Pelé: Three Marriages, Seven Children, and the Daughter He Denied Until DNA Proved Him Wrong
The greatest footballer ever denied his own daughter for decades — she won in court, but he never showed up when she was dying
Key Facts
What Happened
Pelé — born Edson Arantes do Nascimento — is widely considered the greatest football player in history. Three World Cup victories, over 1,000 career goals, and a global celebrity that transcended sport. His personal life, however, was marked by a pattern of marriages, affairs, denied children, and eventual reckonings. He was married three times, fathered at least seven children with four different women, and spent decades denying one daughter's existence even after DNA proved he was her father.
Pelé's first marriage to Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi in 1966 produced three children: Kelly Cristina, Jennifer, and Edson Cholbi (known as Edinho). They divorced in 1982 after Pelé's numerous affairs became impossible to ignore. His second marriage, to gospel singer and psychologist Assíria Lemos Seixas in 1994, produced twins Joshua and Celeste in 1996. That marriage ended in divorce in 2008. His third marriage, to Japanese-Brazilian businesswoman Marcia Aoki in 2016, lasted until his death on December 29, 2022.
The most painful chapter of Pelé's personal life involved Sandra Regina Machado Nascimento, born in 1963 to Anisia Machado, a housemaid Pelé had an affair with during his first marriage. Sandra spent her life seeking acknowledgment from her famous father. Pelé denied paternity for years, refusing to submit to DNA testing. In 1993, a Brazilian court ordered DNA testing and confirmed Pelé was her father. Sandra was granted the right to use the surname Nascimento in 1996 after a five-year legal battle. Despite the court ruling, Pelé reportedly never fully embraced the relationship.
Sandra died of breast cancer in October 2006 at age 42. According to reports, she attempted to see Pelé before her death through her husband, but Pelé did not come. He did not attend her funeral, sending a wreath instead. In a final twist, Pelé included Sandra alongside his six other children in his £13 million will, and just one day before Pelé's own death in December 2022, he met Sandra's two sons — his grandsons — for the first time. The reconciliation came not with his daughter, who died 16 years earlier, but with the next generation. Brazilian law, which requires DNA testing when paternity is disputed and grants children born out of wedlock equal inheritance rights, ultimately ensured Sandra's children were not erased from Pelé's legacy.
Legal Breakdown: Paternity, DNA Testing & Legacy
Brazilian Paternity Law and DNA Testing
Brazilian law takes a strong stance on paternity rights. Under the Brazilian Civil Code, any child can file a paternity action, and courts can order DNA testing. A father's refusal to submit to DNA testing creates a legal presumption of paternity. Additionally, Brazil's 1988 Constitution eliminated all legal distinctions between children born in and out of wedlock — all children have equal rights to inheritance and parental support regardless of the parents' marital status. This is broadly similar to U.S. law, where all states now grant equal rights to children regardless of their parents' marital status, though enforcement mechanisms vary.
Equal Inheritance for All Children
Brazilian inheritance law reserves a mandatory portion of the estate (called the 'legítima') for heirs — including all biological children. A parent cannot disinherit a biological child under Brazilian law (with very narrow exceptions). This is different from most U.S. states, where parents generally have broad freedom to disinherit adult children (Louisiana being the notable exception with forced heirship provisions). Pelé's inclusion of Sandra in his will was consistent with Brazilian legal requirements, not merely a gesture of reconciliation.
The Cost of Paternity Denial
Pelé's decades-long denial of Sandra cost him not just money (legal fees, settlements) but his relationship with his daughter during her entire adult life. From a legal perspective, early acknowledgment of paternity typically results in more manageable child support obligations and better co-parenting outcomes. From a human perspective, Sandra's story is a tragedy: she spent her life fighting for recognition that a simple DNA test could have provided in childhood, died without her father at her side, and achieved posthumous inclusion in his will only because Brazilian law required it.
What This Means for Your Divorce
- →DNA does not lie. If paternity is in question, address it early. Decades of denial only compound the legal, financial, and emotional costs.
- →Brazilian law's equal treatment of all children — regardless of parents' marital status — is a model that most modern legal systems have adopted. If you have children from outside your marriage, understand that they have legal rights.
- →Forced heirship provisions (like Brazil's) mean you cannot simply exclude a child from your estate. Estate planning must account for all biological children, whether acknowledged or not.
- →The greatest regret in many family law cases is not the money — it is the lost time. Sandra died at 42 without a meaningful relationship with her father. No court can restore that.
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