Paul McCartney's 8 Grandchildren: Everything to Know

Paul McCartney can’t help but sing the praises of his eight grandchildren, or “chillers,” as he calls them.

The Beatles legend is known as “Grandude” to his grandchildren, who include daughter Stella McCartney’s four children and daughter Mary McCartney’s four sons. “One of my grandsons — who used to call me ‘Grandpa’ — happened to say ‘Grandpa’ one day and it kind of stuck,” McCartney told the BBC in 2019. “So the other kids started calling me ‘Grandpa’.”

McCartney wrote two picture books, Hey Grandude! and Grandude’s green submarine. Both were inspired by his grandchildren, with whom he enjoys dancing, making music and watching football.

“I’m really pleased with how Hey Grandude! received, because this was a very personal story for me, celebrating Grandudes everywhere and their relationships and adventures with their grandchildren,” he said in a statement to PEOPLE. “I love that it has become a bedtime read for grandchildren all over the world.”

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The “Maybe I’m Amazed” singer is also proud to have a “pretty normal” relationship with his grandchildren.

“You know, I love them and I love being a grandfather. And we spend a lot of time together,” he told Virgin Radio The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky in 2019. “We don’t live near each other, but we go on vacations together, like Christmas. And in the summer we’ll see each other. And then sometimes me and Nancy pick them up from school. So that’s nice.”

He continued: “It’s great fun, you know, because you don’t know how to do it as a parent. It’s an ad-lib, it’s the biggest ad-lib. So when the grandparents come, it’s like, ‘Okay, what do we do here?’ And that’s why I say joy is like picking them up at school and they love it, I don’t think it’s just us, I think the ice cream has something to do with it!”

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Although the McCartney family is one of the most famous clans in the world, Stella hopes that her children will grow up peacefully.

“I lived on a farm, but I went on tour and I knew crazy famous people, like crazy. And for my kids, it’s no different, they go to the farm and they’re in the field, they’re getting muddy and they’re falling, and then they come here and they’re surrounded crazy famous people,” she said Carrier magazine in 2016. “I’m worried about that. But I think I did well and I hope they do well.”

The fashion designer also told the outlet that her children had a “great relationship” with their grandfather. “I like to see them with Grandpa, or Grandudo as they call him,” she said. “They’re really proud of him and excited about it [his music].”

Here’s everything you need to know about Paul McCartney’s eight grandchildren: Arthur, Elliot, Miller, Beckett, Bailey, Sam, Reiley and Sid.

Arthur Alistair Donald, 25

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The eldest of the musical icon’s grandchildren, Arthur Alistair Donald, was born in England on April 3, 1999. He is the eldest son of Mary and her ex-husband, TV producer Alistair Donald.

Arthur attended University College School in North London before going to America to study history at Yale University. He graduated in 2021. Arthur is an investor at the Collaborative Fund, and previously interned at Lucasfilm and worked as an analyst at Beehouse and Goldman Sachs. He is not publicly present on social networks.

In 2018, he was rumored to be dating Ava Phillippe, daughter of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, after they were photographed together in London, as seen in Vanity Fair. They were both in town to support family projects, and Arthur joined his mother and grandfather at an exhibition for My generationwhile Phillippe attended the London premiere of her mum’s film, A wrinkle in time.

That same year, Arthur was spotted at Wimbledon with his mum, supporting his aunt at the opening of Stella McCartney’s flagship store in London and celebrating McCartney’s birthday at a French restaurant in London’s Mayfair.

In June 2024, Phoebe Gates, daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates, confirmed that she was dating Arthur when she called him “my boyfriend” in her graduation diary for Nylon.

Elliot Donald, 21

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Elliot Donald was born in 2002, five years before his parents, Mary and Alistair, divorced in 2007. His mother tried to emulate the “as normal as possible” upbringing she had with Elliot and his brothers. I think it will be a challenge for them and where they will study, but also locally so that they feel that their London is the area where they live, and not that they have to travel miles away,” Mary told reporter Alain Elkann about her children in 2020. Like his older brother, Elliot, attended University College. He graduated in 2020 before heading to New York University. Elliot also keeps a low profile. “My whole family is artistic and has a creative eye, but none of them have a career yet,” Mary Elkannu said. “I have to be very careful with them about social media because I don’t think any kids should be Instagramming their location or pictures of their school uniform. There should be privacy.”

Miller Alasdhair James Willis, 19

Stella and her husband, designer and former magazine publisher Alasdhair Willis, welcomed their first child, son Miller Alasdhair James Willis, on February 25, 2005, in London. He weighed 7 lbs., 7 oz. “Both mother and father are thrilled with the news,” a rep for the couple told PEOPLE at the time. Miller — whose middle name honors his great-grandfather, James Paul McCartney, and his uncle, James Louis McCartney — was born just days before Stella was due to show her 2006 collection in Paris. Although she was not “physically present to take a bow,” the show went ahead as scheduled, as she was “working on the collection and was able to complete it before giving birth,” her rep said. After giving birth to Miller, Stella made ground rules for herself about how much time she would spend outside the home. “I had a rule of four days when I first had Miller, and then it slowly went to three days and two days,” said the designer Interview 2012 “I get really upset when I’m away with the kids for too long. I’m excited to get to a place where I can sometimes take the kids with me.” Miller dipped his toes into fashion at a young age—when he was 4, he was drawing monsters and superheroes for T-shirts in Stella’s 2009 GapKids collection, according to W Magazine.Stella’s children don’t appear to have public social media accounts, but Miller was greeted by his mother on his 12th birthday in 2017. “You are everything to me,” she wrote on Instagram. Miller has also not made many public appearances, but was seen with his parents at a UEFA Champions League football match in London in March 2015.

Bailey Linda Olwyn Willis, 17

McCartney’s fourth grandchild, Bailey Linda Olwyn Willis, is the second child and first daughter welcomed by Stella and Alasdhair. Bailey was born in London on December 8, 2006, weighing 7 lbs., 14 oz. One of her middle names honors Stella’s late mother, Linda McCartney, who died of breast cancer in 1998. Like her siblings, Bailey attends school in London. Stella said that she is a good mother with all four children. “I try to spend as much time as possible with my children,” she told Purple Dragon. “I take them to school every morning, I do four different drop offs. I have unconditional love for my children and they know I’m there.” She also told the paper that she tries to include her children in her professional life to “make it a bit of a family process”, adding that her children “love to wear the clothes” she designs.

Beckett Robert Lee Willis, 16

Stella and Alasdhair’s third child, son Beckett Robert Lee Willis, was born on January 8, 2008 in London. Beckett is the grandson who helped give McCartney the nickname “Grandude.” “One of them, who shall remain nameless — Beckett — just said one day, ‘Hey, Grandude.’ He started calling me Grandude,” the singer said The Late Show with Stephen Colbert 2019 “So I thought it was a great idea, so I started writing some stories.”

During the interview, the former Beatle also showed his cell phone case, which had a picture of him with all eight of his grandchildren.

Sam Aboud, 16

Simon Aboud Instagram

In March 2008, word spread that Mary and her then-boyfriend, director Simon Aboud, were expecting their first child together. They welcomed their son Sam Aboud on August 11, 2008. Simon gave his “beautiful boy Sam” a sweet tribute in honor of his son’s 13th birthday. “I wish we could go back to the Superman outfit, but I love the journey you’re on,” he wrote on Instagram. Both Sam and his younger brother Sid play football. Their dad shared a sweet snap of the pair rocking jerseys in 2018 and another photo of Sam’s player of the week trophy in 2015. And while it’s unknown if Sam will follow in his grandfather’s musical footsteps, in 2015 Simon shared a video of a then-7-year-old Sam playing the piano. Mary likes to keep her four sons out of the spotlight, but she’s not shy about being gentle with her family.”​​​​I love to kiss. I love to kiss my husband, I love to kiss my kids, I love to kiss my horse,” she said. The Guardian in 2022

Reiley Dilys Stella Willis, 13

In June 2010, Stella’s representative confirmed Women’s daily wear that she and her husband Alasdhair are expecting their fourth child. The couple welcomed a daughter, Reiley Dilys Stella Willis, on November 23, 2010, in London. Reiley weighed 8 lbs. and was born in the same month that Stella launched the first collection of children’s clothing for her brand. “My kids are pretty head to toe in my stuff,” Stella said The Seattle Times 2016 “But they have no choice because they don’t earn a salary yet. Until they earn their own money, they wear my clothes whether they like it or not.” Reiley’s mom is a sustainability activist who is a laughing stock Telegraph talked to her about overcrowding in 2021. “Oh God, I have four kids, so you can’t ask me that,” she said. “It wasn’t very sustainable of me… But I hope my children will do good and change the planet.” It seems that the four McCartney-Willis children are already on an environmentally and socially conscious path. “I’m very, very green, so it’s hard for the kids to learn a lot more. But they’re still young,” she told the outlet. “What I like is that everything is obvious to them: of course women should have equal rights, of course black people should have equal rights, of course transgender people should live freely.” Although all four of her children stay away from the public eye, Stella shared with Interview that her favorite place is “in the field on a horse, and my children on small horses behind me.” They often spend weekends at McCartney-Willis Farm in Wiltshire, England, where they ride their horses and look after the garden and sheep.

Sid Aboud, 12

Simon Aboud Instagram

Mary married Simon in 2010. They welcomed their second child and Mary’s fourth son, Sid Aboud, on September 3, 2011. Simon often shares photos of his sons on Instagram, especially in honor of their birthdays, although he is always careful to keep their faces hidden. McCartney’s youngest grandson is almost always wearing a soccer jersey, either of his team or of Liverpool FC, in his pictures. He is also already following his grandfather in playing the guitar. Simon wished his younger son a happy 9th birthday on social media in 2019. “Our beautiful boy who continues to make us laugh,” he wrote. “You’re the best distraction, crazy kitty.” A year earlier, the proud papa also shared a sweet black-and-white throwback photo, taken by Mary when Sid was about 3 years old, writing that Sid “just fills the frame with his ‘Sid’ energy. Glad to say nothing has changed . ”

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Source: HIS Education