Forgetting the lyrics onstage with Bob Dylan and being father to Catwoman,
Lenny Kravitz has come a long way from living in his busted rental car.
Lenny Kravitz was born as Leonard Albert Kravitz on May 26, 1964, in Brooklyn,
N.Y to a Jewish father and African-American actress, Roxie Roker. His dad worked as a
television producer, and his mom was well-known for being a part of the show, 'The Jeffersons'.
Even though he came from a privileged upbringing, he still had to endure racial remarks because
of his interracial background. According to Amo Mama, Kravitz's parents were very
different from each other, with the singer even admitting that he shared a different
relationship with his mom and dad. For Kravitz, his mom was loving and kind, saying about her -
"She wasn't someone who would gossip about people. And she was a very good gauge of character."
"She put others first, um she was incredibly kind, and uh, and very fair."
As for his father, Kravitz believed that his father was someone who believed in
tough love and tried to discipline his son. That said, his father did love him,
but at the same time, Kravitz couldn't help but be scared of him when he was little.
Their family ended up in Hollywood because of Roker's acting commitments,
and it was there that Kravitz discovered his passion for music. He wrote about his
roots in his 2020 memoir 'Let Love Rule,' saying -
"I am deeply two-sided: black and white, Jewish and Christian, Manhattan and Brooklynite."
His childhood was essentially made up of extremes. The Associated Press
reports that the singer would spend time in a relatively rough Brooklyn
neighborhood and also at a fancy apartment building in Manhattan.
Even his food was diverse, as he tried everything from fancy meals to staple
food like fried fish with cornmeal. He went on to describe his lifestyle by writing -
"The extremes really work for me. I felt them. I'm comfortable living
in a car or a box or a tent or a trailer, and I'm comfortable living in a mansion."
According to Biography, even as a child, Lenny Kravitz was intrigued by music and
was a part of the California Boys Choir. The Guardian explains that
Kravitz was exploring his love for music even when he was a toddler, playing with
utensils in the kitchen. He eventually took to playing the guitar, drums, and the piano.
His aptitude for music eventually earned him a spot in the music program at Beverly Hills
High School, and it seemed that he was destined to be a musician.
According to Biography, after he left home, he struggled to break into the
music industry. Around this time, Kravitz also found out his parents decided to get a divorce.
When it came to his parents' relationship, things had been sour for a long time. His
dad had a track record for cheating on his mom from the time Kravitz was a kid.
According to Kravitz, his father was frustrated
about the fact that his wife and son were able to achieve things he didn't, adding:
"I could understand what it was with other women because he felt he needed
to be the man. Although he already was the man, and my mother treated him as
the man. But in a superficial world, she was the star, and he was not."
Despite his parents' connections in the entertainment industry,
Lenny Kravitz was determined to succeed on his own.
According to Biography, he stayed in a rented car paying a rental fee of $5 every day. When
he decided to leave his parents' home, Kravitz said in an interview with Rolling Stone:
"It wasn't that they didn't want me there. It was that I just decided that I needed
to go out and do my thing. I didn't want to live under the rules that took
place under that roof. Basically I lived in friends' houses, recording studios, cars."
Most nights, Kravitz would sleep in front of his girlfriend's home,
but that wasn’t without it’s challenges.
One day, the couple had a fight, and Kravitz slammed his car shut and broke
the window. With no window, Kravitz obviously didn’t sleep comfortably.
Around the same time, Kravitz was holding odd jobs, working in fish markets,
shoe shops, and more just to make ends meet.
In 1987, Lenny Kravitz eloped with actor Lisa Bonet. The duo had their daughter,
Zoë Kravitz a year later. Even around this time, Kravitz didn’t live lavishly. He and his budding
family were roughing it out in a loft in New York, and as Kravitz described it to The Guardian:
"It was still grungy there. Artists were squatting; people were held up [at] knifepoint."
Their bohemian life inspired later Kravitz's debut hippy-sounding album, “Let Love Rule”, but even at
the time, things were still hard. Without a label, Kravitz had to innovate and work within his means.
As for how he was inspired to come up with 'Let Love Rule',
Kravitz said that it came to him out of the blue. He wrote the words,
"Let Love Rule" on a wall and decided to work on it with a guitar after passing the wall every day.
Even though he finished the album, Kravitz found himself fighting to lock down a deal
because labels couldn't understand him and his music. Luckily, he ended up meeting with
someone at Virgin Records who loved his style and gave him a life-changing offer.
At the same time, other labels offered to sign him once they realized Virgin
was trying to nab him, but he stayed with Virgin Records,
explaining that he knew he’d get a true chance to evolve and develop with the label.
His freshman album wasn’t a huge hit, but it also wasn’t a dud either. Despite
the lackluster response, Kravitz knew he needed something bigger to make a mark on
the industry. Little did he know that the pop singer Madonna would be a part of that plan.
In 1990, he worked with the musical legend on the song, "Justify My Love." While Madonna
was believed to be taking a risk by releasing the track as the first single from her album,
'The Immaculate Collection', the gamble ended up paying off. The song
was a huge hit and even today, it’s still considered to be one of Kravitz's greatest.
He also worked as a supporting act for other notable artists like David Bowie,
Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. Although, the Bob Dylan act didn’t come without its embarrassment.
"He called me to come out to do 'Maggie's Farm,'
and uh, he's like "Come out, come out," and I didn't know the words."
When Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet separated, the singer was distraught. He struggled to
sleep and instead channeled his energy and heart into making his second album, “Mama Said.” The
emotionally charged album was largely inspired by the breakup, as Kravitz revealed to The Rolling
Stone, the song ‘It Ain’t Over ‘Till It’s Over’ was written for his ex-wife, adding:
"We were going through our break-off, which led to a divorce. We had our child and a great life
together. We were sort of mirror images of each other; she was the female version of me and I
was the male version of her and we blended together. So it was a very difficult time."
The album really helped him come to terms with the experience. Even though he slept barely two
hours a night, the album was a necessary project for him to move past the divorce.
Eventually, after their break-up, Kravitz and Bonet managed to become friends again
and put their past behind them. According to People, Kravitz even befriended his
ex-wife's former husband, popular actor Jason Momoa. Kravitz revealed that he and Lisa have
learned to love each other as friends, and the two now get along really well.
For Lenny Kravitz, being a dad to Zoe Kravitz is one of his greatest joys – it’s even obvious
in his music. Perhaps the song that this is most obvious is Kravitz’ song, “Flowers for
Zoe.” As he told Rolling Stone, "Flowers for Zoe," was a lullaby meant for his daughter.
According to Yahoo, the father-daughter duo have always been close to each other
with Kravitz even going as far as calling her a “friend” to
him. He explained the relationship more to People magazine, saying:
"She's amazing, and she's all the things that I would have hoped for. I'm a dad, you know,
but we're friends. We're very close. We talk about everything. We don't hide things from each other."
"I know Zoe has to be who she is,
and I'm not trying to stifle that nor did I ever try to stifle that."
The singer’s also been vocal about how he wishes his mom was around to
see his daughter blossom. He's certain that she would’ve been proud of her
granddaughter and how she’s turned out to be a hardworking, respectful individual.
Besides being a musician, Lenny Kravitz is also an actor and a natural performer. His debut was
in the highly acclaimed and emotional film, ‘Precious’ in 2009 where he played as a nurse.
He's also been a part of 2012's 'The Hunger Games' and 'Butler',
released in 2013. Kravitz spoke about acting once and said that he was offered many parts
but wasn’t inclined to take them for years. He explained his motives to CNN, saying:
"I just didn't find the roles very interesting –- a lot of clichéd type of stuff and really
obvious things. I didn't want to make films because I can. There's no point in that."
Kravitz added that as a child, he was attracted to acting and enjoyed getting
back to it later in life. He told Esquire that for him, the major difference between
music and acting is that music lets him indulge and focus on himself and his work.
Acting, on the other hand, requires him to be a part of a much larger project
which he finds to be a huge relief. He explained this to CNN, saying:
"It lets me get out of myself and be somebody else."
"Am I a doctor?"
"Yeah."
"I am a nurse's aide."
"Oh that's funny?"
As a Christian, Lenny Kravitz has explored his faith and belief through
music and also been open about his take on religion. According to Rolling Stone,
the musician has been drawn to religion since he was just 5-years-old.
He told the publication about strange recurring dreams that he used to have and
explained his dreams were often disturbing. Despite them being rather concerning,
they helped him understand that he couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of death.
This led him to the path of religion and in ultimately embracing the idea that
souls are meant to last. He explained to Rolling Stone magazine, saying:
"When I was 13, somebody talked to me — this kid that I knew whose father
was a minister. He started telling me about God and Christ, and then I got
this feeling over me that was just like I knew what I was hearing was correct."
He’s also clarified that while he's religious, he doesn't follow
any church in particular and thinks his relationship with God is personal. For him,
it doesn't feel necessary to go to a church or an altar to worship and pray.
Lenny Kravitz is not a stranger to mental health troubles. According to Today,
his music helped Kravitz overcome depression and deal with what he was going through.
In the interview, he emphasized that it doesn't matter whether someone is
privileged or not – problems can and do plague every one of us. He opened up to Today, saying:
"I'm a perfectionist and very hard on myself — constantly standing outside of myself and
looking and critiquing and judging, and sometimes you've gotta just ease up."
One of his albums, 'Baptism', particularly dealt with heavy topics like depression and
frustration — things that the musician once went through while touring.
He said that the album was about making it through those feelings and evolving
in many ways, including in terms of music, spirituality, and mental health. For Kravitz,
depression is something thats been a part of his life and he recognizes
that. He later added that he’s learned to work through it and take it in strides.