12 Things to Know about Cindy Breakspeare

The Bob Marley biopic has prompted a growing interest in everything having to do with the Jamaican reggae legend, and that includes wanting to know more about Cindy Breakspeare, the mother of Marley’s son, Damian “Junior Gong” Marley. To satisfy moviegoers’’ curiosity, here are some things to know about one of Bob Marley’s romantic connections.

1. Cynthia Jean Cameron Breakspeare, 69, was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1954 to a white Jamaican father and a white Canadian mother.

2. She moved to Jamaica at age four, attended Immaculate Conception High School, and graduated in 1973.

3. She participated in the Miss Jamaica Body Beautiful and Miss Universe Bikini pageants as a teenager.

4. In 1976, she was invited to compete in the Miss World competition that was held in London. Al though the Jamaican government in the 1970s banned Jamaicans from participating in anything related to apartheid in South Africa, she accepted the invitation and won the title, the second Jamaican to do so.

5. She met Bob Marley in 1976, and their relationship lasted until 1981 when Marley died. It was one of several romantic affairs the singer had during his marriage to Rita Marley.

6. In a 2019 interview with Canadian reporter Ron Fanfair, Breakspeare described the relationship as “scary” because, as she was quoted, “uptown girls of light complexion didn’t have relationships with Rastas.”

7. Breakspeare gave birth to their son, Damian, in 1978.

8. In 1981, two months after Marley’s death, Breakspeare married Senator Tom Tavares-Finson. The couple divorced in 1994, and in 1999, she married musician Rupert Bent II.

9. In a 2020 interview with 876 Questions, Breakspeare discussed her relationship with Rita Marley, saying, “We got along fine.” She noted that she and Rita took care of Bob Marley in the same apartment in New York when he became ill at the invitation of his wife. Breakspeare added that “romantic jealousy” was not a factor.

10. Breakspeare pursues a career as a recording artist and entrepreneur, being a founder of Ital Craft in Jamaica, a Rastafarian craft store.

11. According to reports, Marley said he wrote “Turn Your Lights Down Low” and “Waiting in Vain” about Cindy Breakspeare.

12. Breakspeare has four grandsons from her three children.