Have you ever wondered about Tyla’s siblings and parents? Well, keep reading.
Accomplished songstress Tyla saw global success with her 2023 single “Water,” earning her the first-ever Grammy Award for ‘Best African Music Performance’ this past February. From trending TikToks to radio repeats, the Afrobeat bop dominated the charts and lived rent-free in our headphones.
Following the release of her breakout hit, “Getting Late,” Tyla inked a joint deal with Epic Records and Fax Records in 2021. Sometime after, she landed another viral song, “Been Thinking,” which garnered placements on U.S. lists, and a spot on Chris Brown’s ‘Under the Influence Tour’ last year. Her debut, self-titled album, Tyla, graced the shelves on March 22, 2024, with guest appearances from Tems, Gunna, Skillibeng, Becky G, and Travis Scott.
As Tyla mastered the art of Y2K-influenced melodies guaranteed to bring you to your feet, her ability to merge her South African roots with a fresh new wave of R&B/Pop elements has catapulted her to international stardom.
However, aside from her fast-growing career and commercial accolades, fans have been curious about the 22-year-old’s family life.
Here’s what we know about Tyla’s siblings and parents.
Who Are Tyla’s Siblings?
It appears that Tyla has an older sister, Whitney, a younger sister, Sydney, and a baby brother, Tyrese. Tyla and her siblings were seemingly all raised in the Johannesburg, Gauteng area of South Africa. According to our research, they’ve remained a pretty close-knit bond, even throughout Tyla’s rapid rise to fame. From time to time, Tyla features Sydney and Tyrese on her TikTok. Additionally, they all have the last name: Seethal, except for Whitney, who took on their mother’s maiden name, Jasmin.
Whitney
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Whitney is a 24-year-old audiologist who graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in April. Aside from audiology, she’s an aspiring life and wellness coach and rising influencer. Her Instagram and TikTok content mainly centers around hair/skincare and food, as she recently said in a Q&A video that she loves to cook.
Sydney
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Sydney is suspected to be 20 years old. She’s a YouTuber with nearly 50,000 subscribers. She and her sister, Tyla, started a channel on the platform together in 2020 but didn’t continue to pursue it. When Sydney is not dropping college vlogs on her YouTube, she’s on TikTok, where she has over 900,000 followers and records everything from makeup transitions to day-in-the-life clips.
Tyrese
@tyrese.seethalcome duze ??♬ Bula Nthweo (feat. Jelly Babie, Xduppy, Uncool MC & Ricky Lenyora) – Vetkuk & Mahoota & Dj Maphorisa
Tyrese is part of an up-and-coming creator collective known by the social handle @TheBBBz. The all-guy group focuses on comedic content, which is generally posted to their growing TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube pages. His exact age is unclear, but he’s the youngest of the Seethal crew.
Who Are Tyla’s Parents?
Tyla was born on January 30, 2002 in Edenvale, South Africa (a city on the East Rand of Gauteng) to Sherwin and Sharleen Seethal. While not much is known about her parents, we do know that they have an interesting ethnic background.
The “Art” phenomenon raised eyebrows when she refused to double down on her racial identity in an interview with The Breakfast Club earlier this month. In response to the backlash, she issued a statement on X.
“[I] never denied my blackness, idk where that came from… I’m mixed with black/Zulu, Irish, Mauritian/Indian and Coloured,” Tyla wrote. “In South[Africa] I would be classified as a Coloured woman and other places I would be classified as a black [woman]. Race is classified differently in different parts of the world.”
Tyla has a tight relationship with her mother and father as well. Before her industry takeoff, it is reported that she had been working toward a degree in Mining Engineering but begged her parents to let her chase her dream of becoming a solo artist. In a sit-down with 102.4 KIIS FM, Tyla recalled her parents giving her a year to do so after much begging and pleading.
“So, basically, like, my parents were like… ‘You have to study… like, there’s no way you’re doing music. Like, it’s not realistic,'” she told the host. “Especially in South Africa. Like, not a lot of people, especially at the time, were like doing what I wanted to do, which was become a star globally. So, my parents were like, ‘Be realistic. You need to work. This can be a side hobby.”
It’s safe to say that Tyla’s trial run paid off, and the illustrious songbird’s parents are right by her side for every victory.
Tyla’s Siblings & Parents Throughout the Years
Which of Tyla’s siblings did you already know? Share in the comments below!
Main Image: Michael Buckner/Billboard via Getty Images
Originally published June 19, 2024.
