Whitney Mathers

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, well-known by his stage name, Eminem is a world famous hip-hop star who has achieved both fame and accolade in his career. He has remained quite candid about his private life, family and relationships, the hurdles he faced growing up and much more through his songs which often include his relationship with near and dear ones. One such member of his family who finds mention in his songs is his youngest daughter, Whitney. But Whitney is not his biological daughter. She was born on April 16, 2002 in St. Joseph, Missouri out of a brief romantic association between Eminem’s ex-wife, Kim, and a tattoo artist, Eric Hartter. Whitney had quite an unsecured life initially. Her mother had her own battle with drug addiction, and her father remained involved in several criminal activities including drugs. With such disturbing past, Whitney hardly got much time to spend with her biological father who is not married to her mother.

Eminem never met his biological father nor does he hold the latter in high regards. He had a positive relation with his mother, Deborah, and also with his high school sweetheart Kim with whom he remained married twice, first time from 1999 to 2001 and then for sometime in 2006. Both of them are mentioned in a rather negative tone in his songs. Although the ace rapper struggled with his relations, he has time and again proved to the world that he is a man with a golden heart who treasures true relations which may, however, not be bound by blood ties. This became glaringly clear when he adopted Whitney in 2002 as Kim was entangled in troubles and legal issues and was not in a position to take care of the infant. The rapper while adopting the little girl reportedly said “I’m in love with that girl, man. She’s so sweet and funny”. Eminem takes care of the girl as his own daughter and according to sources even Kim revealed in an interview about what an excellent father Eminem is to all his daughters. Although Eric Hartter’s mother has taken legal steps so that the former can obtain right to visit Whitney, not much has materialised so far and presently Eminem is in full custody of the girl.

Whitney’s new family with her adoptive father includes her two elder sisters, Hallie and Alaina. Hallie, a high school graduate presently studying psychology at Michigan State University, was born to Eminem and Kim on December 25, 1995. She is the only biological child of the rapper. Alaina was also adopted by the rapper almost around the same time he adopted Whitney. Alaina was born in 1993 to Kim’s twin sister Dawn Scott who was also a victim of substance abuse and had to give up custody of her three children - Adam, Alaina and Amy. Dawn succumbed to an overdose of heroine in January 2016.

With a protective and loving father around, Whitney lives a healthy and happy life along with her two sisters. Many even say that the three loving girls are pampered and spoilt regularly by their doting father. The girls remain among the most important people in Eminem’s life and find place in their daddy’s songs like ‘Going Through Changes’ and ‘When I’m Gone’.