Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes has secretly welcomed an eighth child: the great-grandfather’s third previously unknown daughter born in recent years.
Barnes has four children, aged 35 to 42, with wife Jane, as well as 51-year-old Today Extra presenter David Campbell, who was born when the Cold Chisel frontman was a teenager.
Daughters Amanda Bennett and Megan Torzyn, both from Barnes’ hometown of Adelaide and now in their early 50s, first met their father in 2010.
Barnes has now revealed he also has a daughter, property sales executive Katy Lee Carroll, who lives on the NSW north coast.
The 68-year-old, who celebrated his 43rd wedding anniversary with Jane in May, has known about Mrs Carroll for five years.
Barnes released a statement on Instagram on Monday afternoon, just hours after Daily Mail contacted his management about his secret offspring.
“Christmas is all about family and we would like to introduce my daughter Katy Lee who has been in our lives for the past five years,” he wrote.
“Katy is an amazing woman and ever since they discovered I was her biological father, our family and extended family have loved getting to know her.
Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes has secretly welcomed an eighth child: his third previously unknown daughter born in recent years. Barnes is pictured with daughter Katy Lee Carroll
‘It was heart-warming to see how the good relationship with her sisters and brothers grew.
‘We have always respected her very strong wish to keep her family life private and will continue to support her.
“I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and blessed Christmas. I look forward to bringing you all more music in the new year.”
Ms Carroll’s Instagram account features pictures of her with Barnes, Jane, their daughter Mahalia, son Jackie and Campbell, along with the TV presenter’s three children.
A photo of Ms Carroll sitting next to Mahalia, which also features their famous father and his 65-year-old wife, was posted to Barnes’ official Instagram account in September last year.
Ms Carroll, who was tagged in the post, replied: ‘We love you.’
Another photo on Ms. Carroll’s account showing her with her father and Mahalia is captioned “heart is full… birthday weekend full of food and love,” with a thank you message to Barnes and his wife.
Ms. Carroll was born in 1987, four years after Cold Chisel initially split, and that same year Barnes recorded Too Much Ain’t Enough Love, his first solo number one single. The photo shows father and daughter
Katy Lee Carroll (far left) appears in a photo on Jimmy Barnes’ official Instagram account, next to Mahalia Barnes and across a table from Jimmy and Jane Barnes
When contacted early Monday afternoon, Ms. Carroll asked for time to consider providing information about her relationship with Barnes.
“I think it’s probably best that you contact Jimmy’s PR team or Jimmy,” she told Daily Mail Australia. ‘I just can’t say anything right now.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a bit.”
The publicist recommended by Ms. Carroll did not return calls.
Ms Carroll later released a statement confirming that she spent five years discovering Barnes was her biological father.
“Since that moment, I have been embraced by the Barnes family with love, warmth and incredible understanding,” she said.
‘Over the years we have gotten to know each other slowly and carefully and this journey has been one of patience, respect and tenderness.
“It has been a very meaningful process and I am truly grateful for the bonds we are building together.”
Mrs. Carroll requested privacy for herself and her children.
“I want to be open about something very personal,” she said.
“This journey to discover my family has brought with it many complex emotions and I ask for your understanding as I navigate this alongside the joy of reconnecting with my father and his family.
Katy Lee Carroll is pictured with Jimmy Barnes and his son David Campbell, along with his three children, Leo and twins Betty and Billy
“I hope that my privacy will be respected during this time as I continue to face these challenges.
Mrs. Carroll described being welcomed into the Barnes family as “an extraordinary gift.”
“While the details of my relationship with Jimmy and the Barnes family are private, I feel compelled to share my gratitude for the love and care they have shown me,” she said.
“It was an extraordinary gift to be welcomed into such a talented and kind family and I am grateful for their support every day.
“This discovery, while exciting, has been approached with great thoughtfulness, not only for me, but for my children and all our extended families.
“As we continue to nurture these relationships, I remain committed to protecting our privacy so that each of us can grow and heal in our own time.
“Thank you for your understanding, compassion and respect during this very personal chapter of my life. Your support means more than words can express.”
Barnes confirmed through DNA testing that he was the father of Ms. Bennett and Ms. Torzyn and welcomed them into the clan.
This photo of Katy Lee Carroll, Jimmy Barnes and his daughter Mahalia Barnes is captioned “Heart is full…birthday weekend full of food and love,” courtesy of Jimmy and Jane Barnes
“My kids are all so wonderful that when I found out there were some left, I thought they would be good people and they would be sweet girls,” he told New Idea in September 2010.
‘My only regret is not knowing them when they were younger, but life is what it is, everything happens for a reason.
“Back then it was probably better for them not to know me because I was pretty wild.”
Jane, whose other children with Barnes are Eliza-Jane (EJ), 40, and Elly-May, 35, told the same magazine that it was “really lovely” to discover her husband had two other daughters.
“There is a proper procedure and then the rest was easy,” she said.
“Jimmy is the love of my life and if he has children that look like him and my children, then I think that’s really wonderful.”
Barnes explained to comedian, artist and writer Anh Do, who painted the singer for his ABC program Anh’s Brush With Fame, how one of his long-lost daughters tracked him down.
“I remember Jimmy Barnes telling me that a woman handed him a letter after a show,” Do told Who magazine in 2018.
“He read it that night and it said she thinks she’s his daughter from thirty years ago. And there is a photo.
‘And Barnsey looks at the photo and thinks to himself, “Yeah, I better do a paternity test.” And it turns out to be his daughter.’
Mrs. Carroll, Mrs. Bennett, Mrs. Torzyn and Campbell have different mothers.
Katy Lee Carrol is pictured between her father Jimmy Barnes and her half-brother Jackie Barnes. Katy and Jackie wear cold chisel strap passes
Ms Bennett and Campbell were classmates at Adelaide’s Northfield High in the same year, but were unaware at the time they were half-siblings.
Mahalia, 42, Eliza-Jane, 40, Jackie, 38, Elly-May, 35, formed the children’s pop group The Tin Lids in the 1990s and are successful musicians who have shared the stage with their father.
Campbell, who is also a platinum-selling singer, was raised by his maternal grandmother Joan, believing she was his mother.
He discovered that Kim Campbell, the woman he thought was his older sister, was his real mother and that Barnes was his father when he was in elementary school.
“I found out when I was ten,” Campbell has said. ‘It was very overwhelming.
‘I had anxiety and I didn’t know who to talk to, but this was the easier part because my sister was my mother [was hard].’
Earlier this year, Barnes told the Apple & The Tree podcast: “I used to go see David when he was young, but he didn’t know who I was. It must have been so strange for him.”
All of Barnes’ children with Jane have their own children and he is a great-grandfather to at least one.
Barnes and Campbell were named joint Fathers of the Year by advocacy group The Fathering Project in August.
Campbell, who has son Leo and twins Betty and Billy with wife Lisa, was excited about sharing the honor with Barnes.
“It is extremely special in many ways to be able to share this award with my father,” he said.
“He is the template for how I navigate my life as a parent. Although it feels premature to receive this award – as my twins are in primary school and my son is only in 8th grade – it still means so much to me.”
Barnes said fatherhood had brought immense joy to his life, but admitted in his own heartfelt statement that he “made mistakes.”
“From the moment you look into your baby’s eyes until the day he or she is about to walk through the door and start a life of their own, the joy flows freely,” he said.
‘I have watched David grow from a small child to a clumsy young man on his journey. We’ve both made mistakes along the way, but nothing we couldn’t fix with patience and love.”
Cold Chisel, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 and sold more than seven million albums, performed a 50th anniversary tour this year.
In addition to the band’s six number one albums in Australia, fifteen of Glasgow-born Barnes’ solo records topped the charts.
His books include the award-winning memoirs Working Class Boy and Working Class Man, which have sold more than 500,000 copies.
Barnes’ latest written collection of personal stories is Highways and Byways.