How many children did Adele Springsteen have? Family explored as Bruce Springsteen shares tragic news of mother's death

Bruce Springsteen's mother, Adele Zerilli Springsteen, passed away on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, at the age of 98. The news was confirmed by the musician in a heartfelt Instagram post dedicated to his mother, with a video of the two dancing together along with an excerpt from his song, The Wish, which was inspired by Adele.

The Wish was a part of Bruce Springsteen's show, Springsteen on Broadway, based on his autobiography Born to Run.

Adele was a fan favorite at Bruce Springsteen's concerts dancing onstage with her son, capturing countless hearts.

She was a mother of three, Bruce the eldest, and two younger daughters Virginia born in 1950, and Pamela, born in 1962.

While the announcement did not elaborate on the cause of death, the Dancing in the Dark singer had stated back in a 2021 show that she was struggling with Alzheimer's and could no longer stand or speak. During the same show, he stated:

"She's 95 and she's 10 years into Alzheimer's and that’s taken a lot away from us. But the need to dance hasn't left her."

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Bruce Springsteen has attributed Adele's love for music and dance as an influence growing up

Born in May 1925 as Adele Ann Zerille in Brooklyn, New York, she was the daughter of an Italian immigrant. She soon moved to the Freehold, New Jersey.

According to ABC News, she was the last of three Italian-American Zerilli sisters, a point noted in Bruce Springsteen's song American Land, which honors "The McNicholases, the Posalskis, the Smiths, Zerillis too."

She worked as a legal secretary and became the main breadwinner for her family following her marriage. Her husband, Douglas Frederick "Dutch" Springsteen, worked odd jobs to provide for the family but he suffered from mental health issues which would worsen in the later years. He passed away in 1998.

The singer told biographer Dave Marsh, Adele was "real smart, real strong, real creative," with a "refusal to be disheartened." He elaborated later in a 2010 Elles Island speech that she held the family together through the years of hardships.

The singer has always attributed his mother's love for music and dancing as an influence growing up. Adele was the one who encouraged him to pursue music, renting his first guitar when he was 7.

In 1964, she would take out a loan to buy him a better instrument, an anecdote Bruce would include in his song, The Wish.

Her eldest daughter, Virginia, moved to California along with her parents in 1969, while Bruce and Pamela stayed behind in Freehold. Virginia, married her boyfriend and professional rodeo rider Mickey Shave when she was 17.

Pamela would become a Hollywood actress appearing as a serial killer in Sleepyaway Camp series. She would later shift her career to photography but primarily worked in the entertainment industry.

After a brief fling with Sean Penn, she married director, screenwriter, and producer, Bobby Roth.

In a 2002 interview with Uncut, Bruce Springsteen praised his mother's ability to juggle work and home and added:

"I took after my mom in a certain sense. Her life had an incredible consistency, work, work, work every day, and I admired that greatly."

In 2012, Adele danced and sang background for Twist and Shout, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. And in March 2016 she was seen grooving along with her son to Ramrod at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Adele Springsteen is survived by her children.