Legendary country singer, Barbara Mantrell is the mother of three children; Kenneth Matthew Dudney, Nathaniel Mandrell Dudney, and Jaime Nicole Dudney. All three were born during her marriage of more than 50 years with Ken Dudney.
Barbara has given her gift of music to the world and this is seen in more than 20 albums. However, we may not hear new materials from her as she has been retired since 1997 so she can spend more time with her family.
Thankfully this sacrifice paid off as her children have also built their own lives. Matthew is a gospel singer and his wife, Christy’s manager; Jaime works with people struggling with addiction and environmental organizations while Nathaniel keeps a low profile.
Barbara Mandrells Children: All Three of Them
Kenneth Matthew Dudney
Mandrell’s oldest child Kenneth Matthew Dudney was born in 1970, three years after she and Ken Dudney got married. Barbara and Ken had been together since she was 14 and he was 21. Despite the age difference, Barbara was so smitten with him and couldn’t wait to complete high school so she could become Mrs Dudney.
At the time of Matthew’s birth, Barbara was already an established country with successful songs like Playin’ Around with Love(1970) to her credit.
Matthew’s had his share of challenges while growing up despite having a famous mother. The most obvious is his experimenting with alcohol and drugs. Things got so bad that he became depressed and had to rely on antidepressants.
Thankfully, he sought help after an incident where he burnt his aunt’s kitchen after taking too much alcohol. This pushed him to enter a rehab facility.
Interestingly, he took a Bible with him having accepted Christ at the age of 15. While there, he studied the Bible well and realized how much God loved him.
Focusing on his career, Matt is also a talented singer but is deeply into church ministry work. He sings gospel songs with his wife Christy Sutherland whom he also serves as her manager.
Matthew and Christy struggled with infertility but this ended in joy when they welcomed a son in April 2018.
Jaime Nicole Dudney
48-year-old Jaime Nicole Dudney is the only daughter of the country crooner.
Notable events in the celebrity daughter’s childhood include an accident in September 1988. On an ill-fated day, Jaime and her older brother were being driven by their mother when they had a head-on collision with Mark White, a 19-year-old college student.
Though White died instantly, the Mandrells were quite lucky due to a seat belt their mother wore. Jaime and her brother had minor injuries while their mother had more serious ones. The injuries affected Mandrell’s personality at the time.
Focusing on Jaime’s professional life, she is a one-time teenage beauty queen, soap opera actress, environmental activist, and human resource manager.
She won the Miss Tennesse Teen crown in 1993 and eventually moved into acting.
Per IMDB, she made her debut in XXX’s & OOO’s in 1994. This was followed by numerous other screen roles including translating the role of Georgia Tucker Silva in 74 episodes of As the World Turns(1998-2000). It also happens to be her last credited work and based on this, we may not be wrong to assume, she has taken a step away from acting.
Moving on, Barbara’s only daughter worked with environmental groups such as the Suba Environmental Education of Kenya(S.E.E.K). The group teaches people how to take care of the land through tree planting and care for vulnerable children, widows, and orphans.
Also, she worked as a human resource manager at the family’s Fontanel Mansion for some years. The log cabin mansion dubbed the largest log cabin in the world was quite a delight.
The family eventually sold the place in 2002 to downsize. It was turned into a tourist attraction.
However, Jaime left her position in 2017 and switched her career path. She works with a company that finds placement for people battling addiction.
Away from Jaime’s career, she is a happily married woman and mother. She walked down the aisle with Whit Gilbert in 2011 and together, they are the parents to an adorable child.
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Nathaniel Mandrell Dudney
Born sometime in September 1985, Nathaniel Mandrell Dudney is the third and youngest child of the I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool crooner and her lifelong husband.
The story around his conception and birth is quite an interesting one because his mother was recovering from an accident when she became pregnant. Thankfully, she was able to have her baby safely via a Caesarian section.
Nathan as he is fondly called did not follow in his mother’s footsteps to pursue an entertainment career. From what we gather, he keeps a low profile and is married to a woman named Hannah.
