Editing Ray Charles (section)

===Relationships and children===
Charles was married twice. His first marriage lasted less than a year, his second 22 years. Throughout his life, Charles had many relationships with women, and he fathered a dozen children.

Charles was married to his first wife, Eileen Williams, from July 31, 1951 until sometime in 1952.

He met his second wife, Della Beatrice Howard Robinson (called "Bea" by Charles), in Texas in 1954. They married the following year, on April 5, 1955. Their first child, Ray Charles Robinson Jr., was born in 1955. Charles was not in town for the birth because he was playing a show in Texas. The couple had two more sons, David and Robert. They raised their children in [[View Park–Windsor Hills, California|View Park, California]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Robinson|first=Louie|date=October 1974|title=The Enduring Genius of Ray Charles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JN4DAAAAMBAJ&q=view+park&pg=PA125|journal=Ebony|page=125|access-date=November 19, 2020|archive-date=May 8, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508045413/https://books.google.com/books?id=JN4DAAAAMBAJ&q=view+park&pg=PA125#v=snippet&q=view%20park&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Charles felt that his heroin addiction took a toll on Della during their marriage.<ref name="Autobio" /> Due to his drug addiction, extramarital affairs on tours and volatile behavior, the marriage deteriorated and she filed for divorce in 1977.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.newswirl.com/della-beatrice-howard-robinson/|title=Della Beatrice Howard Robinson|date=December 30, 2017|website=NewSwirl|language=en-US|access-date=November 18, 2019|archive-date=June 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626085007/https://www.newswirl.com/della-beatrice-howard-robinson/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Charles had a six-year-long affair with [[Margie Hendrix]], one of the original Raelettes, and in 1959 they had a son, Charles Wayne. His affair with Mae Mosley Lyles resulted in a daughter, Renee, born in 1961. In 1963, Charles had another daughter, Sheila Ray Charles, by Sandra Jean Betts. Sheila Raye, like her father, was a singer-songwriter; she died of breast cancer on June 15, 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lasentinel.net/ray-charles-daughter-sheila-raye-charles-succumbs-to-breast-cancer.html|title=Ray Charles' Daughter Sheila Raye Charles Succumbs to Breast Cancer|date=June 22, 2017|access-date=March 4, 2023|archive-date=March 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304185349/https://lasentinel.net/ray-charles-daughter-sheila-raye-charles-succumbs-to-breast-cancer.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1977, Charles had a child with his Parisian lover, Arlette Kotchounian, whom he had met ten years earlier.<ref name=":3">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5v1pSAHAEa0C&pg=PP1|title=Ray Charles: Birth of Soul|last=Evans|first=Mike|date=2009|publisher=Omnibus|isbn=978-0-85712-051-9|location=London|access-date=November 19, 2020|archive-date=May 8, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508045331/https://books.google.com/books?id=5v1pSAHAEa0C&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Charles' longtime girlfriend and partner at the time of his death was Norma Pinella.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RSGhEUq5bp0C&q=norma+pinella+ray+charles&pg=PA176|title=Icons of Black America: Breaking Barriers and Crossing Boundaries [3 volumes]: Breaking Barriers and Crossing Boundaries [Three Volumes]|last=Whitaker|first=Matthew|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=176|year=2011|isbn=978-0-313-37643-6|language=en|access-date=November 19, 2020|archive-date=May 8, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508045558/https://books.google.com/books?id=RSGhEUq5bp0C&q=norma+pinella+ray+charles&pg=PA176|url-status=live}}</ref>

Charles fathered a total of 12 children with 10 different women:<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EqFUCAAAQBAJ&q=Louise+Mitchell+ray+charles+1950&pg=PP15|title=Ray Charles|last=Pennington|first=Karlton|publisher=Lulu Press, Inc|year=2013|isbn=978-1-304-15125-4|language=en}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

* Evelyn Robinson, born in 1949 (daughter with Louise Flowers)
* Ray Charles Robinson Jr., born May 25, 1955 (son with wife Della Bea Robinson)
* David Robinson, born in 1958 (son with wife Della Bea Robinson)
* Charles Wayne Hendricks, born on October 1, 1959 (son with Margie Hendricks, one of the Raelettes)<ref name=":3" />
* Robert Robinson, born in 1960 (son with wife Della Bea Robinson)
* Renee Robinson, born in 1961 (daughter with Mae Mosely Lyles)
* Sheila Robinson, born in 1963 (daughter with Sandra Jean Betts)
* Reatha Butler, born in 1966
* Alexandra Bertrand, born in 1968 (daughter with Mary-Chantal Bertrand)
* Vincent Kotchounian, born in 1977 (son with Arlette Kotchounian)
* Robyn Moffett, born in 1978 (daughter with Gloria Moffett)
* Ryan Corey Robinson den Bok, born in 1987 (son with Mary Anne den Bok)<ref name=":4" />

Charles held a family luncheon for his 12 children in 2002, 10 of whom attended. He told them he was terminally ill and that $500,000 had been placed in trusts for each of them, to be paid out over the next five years.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ray Charles' children battle over his legacy|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-raycharles20apr20-story.html|first=Michael A.|last=Hiltzik|date=April 20, 2008|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=June 2, 2020|archive-date=April 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407110621/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-raycharles20apr20-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>