Meet Loretta Lynn's 6 children - including her two daughters who were a country music duo

The Queen of Country and 'Coal Miner's Daughter', Loretta Lynn was an iconic name in country music and her autobiography inspired the 1980 Sissy Spacek hit.

Her best known songs include 'Don't Come Replica Luxury Handbag A-Drinkin'', Honky Tonk Girl' and 'The Pill'. Over the course of a glittering career, Loretta won a staggering four Grammy awards. She was a Country Music Hall of Fame inductee and the first woman to win the CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year awards.

The oldest daughter of Loretta Lynn and husband Oliver Vanetta Lynn, Betty Sue was born on 26 Nov 1948 when Loretta was just 16 years old. Talent certainly ran in her veins, and Betty went on to become a songwriter, devising the lyrics to some of her mother's hits like 'Wine, Women and Song' and 'The Replica Luxury Handbag You're Tearin' Down.'

She passed on 29 July 2013 following complications of emphysema, at the age of 64.She was a mother to two daughters, Lynn Markworth and Audrey Dyer, and a grandmother of five.

Born December 1949, Jack Benny Lynn was Loretta's first son and named after her favourite comedian. He worked as a blacksmith and trained horses, opting for a quiet life on the family ranch. The father-of-three welcomed daughter Jenny with his wife Barbara. 

Jack sadly passed away in July 1984 after attempting to ford Duck River while riding on the Lynn family's Hurricane Mills Ranch. On the anniversary of his death, Loretta wrote that he "was quiet and tender", her "blond headed, blue-eyed baby".

Ernest is the only surviving son of singer Loretta, born on 12 April 1951. He has performed on stage with his mother Loretta and has also appeared onscreen in Pop! Goes the Country (1976) and  American Masters (2016). He was clearly close to his mother, with Loretta frequently calling him "one of her best friends."

He was previously married to Cindy Pelmons, tying the knot again with now-wife Crystal. He met his first wife through his older sister, their daughter Tayla recounting: "Daddy always said that when Cissy brought mama home and she started talking to him, he fell in love with her right then."

Better known as 'Cissie', Clara Marie Lynn was born on 7 April 1952. She opened for some impressive country stars, including the likes of George Jones and Conway Twitty, and her romantic life became similarly star-studded when she said 'I do' to singer-songwriter John Beams, who worked as her mother's driver fro almost two decades.

The couple collaborated on 2011 album The Daughter of the Coal Miner's Daughter with Cissie covering her favourites from her mother's catalogue – and Loretta stepping in as producer.

Loretta's youngest came as two for the price of one. Daughter Peggy was born on 6 August 1964 and named after Loretta's sister, Peggy Sue. 

Peggy and twin sister Patsy formed a country band in the late '90s, named The Lynns. They hit Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart twice and were nominated for CMA vocal duo of the year in 1998 and 1999.

It may not be a surprise to our readers but it was certainly a surprise for Loretta herself when her twin daughters arrived on 6 August 1964. Loretta wrote of the delivery in Two Are Better Than One: "When he said there was another one to deliver, in exhaustion I said, 'I can't. Leave it in there!'" 

Named after country icon Patsy Cline, Loretta's youngest performed on stage and worked behind the scenes as a producer and songwriter. From 2016, she and John Carter Cash, son of Johnny, co-producing many of Loretta's albums.

Loretta Lynn may be gone but she's certainly not forgotten. The country icon sadly passed away in October 2022 at the age of 90, but her musical legacy lives on.

The singer still has around 1.2 million monthly streams on Spotify, no doubt for her timeless coverage of mainstream and widely debated topics.