All About Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s Children Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s children — Lucie and Desi Jr. — are now married.
The comedic couple’s journey to parenthood began in 1951 with the birth of Lucie Désirée Arnaz. “They were very keen to have a family as soon as they got married,” Lucie told The Desert Sun in 2018 of her parents, who were married on November 30, 1940. However, it didn’t happen right away. In a 1980 interview with The Washington Star, Ball shared that she had two failed attempts to get pregnant during the first decade of their marriage.
“To me, having a baby was a nightmare,” she told the paper of welcoming her first child. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s Relationship in Pictures The couple’s second child, Desiderio “Desi” Alberto Arnaz Jr., was born at 18 months old in 1953 to a warm reception from the public.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Ball scheduled the birth and welcomed her son on the same night her character, Lucy Ricardo, gave birth to her fictional son, Little Ricky.
For all the success of the actors, family is the most important thing. “Just having a career, that would be so boring,” Ball told The Washington Star. “The best thing in my life is having children. They keep you young.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr., and their grandchildren: Julia, Haley, Simon, Joseph, and Kate.
Lucie Désirée Arnaz, 73 Lucie Arnaz attends Prime Video’s “Lucy And Desi” official FYC screening and panel on May 22, 2022 in Hollywood, California.
Lucie Arnaz attends Prime Video’s “Lucy And Desi” official FYC screening and panel on May 22, 2022 in Hollywood, California. Michael Kovac/Getty Ball and Arnaz welcomed their first child, daughter Lucie Désirée Arnaz, on July 17, 1951. The newborn was born six weeks before Ball began working on I Love Lucy. “My mother was a working mother,” Lucie said. “[My parents] were very busy. … I think probably from birth until age 7, they weren’t home much.”
Ball and Arnaz eventually divorced in 1960, and despite initial difficulties, the two remained close. “They loved each other until the end of their lives,” Lucie told PEOPLE in 2022, a reference to their deaths in 1989 and 1986. Their love of professional entertainment rubbed off on their daughter. The Desert Sun reported that she began performing in her garage at age 9, so Ball had to build her a stage.
Lucie went on to star in high school productions of Oklahoma!, Alice in Wonderland, and The Boyfriend. She also gained more recognition: At age 15, she landed the role of her mother’s on-screen daughter, Kim Carter, on the TV show Here’s Lucy.
She got the role on the condition that the Forever, Darling star would cover for her if she didn’t do well. “I said, ‘[You] have to help me save face,’” Lucie told Page Six. “And [my mother] agreed.”
By the time Here’s Lucy ended in 1974, Lucie was ready to take the stage. “I had… the first national company of Seesaw,” she told The Desert Sun. “It went to Annie Get Your Gun and They’re Playing Our Song and I never looked back. I pretty much stayed in the theater.”
Lucille Ball with daughter Lucie Arnaz, circa 1978. Lucille Ball with daughter Lucie Arnaz, circa 1978. Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Her role in Neil Simon’s They’re Playing Our Song in 1979 also led to a romantic relationship when she met husband Laurence Luckinbill, who also starred in Simon’s Chapter Two.
In June 1980, the couple married, making Lucie a stepmother to Laurence’s two children from his previous marriage to Robin Strasser, Nick and Ben Luckinbill.
They welcomed their first child, Simon Thomas Luckinbill, on December 10, 1980. They were followed by Joseph Henry Luckinbill on December 31, 1981, and Katharine “Kate” Désirée Luckinbill on January 11, 1985. “I said I had a baby and I cooked and cleaned for five people. All the kids were great,” Lucie later joked to Passport Magazine.
Since becoming a mother, Lucie has continued to act: She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in The Jazz Singer in 1980.
