All About Lana Del Rey’s Parents, Robert Grant and Patricia Hill

Lana Del Rey’s music is known for its glamorous, unearthly quality, but the singer had a fairly normal upbringing.

Born Elizabeth Grant in 1986, her parents, dad Robert Grant and mom Patricia Hill, moved their family from New York to Lake Placid, New York when she was one year old. They left their advertising jobs and settled in a small town, eventually having two more children.

While Robert and Patricia had traditional career expectations for their daughter, her talent was undeniable from childhood, and they are proud of her success.

“Despite all that resistance out there, she persevered and continued to make music. She stuck to her own unique aesthetic,” Robert told PEOPLE in 2023. “She’s finally being recognized for the extraordinary songwriter that she is. She really is a poet — and then you combine that with that angelic voice.”

After collaborating on a song from Del Rey’s 2021 album Blue fencesRobert started his own music career and released his debut album, Lost at seain 2023.

Here’s everything you need to know about Lana Del Rey’s parents, Robert Grant and Patricia Hill.

They got married in 1982 and have three children

Rob Grant and Patricia Hill on their wedding day in 1982.

Rob Grant’s Instagram

Robert and Patricia met while working at Gray Advertising in New York. Per The New York Timesthey were married on June 13, 1982 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church in Patricia’s hometown of Ridgewood, New Jersey.

In 1986, they had their first child, Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, now known as Lana Del Rey. Their second daughter Caroline Grant was born in 1989 and their son Charlie Hill-Grant was born in 1993.

Caroline, who goes by the nickname “Chuck”, is now an established photographer and has photographed her famous sister many times. She is also credited as a co-writer on Del Rey’s song “Sweet Carolina” from her eighth studio album Blue fences.

Charlie was also involved in his sister’s projects. In 2020, he recorded Del Rey’s home video for her release Interview Magazine cover.

They worked in advertising in New York

Rob Grant and Patricia Hill.

Rob Grant’s Instagram

Robert and Patricia met as associates at Gray Advertising in New York, where they worked as a copywriter and assistant account manager.

Previously, Robert studied at Prescott College in Arizona, and Patricia graduated from Bradford College in Massachusetts and Syracuse University in New York.

They moved their growing family to Lake Placid, New York

Rob Grant.

Rob Grant’s Instagram

When Del Rey was one year old, Robert and Patricia left their advertising careers and moved from New York to Lake Placid, New York. There, Robert opened his own furniture company and dabbled in real estate, before becoming a successful investor in web domains. Meanwhile, Patricia worked as a teacher.

Growing up, the singer was unhappy with the slow, quiet lifestyle of upstate New York and longed to return to the city.

“It was really, really quiet,” she said in an interview with Rolling stone 2014. “I’ve always been waiting to come back to New York City. School was hard. The traditional education system didn’t really work for me.”

They sent Del Rey to boarding school as a troubled teenager

Rob Grant and Patricia Hill.

Rob Grant’s Instagram

At the age of 14 or 15, Del Rey started drinking alcohol and hanging out with older kids at school, which worried her parents.

“In small towns, you kind of grow up fast because you don’t have as much to do,” she said Rolling stone 2014. “So you’re out there with everyone else who’s already graduated, and that’s totally normal. But everyone in my family just didn’t like it.”

She continued, “I was misdirecting my energy. I started going out all the time and missing school a bit and yes, I got in trouble.” At the time, Del Rey attended the same school where her mother worked.

Del Rey “lost” the family car because of her drinking, she said Sydney Morning Herald in 2014, which she said was the final straw for her parents. Robert and Patricia decided to send her to Kent, a private boarding school in Connecticut where her uncle was the admissions officer.

In Kent, she became close to a young teacher who introduced her to great writers.

“I was lonely,” she said Messenger. “I had a teacher who was my only friend at school. His name was Gene. He read to us Leaves of grass and we read Lolita in class, and it changed my world, which was a really lonely world. I didn’t relate to anyone in the class and when I found these writers, I knew they were my people.”

They saw Del Rey’s musical talent at an early age

Rob Grant and Patricia Hill.

Rob Grant’s Instagram

In an interview with Inman in 2023, Robert said he could tell Del Rey had musical talent “from the time she walked.”

“She sang before she walked,” he recalled. “She was literally like a little songbird and had a beautiful voice, even then. And you could tell she was fascinated by music. And then, through elementary school, she would be in all the plays and musicals, and then in junior high, in high school, so it was always there.”

Robert also noted that while talent doesn’t necessarily lead to success, Del Rey had an innate ambition that led her to stardom.

“I have many fathers who come up to me and have very talented daughters, and they always say, ‘What’s the secret?’ ” He said. “And I say, there’s really no secret. It’s about whether that kid has an extraordinary ambition to succeed, against all odds, and I mean all. And that’s Lana Del Rey.

They had traditional career expectations from Del Rey

Rob Grant, Patricia Hill and Lana Del Rey.

Rob Grant’s Instagram

Despite Del Rey’s obvious talent, her parents did not expect her to pursue a career in music. The singer said that because of her troubled teenage years, Robert and Patricia had traditional career expectations for her that were “geared towards my safety”.

“Most of my musical world was kept under wraps,” she said Sydney Morning Herald 2014. “I don’t want to say it was a frivolous prospect, but we have nurses in the family and teachers, and it was a more reliable profession.”

Del Rey herself said that she did not even expect to have a life full of stars.

“By the time I was 15, I knew I was probably going to stay there and live there,” she said of her hometown in a 2014 interview. Rolling stone. “I mean, I had a vision for myself, definitely, at that point. I didn’t see myself becoming a singer or anything like that. I just wanted to grow up, get married and have fun. To have your own life, your own place.”

Robert has collaborated with Del Rey — and has his own music career

Chuck Grant

In June 2023, Robert released his debut album, Lost at sea. The 14-track project features piano music with almost no vocals (except for a few contributions from Del Rey) and was inspired by his childhood on the shores of Rhode Island.

“When I play the piano, I often drift into an almost hypnotic state,” Robert told PEOPLE at the time of the album’s release. “I can remember and imagine many, many times when I’ve been on the ocean, and it all flows through me straight into the music.”

Robert became interested in music as a teenager and taught himself the piano. During his advertising days, he wrote several country songs with his cousin and friend, country songwriter Phil Madeira. The pair pitched one of their songs to a record label on Nashville’s Music Row, but were ultimately rejected.

Years later, when Del Rey was working on her 2021 album Blue fences, Robert was again inspired to create music. While improvising the song on the piano, Del Rey heard him and began composing the lyrics.

“She started singing the lyrics and within 30 or 40 minutes we wrote ‘Sweet Carolina,’ the last song,” he told PEOPLE.

Robert said he and his daughter wrote a total of “four or five beautiful songs” together, including a song called “Sunshine” that didn’t make the final version of Del Rey’s 2023 album. Did you know there is a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.

Robert doesn’t mind being called “nepo dad”

Rob Grant and Lana Del Rey.

Rob Grant’s Instagram

Following the news of Roberto’s album in February 2023, fans quickly coined him “Nepo Daddy”, a play on the popular “nepo baby” phenomenon.

Despite the negative connotation attached to “nepo babies”, Robert fully embraced the title.

“I thought, ‘Oh, s—, that’s fantastic. I have to go get that domain.’ I want to make goods. I want to create a brand around this thing,” he told PEOPLE. “I leaned right on him, hugged him and really liked it. Then, of course, it exploded. Now I’m Nepo Daddy, and that’s okay. I’ve been called many things – Robster, Daddy Del Rey, Papa Del Rey, Robster Lobster and now, Nepo Daddy.”

Kesha’s mom, singer-songwriter Pebe Sebert, joined the conversation on Xu (formerly Twitter), jokingly writing: “Is he free?.”

“God bless him. Of course, I’m married. I have a wife, so we want to clarify that, but I thank her for her support – said Robert.

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Source: HIS Education