Trent Reznor's 5 Kids: Everything the Nine Inch Nails Singer Has Shared About Parenting
- - Trent Reznor's 5 Kids: Everything the Nine Inch Nails Singer Has Shared About Parenting
Emily WeaverFebruary 2, 2026 at 5:00 AM
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Trent Reznor and Mariqueen Maandig attend the Premiere of "Watchmen" on October 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic
Trent Reznor shares five kids with wife Mariqueen Maandig
The Nine Inch Nails frontman has welcomed two sons, a daughter and two other children, whose names and sexes they've kept private
He keeps his children out of the spotlight
Despite his successful music career, Trent Reznor’s biggest accomplishment is raising his five kids alongside wife Mariqueen Maandig.
Reznor and Maandig got married in October 2009. Between 2010 and 2019, they welcomed sons Lazarus Echo and Balthazar Venn, a daughter named Nova Lux and two children whose names and sexes they’ve kept private.
In a June 2023 appearance on the Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin podcast, the Nine Inch Nails frontman said becoming a dad is “the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Since becoming a parent, Reznor's relationship with making music has changed substantially, too.
“[Fatherhood] has radically shaped every bit of who I am and why I do anything,” he said.
Here’s everything to know about Trent Reznor’s five children.
He and Maandig share five children
Trent Reznor and Mariqueen Maandig attend the Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined Art Exhibit on January 26, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Stefanie Keenan/Getty
Reznor and Maandig have remained private about their first meeting. "I tell people [we] met at a Mensa meeting, because we met under such unusual circumstances,” Maandig told Women's Wear Daily in July 2010.
After getting engaged in the spring of 2009, the couple got married in October of that year, per the outlet. They welcomed their first child together, a son named Lazarus Echo, in 2010.
On the subject of being a first-time parent, Maandig joked to Women's Wear Daily that choosing Lazarus’ name was their biggest hurdle thus far. “I have a list, it’s so hard. It’s like here’s a brand-new life and you’re in charge of it, now go!” she told the magazine ahead of his birth.
Since then, the couple have welcomed four more kids: son Balthazar Venn, daughter Nova Lux, and two children whose names and sexes they haven't shared publicly.
Reznor shared the birth of his youngest child while discussing his induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. "I just had a new baby over the weekend," he told Rolling Stone at the time. "Lots of action here."
Reznor has said his music takes on new meaning as a father
Trent Reznor performs during the World Premiere of Tron: Ares on October 06, 2025 in Hollywood, CA.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty
As the frontman of Nine Inch Nails, some of Reznor's lyrics aren't exactly appropriate for children. However, now that his kids are of listening age and have access to the internet, Reznor is more aware of how his children — and their peers' parents — perceive them.
“I’m now thrust into adult events — school things with other parents, and just ... you’re not really thinking about how lyrics that seemed cool at the time are going to register with parents at your kid’s school 20 years later,” he told Vulture in a July 2017 interview, referencing his 1994 hit “Closer,” which features several sexual innuendoes.
Reznor once said having kids is a "humbling" experience
Mariqueen Maandig and Trent Reznor attend the 93rd Annual Academy Awards on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.
Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty
Over the years, Reznor has shared that he didn't realize how much his life would change once having kids. Speaking to Spin in September 2013, he recalled a few “humbling” moments, among them the time his son summed up his job as “[to] go play loud music.”
"When I was 25, people used to say to me that having kids would change you, and I'd roll my eyes," he said. "I don't know what it'll be like when they read old stories about my addiction or listen to the older songs. I do know that I caught myself swearing in front of them during a road-rage moment and was worried they'd parrot it back."
He added, "It's a humbling thing, having kids ... I'm not as afraid of judgments as I used to be. I just want to do the best I can do.”
Family is his top priority
Trent Reznor and Mariqueen Maandig attend the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony on March 29, 2019 in New York City.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
For nearly four decades, Reznor has lived much of his life on the road; but now, the father of five is stepping back from touring to focus more on his family. In his 2023 appearance on the Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin podcast, Reznor revealed he’s putting touring on the back burner.
“I don’t want to be away from my kids, not that much,” he said. “I don’t want to miss their lives out to go do a thing that I’m grateful to be able to do, and I’m appreciative that you’re here to see it, but I’ve done it a lot, you know?”
He further added, “I kind of want to feel okay and I want to make sure my family’s okay, and that’s great. That’s okay.”
He keeps his children out of the spotlight
Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails performs during VetAid 2022 on November 13, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio.
R. Diamond/Getty
Reznor and Maandig are a notoriously private couple, especially when it comes to their family life. They rarely speak about them in the press and don’t share photos of them on social media.
In her Women's Wear Daily interview, Maandig, who is also a successful musician, said she likes to keep her personal life “a shroud of mystery.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
