it took a lot to get me better.”
Kelly and John launched the Jett Travolta Foundation in February 2009 to raise funds and awareness for children with special needs.
John posted a loving tribute to Jett on what would have been his 33rd birthday in April 2025.
Alongside a throwback photo of the actor holding his son, he wrote, “Happy birthday Jett – I miss you so much! Love you forever!”
Ella Travolta
Ella was born in April 2000. She followed in her parents’ footsteps with a supporting role in John’s 2009 comedy Old Dogs. John lovingly described his daughter as “gracious, generous, poised, graceful and gorgeous” in 2019 while speaking to People.
In recent years, Ella has pursued music and even dedicated her 2025 EP, Colors of Love, to her late mother. She told NBC’s Today in November 2024 that she turned to dad John for advice as she navigated the music industry.
“He’s amazing and he’s so protective because he’s been in this industry — in the movie industry, in the music industry — forever, so he knows how to protect me in that sense,” she said.
In May 2025, Ella marked five years since Kelly’s death with a sweet Mother’s Day post via social media.
“Happy Mother’s Day to the strongest, most beautiful, loving, funny, smart woman I know. I love you,” she wrote.
Benjamin TravoltaKelly and John announced the birth of their son Benjamin in November 2010 — just two months before the second anniversary of Jett’s passing.
“John, Kelly and their daughter Ella Bleu are ecstatic and very happy about the newest member of the family,” a family spokesperson said at the time. “Both mother and baby are healthy and doing beautifully.”
Following Kelly’s death in 2010, John opened up about the profound impact of the loss on their then-10-year-old son.
“[Benjamin said] ‘Because mom passed away, I’m afraid you’re going to’,” John revealed on Kevin Hart’s Hart to Heart talk show. “I said, ‘Well, it’s a very different thing.’And I went through the differences about my longevity and her limited life. I said, ‘But you know, Ben, you always love the truth and I’m going to tell you the truth about life. Nobody knows when they’re gonna go or when they’re going to stay.’”
He went on: “[I told him], ‘Your brother [Jett] left at 16. Too young. Your mother left at 57. That was too young. But who’s to say? I could die tomorrow. You could. Anybody can. So let’s look at it like it’s part of life. You don’t know exactly. You just do your best at trying to live the longest you can.’”
John’s Siblings
John has five siblings — sisters Ellen, Ann and Margaret as well as brothers Sam and Joey. Sam and Ann have largely lived outside the spotlight while their four siblings became actors.
Joey pursued a music career in the late 1970s, before shifting to acting by the early 1980s. He worked with legendary director John Landis on four movies, including Sylvester Stallone’s 1991 comedy Oscar and 1994’s Beverly Hills Cop III. Sam later became a disability advocate and founded Inclusion Films to make filmmaking more welcoming for people with disabilities.
Margaret had numerous small roles in major Hollywood hits, such as Sandra Bullock’s 1995 rom-com While You Were Sleeping and Martin Lawrence’s 2003 buddy comedy National Security. She has appeared in minor roles in many of her brother John’s films as well.
Ellen was a successful TV star throughout the 1980s, initially for playing Fonzie’s aunt Louisa Arcola Delvecchio in Happy Days and spinoff Joanie Loves Chachi. She spent four seasons as a cast member on Charles in Charge, in which she played Scott Baio’s onscreen mother. In more recent years, Ellen has played Gloria Cerullo in General Hospital in multiple stints.
