I’m the secret grandchild of Three Tenors star Placido
Single mum longs to hear from star
Katie Jordan has had very little contact with famous grandfather
Placido – one of the famous Three Tenors – has an estimated €170million fortune and has rubbed shoulders with US presidents.
Yet granddaughter Katie Jordan is a 35-year-old single mum of two who is between jobs and lives in a small flat.
Her modest life is a far cry from grandad Placido, who has an honorary knighthood and released the most popular classical music album of all time with fellow Spaniard José Carreras and Italian Luciano Pavarotti.
Katie’s mum Sharon met Placido’s son José as a teenager while he was a young student in Britain.
Sharon, now 52, who gave birth to Katie in 1982, said: “Katie and Placido have only met once or twice since then.
“About two years ago Katie paid to watch him perform at the Royal Opera House.”
The venue was just 15 miles from Katie’s home in West London.
Placido’s family are based in Mexico City and Madrid while José, his eldest son, lives in luxury in New York and helps promote his opera empire.
Father and son visited the White House together last year, on a trip in which José was also photographed with
actor Kevin Spacey. In Superstar Placido José, Katie and kids at Nando’s 2011 Placido spoke in interviews of three grandchildren living in England but Katie, then 29, was not mentioned.
He said: “They are at school near the castle which was burned – yes, Windsor! They are three granddaughters, one 15, one 13, one 10. They all have a beautiful voice. I think they will become singers.”
José, now a 59-year-old photographer, studied visual arts at Richmond, The American International University in south-west London in the 1980s.
His public Facebook page reveals last year he visited London to be with daughter Katie and her two children.
He posted a picture of the family at a branch of the Nando’s restaurant chain, tagging his daughter on the social media site. They also visited a street food market and spent a day at Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey. A source said that he has been in regular contact with his daughter.
The visit came after Katie requested financial support, with Placido’s personal assistant Nicholas Marko overseeing a £5,000 gesture to help her out. She has refused to comment as she tries to stay in touch with her father and his extended family. But in 2013 a touching Facebook post revealed her heartache at the apparent separation she felt.
Next to an image of her grandfather’s appearance as a guest in The Simpsons she said: “Ironic really seeing as i dreamt last night i met him he held my hand said my name. Maybe one day...”
In 2000 another of José’s daughters, Ivonne Armant, appeared in Playboy.
alan.selby@trinitymirror.com
I dreamt last night I met him and he held my hand and said my name. Maybe one day... KATIE JORDAN ON HER GRANDFATHER PLACIDO DOMINGO