Alex Gurley is a contributing writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work has previously appeared in Just Jared and Buzzfeed.
Bruno Mars and his siblings -- Jaime, Tiara, Tahiti, Presley and Eric -- share a love of music.
Growing up in Hawaii, the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter was surrounded by creativity. Whether it was his singing sisters or his brother playing the drums, a tune was always heard in their home, alongside dad Peter and mom Bernadette Hernandez.
"We have a huge family and everybody sings; music was always in our house," Jaime told Midweek in 2013. "Our mom would always make us harmonize."
Their musical upbringing paid off: Bruno skyrocketed to fame, and his siblings pursued their own entertainment industry dreams. His four sisters formed a musical group called The Lylas, and his brother is a member of Bruno's backing band, the Hooligans.
Despite the "Locked out of Heaven" artist's success, his siblings say they don't mind the comparisons. "It's always an honor when people say, 'Oh my God, you're Bruno Mars' sister,' " Tahiti told the outlet. "We're very proud of him and he's proud of us, too."
Here's everything to know about Bruno Mars' siblings: Jaime, Tiara, Tahiti, Presley and Eric.
While Bruno's father, Peter, was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., his plans for the future encouraged him to leave the Big Apple. Meanwhile, Bruno's mother, Bernadette, was born in Manila, Philippines, and moved with her family to Hawaii in 1968.
After they met during a show, where Peter was a percussionist and Bernadette was a hula dancer, they married and raised six children in the Aloha State, embracing the laid-back island lifestyle.
Apart from their son and three daughters, the couple took in Bruno's cousin Jaime and she became one of their own, according to New York Daily News.
"Hawaii is a special place," Bruno told CNN in 2012. "When I think about my childhood, I think about my family, my sisters and my brother, us going to the beach -- doing things that you would think a family that grew up [in] Hawaii would do."
Thanks to their creative parents, Bruno and his siblings were surrounded by music growing up. Their home was filled with numerous instruments, a karaoke machine and two jukeboxes.
As the family expanded, Peter and Bernadette began their own musical show called The Love Notes and performed nightly at the Sheraton Waikiki hotel, according to Eric's 2014 interview with Mike Dolbear.
The couple eventually recruited their children to take part in the act, specializing in doo-wop and other '50s music. Bruno famously began performing with the group when he was 2 years old, gaining notoriety for his impersonation of Elvis Presley. He and some of his siblings would perform six nights a week for years.
"My dad was just a sharp businessman. He's originally from Brooklyn and moved down to Hawaii and just saw an opportunity to put a show together," Bruno told Vibe in 2010. "He wasn't the best singer in the world, but he knew a couple right singers and formed a group."
When Bruno was a preteen, his parents divorced, and he and his brother Eric went to live with their father, Peter. Since their family musical act was over, their dad no longer had a consistent income and finding housing for the trio proved tough. At times, they lived on the tops of buildings or in the back of a car.
"My dad was just the king of finding these little spots for us to stay that we should never have been staying at," Bruno recalled on 60 Minutes in 2016.
Eventually, Peter got a job at a local zoo that provided housing, but when it was shuttered, they once again had no place to go. Peter ended up finding a one-room structure on the abandoned property, where they all slept in one bed.
Despite the hardship, Bruno fondly looked back at the time period, sharing that his memories were "the best."
"We had each other, and it never felt like it was the end of the world," he explained. "Maybe that's why I have this mentality when it comes to the music. Because I know I'm going to figure it out, just give me some time."
All four of Bruno's sisters -- Jaime, Tiara, Tahiti and Presley -- say he looks out for them in different ways.
During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2013, they joked that Bruno had picked out conservative outfits for them to wear that day but they didn't always follow his advice.
"He's really protective. He wanted us to wear turtlenecks today, so he sent us turtlenecks, and we tossed them," Tiara jokingly said.
Over the years, Bruno continued performing across Hawaii until he graduated high school and was ready to explore new parts of the music industry.
At the time, his sister Jaime was living in Los Angeles, working as a handbag designer, and he decided to send her his demo tape. She ended up passing it on to Mike Lynn, who was an executive at Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment.
"My demo was terrible, I sounded like a chipmunk," he told Forbes in 2011. "I was so young. But he heard something."
With that, Bruno moved to L.A. to figure out what was next. He explained to Vibe, "I felt like I did everything that I could possibly do in Hawaii. I was performing in different bands and doing shows, and I just wanted to see if I could take it to the next level, so I bought a one-way ticket to California."
Shortly after, he signed a deal with Motown Records and though it didn't work out, he went on to collaborate with Atlantic Records in 2010.
Eric grew up playing drums with his family and eventually moved to L.A. to pursue his musical ambitions at age 18. When his vision didn't go according to plan, Eric put away his drums and trained to become a police officer.
After nearly 10 years of working in law enforcement, he quit his job when Bruno arrived in L.A. and asked him to join his musical journey. "I was like, 'If I don't give this up and I'm watching some other guy play drums for my brother, that's going to eat me up,' " Eric told Rolling Stone in 2013.
The pair began playing gigs in L.A., with their sister Jaime acting as their booking agent and manager. As Bruno's career began to take off, Eric stayed by his brother's side, eventually becoming a member of Bruno's backing band, the Hooligans. He now plays with him both in the studio and on tour around the world.
Although Eric has been asked if he minds performing behind Bruno, he says it's where he's meant to be.
"That never bothered me ever because I've always enjoyed being behind the drums ... that was what I took pleasure doing," he said on Drummer's High in 2023. "I'm not a front guy. I want to be the guy that's in the back behind my drum set, playing music, playing drums and seeing people enjoy what I'm doing."
Eric added, "I think to myself, 'Wow, I'm pretty damn lucky to be up here.' And you look up in the audience, and you see in these massive arenas or stadiums, people filling the seats, the floor is packed, and it's just like, 'Wow, I'm a lucky son of a b----.' "
Bruno's four sisters had been singing with their family their entire lives, but when they recorded a song together for Jaime's charity, Mama Earth, they realized that they may have a chance to pursue their dreams.
"It sort of woke up the dream again," Jaime told the New York Post in 2013. "As a little girl, you definitely say, 'One day I want to be a famous singer!' And then real life happens, and you say, 'Okay, well, I need to have something to fall back on.' "
The sisters decided to leave their jobs to dedicate themselves to music full time, forming their group, The Lylas -- an acronym for "love you like a sister."
While working on their first album, the group were approached about filming a reality show that eventually aired on WE tv in 2013. Across eight episodes, they were documented moving from Hawaii to L.A. to work on music while also dealing with the sudden loss of their mother, who died of a brain aneurysm in June 2013.
At the time, the sisters said that having a famous brother didn't necessarily make things easy for them. They explained that they were starting from the bottom of the ladder, just like everyone else.
"Sure, we're Bruno Mars' sisters, but in some ways that just makes it more challenging," Tiara told New York Daily News. "We aren't just getting compared to other female singers, we're getting compared to him. But that's okay. Either way, we have to prove we're good enough on our own."
Throughout their time as a group, The Lylas released two songs, including their single "Voices," written by Bruno. "He's so supportive of us. He gives us advice," Tahiti told the newspaper.
Bruno's siblings now have families of their own: Eric and his wife, Cindia, share three children: Liam, Mila and Vida. In addition, Jaime and her husband, Jesse, have two kids, Marley and Jaimeson. Plus, Presley also shares three children with her husband Kealoha.
Meanwhile, Tahiti is married to professional surfer Billy Kemper, and they have four sons: Nyjah, Zyah, Haze and Lion. Two of her kids have even followed in the footsteps of their family and formed their own music group.
While Bruno's siblings put their careers on hold to pursue music, they have since left the entertainment industry.
Both Tahiti and Presley now work in the fitness industry in Hawaii. According to her Instagram, Tahiti owns a gym called Uproar Fitness, where she is a fitness coach. Presley also works as a personal trainer.
On the other hand, Jaime has worked as an esthetician and is now the owner of J'AIME, a natural products boutique that offers fragrances and body care. She also runs a foundation called Mama Earth, which was partially inspired by her brother Bruno.
While working as his booking agent early in his career, she began to form relationships with clubs and bars around L.A. Upon reflection, she decided she wanted to use those connections to do good for others. The organization's focus is to "make a change for the better with the power of art, music and nature."
"I wanted to give people easy and fun opportunities to experience how GOOD it feels to give," she wrote on her website.
Lastly, Tiara is a music teacher and surfer, often featured on the surfing brand Roxy's social media accounts. She's even the host of the brand's podcast series. Tiara also founded a music and performing arts festival called Keikichella that showcases talented children across Hawaii.
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