All About Jelly Roll’s Daughter Bailee Ann and Son Noah "Buddy" DeFord
"Being a father has been the greatest blessing of my life," the country star said about his children.
Jelly Roll has sold oodles of records, racked up awards, and made his debut at Grand Ole Opry, including a performance at NBC's Opry 100: A Live Celebration — all in just the past three years. The country rocker's remarkable music journey is definitely a story of overcoming adversity, and he’s never been shy about crediting his supportive family for making it all possible.
For Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, “family” includes more than just a marriage with his wife, Bunnie XO. He's also a proud father of two children: Bailee Ann and Noah "Buddy" DeFord, who both provide continuing inspiration for Jelly Roll to grow from his difficult past and put family at the center of his life and career. As he wrote in a heartfelt post in 2020, "Being a father has been the greatest blessing of my life."
Jelly Roll often talks about how his children and wife means everything to him. In 2024, for instance, he told People, “I prioritize family, and that’s what anchors me down. Everything that I believe going right for me is in the fact that I’m pretty grounded in my family.”
Read on to learn all about the two children Jelly Roll's raising with his wife Bunnie XO and their sweet relationship.
Jelly Roll’s daughter Bailee Ann DeFord
Born in 2008 while her future-famous dad was incarcerated, daughter Bailee Ann made Jelly Roll a father for the first time. The musician didn't get to meet his daughter, whom he welcomed with his ex Felicia Beckwith, until he was released from prison. Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO have now had full custody of Bailee since 2017.
Learning about her birth while incarcerated was a “road to Damascus” moment for Jelly Roll, who explained in a Billboard interview how becoming a father supplied a major catalyst for change when his life had hit a low point. “A guard knocks on my cell door midafternoon during lockdown. He goes, ‘You had a kid today,’” he recalled. “I’ve never had nothing in life that urged me in the moment to know that I had to do something different. I have to figure this out right now.”
Baillee is now a familiar face to Jelly Roll fans, with frequent social media and on-tour appearances (including the music video for his 2020 hit “Tears Could Talk,” a song she wrote herself at 10 years old).
“She’s like a little roadie,” Jelly Roll joked in a 2022 interview with radio station 105.7 The Point. “She loves music, she plays the piano, plays the guitar, she’s also into the drama stuff and the theater stuff, it’s cool. She’s finding her way to express herself and I encourage that.”
Bailee, now 16, has made plenty of guest appearances on Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde podcast, where she and her famous stepmom have discussed everything from body image to past emotional trauma to the hopes and dreams that preoccupy the active mind of a typical high schooler. Last year, Bailee shared that she plans to attend Columbia University to study law, with an eye on becoming a criminal defense attorney.
“I want to go to Columbia for law,” Bailee said during a November 2024 appearance on Bunnie XO's podcast. “That’s where I want to go, and I want to study law ... I really want to turn the judicial system upside down. And the best way to do it is from the inside. Maybe I’ll be a congresswoman one day. Go law, and then be like a judge. Maybe I’ll be president.”
Bailee undoubtedly has her father's full support, as Jelly Roll told People his teenage daughter is "totally ahead" of the game. “She’s special, he said. "She’s different. She’s totally ahead."
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Jelly Roll’s son Noah "Buddy" DeFord
Born in 2016 to Jelly Roll and Melisa Ann Cowell, Noah “Buddy” DeFord has spent less time in the spotlight than Bailee. But thanks to social media, Jelly Roll fans have still been treated to a handful of heartwarming glimpses of Noah, including one sweet TikTok where the young boy reveals his favorite color is red.
Noah also attended the 2024 Kids Choice Awards with his dad and older sister, where they all posed for photos in matching denim outfits.
Family, of course, is now a major anchor in Jelly Roll’s life — no matter whether the focus is professional or personal. His recent 2024 album Beautifully Broken was released under the bespoke “Bailee & Buddy” record label, its name itself a nod of tribute to honor his two children.
But if things go according to plan, Jelly Roll might soon have to make space to include a third name: He and Bunnie XO recently revealed on social media that they’re consulting with vitro fertilization specialists in order to have a child together. “We had planned on doing this privately,” Bunnie XO explained (via TODAY) in a 2024 social media post, “but decided our IVF journey needed to be shared because we’ve always been so open. And w/all odds stacked against us, it’s already been hard & we have only just begun… J and I are SO excited & scared all at the same time. We genuinely never thought we’d want to add to our family but something changed this year & we both just want a piece of us together to add to our already perfect family w/Bailee and Noah.”
How to watch Jelly Roll perform at NBC's Opry 100: A Live Celebration
Hosted by Blake Shelton, NBC's three-hour extravaganza commemorating a century of the Grand Ole Opry features a night of live performances from country music's brightest stars including Jelly Roll.
Opry 100: A Live Celebration airs live on NBC on Wednesday, March 19 at 8 p.m. ET, and will also be simulcast on Peacock.
