John Travolta and Kelly Preston's 3 Kids: All About Jett, Ella and Benjamin

For John Travolta, being a father is life's greatest "privilege."

The actor is dad to three children, whom he welcomed with his late wife, actress Kelly Preston. Preston died in 2020 following a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57.

The couple welcomed their first child, son Jett, in April 1992. John was immediately enamored, telling PEOPLE of his newfound love of being a dad. "After he was born and cleaned up, I held him for hours while Kelly slept," he said at the time.

A few years later, John and Kelly welcomed their second child, daughter Ella Bleu, in April 2000. While Jett was born in a hospital, the actress gave birth to Ella in their Los Angeles home, which Kelly previously described as an "unbelievably beautiful" experience.

In January 2009, the Travoltas experienced tragedy when their eldest son, Jett, died at the age of 16 while on vacation with his family. John has often paid tribute to his late son, honoring his life with heartfelt throwback photos and sweet messages, in the years that followed.

John and Kelly welcomed their third child, son Benjamin, in 2010. "He's given the house a renewed spirit and purpose," the Saturday Night Fever star told PEOPLE of their little "miracle" when he was born.

Here's everything to know about John's three kids.

Jett

John and Kelly welcomed their first child, son Jett, on April 13, 1992. Soon after he was born, the actor told PEOPLE how much he loved fatherhood. "I can't imagine what life would be like without Jett," he said in 1994.

He added, "After he was born and cleaned up, I held him for hours while Kelly slept. When they came to take him away for various tests, I said, 'No, you can't see him today. You'll have to do it another day.' I went a little nutsy."

Sadly, Jett died in January 2009 while on vacation with his family in the Bahamas. The then 16-year-old had hit his head on a bathtub after suffering a seizure at his family's vacation home at the Old Bahama Bay Hotel on Grand Bahama Island.

John and his wife rarely spoke publicly about Jett, but Kelly opened up in an interview after his death. "[Jett] was autistic. He had seizures and when he was very young, he had Kawasaki Syndrome," she said while on an episode of The Doctors in November 2012.

Most recently, John paid tribute to Jett with a throwback picture on what would have been his 30th birthday. "My dearest Jetty, I miss you more than words can say. I think about you everyday. Happy Birthday. Love, your Dad," he penned in the caption.

Ella Bleu, 24

John and Kelly welcomed their second child together, daughter Ella Bleu, on April 3, 2000. Like her parents, Ella has the performing bug. Throughout the years, John has beamed about his daughter's successes and touted that he's "a very proud dad."

Prior to starring in her own films, Ella has held several roles in her father's movies such as 2009's Old Dogs and 2019's The Poison Rose. In 2021, she nabbed her first lead in Get Lost, a modern-day retelling of the classic Alice in Wonderland story.

Not only is she an actress in her own right, but she's also pursued a music career as well. Ella released her first single, "Dizzy," in January and shared a sweet video featuring her supportive dad to celebrate the occasion.

"She is her own person. She is gracious, generous, poised, graceful and gorgeous. I don't know how she came to be, and I don't take any credit other than just adoring her," John told PEOPLE of Ella in 2019. "And maybe that's a valid contribution."

Most recently, Ella has continued to solidify her title as a multi-hyphenate after making her New York Fashion Week debut. John praised his daughter after she walked in the Karl Lagerfeld runway show for their Cara Loves Karl capsule collection in September.

In her spare time, Ella enjoys baking. She recreated the coconut bundt cake Tom Cruise famously gives his friends around the holidays — and it was a big hit with her dad, who called it "delicious" in a video on Instagram.

In October 2024, Ella told PEOPLE that John was the first to hear the music she was writing that ended up on her debut EP, Colors of Love, and he encouraged her to finish them.

"So I was like, 'Okay, well, I'll do that.' So then, I just started finishing songs," she said. "It was just this gradient of how everything came up. But that was definitely a huge part of me wanting to really get into it even more, was just my dad."

Benjamin, 13

John and Kelly welcomed their third child, son Benjamin, on Nov. 23, 2010. Unlike his sister and parents, Ben hasn't demonstrated an interest in acting or music — rather, he possesses a unique talent of his own.

The youngest Travolta is into parkour, an impressive hobby the preteen has recently taken on. John shared his son's new interest on Instagram in April with a video showcasing his skills at an indoor adventure gym.

In the clip, Ben jumped between a series of objects by using monkey bars to swing across. At one point in the video, he did a quick touchback on the wall before making his way over to another platform. John has continuously posted his support for Ben and expressed that he is "so proud."

John and Ben share a very close bond. In August, the Saturday Night Fever actor opened up about the emotional conversation he and his son had after Preston's death when Ben revealed he was afraid to lose his dad too.

"I said, 'But you know, Ben … you always love the truth and I'm going to tell you the truth about life. Nobody knows when they're gonna go or when they're going to stay,' " John recalled of what he told his son.

He continued, "Your brother [Jett] left at 16. Too young. Your mother left at 57. That was too young. But who's to say? I could die tomorrow. You could. Anybody can," he said. "So let's look at it like it's part of life. You don't know exactly. You just do your best at trying to live the longest you can."

In July 2023, John shared an Instagram Reel of a family trip to Japan. In the clip, John and his son were seen flying in a helicopter, walking together in a forest and even feeding monkeys.

Later that year, John, Ben and Ella spent Christmas on the ski slopes.