Liam Payne’s Family Guide: Meet His Mother, Son Bear and More

Liam Payne he sang the praises of his family over the years.

Payne rose to fame after auditioning for the UK version of The X Factor in 2008, and made a comeback in 2010 when he was recruited to be a member of boy band One Direction. Created by Simon Cowell, the team was made up of Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson again Zayn Malik.

Years after gaining fame, Payne welcomed her son Bear Cheryl Cole in 2017. They broke up the following year.

“My mom brought all my old toys into the house, and one day Cheryl came over to my house and she was like, ‘Oh, you play with this red car all the time. It was yours,’” Payne said to himself Us Weekly in 2019. “I was like, ‘Is it a Jaguar?’ And it was my favorite car when I was there [young]. So he is literally like me.”

Us confirmed in 2024 that Payne died at the age of 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Scroll down to meet his family:

Karen Payne

Liam’s mother shares daughters Nicola and Ruth with Liam and Geoff Payne. After Bear was born in 2017, Karen took to Instagram to express her excitement about her new role as a grandmother.

“Finally I can brag about being a grandmother!” he wrote on Instagram at the time, in Daily Mail. “A very happy grandmother. I am proud of my children. Everything I’ve been doing lately is crying, because I’m so happy, now I have the most beautiful grandson in the world… Thank God.”

Geoff Payne

Liam’s father.

Nicola Payne

Liam’s older sister wrote a sweet message to her younger brother in 2019. “Happy birthday to my little brother @liampayne,” she wrote on Instagram alongside the collage. “I hope you had a good day. I love you so much xx 💞.”

Ruth Payne

Liam’s second oldest sister has shared several photos of Liam over the years. In 2014, she uploaded a sweet Instagram photo with Liam and Nicola, writing, “It’s National Siblings Day because I will forever cherish these two #payneos.”

Bear

Liam adopted Bear and Cole in 2017. “My close friends and family know that there are few times when I am left speechless…wow!” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “I’m so incredibly excited to welcome our new baby boy into the world, it’s a moment I’ll never forget for the rest of my life and my favorite. [sic] memory I have to this day.”

He continued, “I’m so amazed by his amazing mother and how she’s been doing all this, she’s really made my dreams come true.” At the moment we haven’t called him by name but he has captured hearts including mine. I feel very blessed. Happy Mother’s Day everyone!”