Alex Rodriguez played Major League Baseball for 22 seasons, and whether he was in Seattle, Texas or New York, his personal life was never far from the front page.
The headlines usually revolved around his dating life. He was married to Cynthia Rodriguez Nicolas (née Scurtis) from 2002 to 2008 before she filed for divorce. After that, he had high-profile relationships with Cameron Diaz, Torrie Wilson, Kate Hudson and Jennifer Lopez.
But while the three-time MVP’s love life has had its share of drama, his family has been his rock through it all. Raised by his mother, Lourdes Rodriguez, Alex remains close to her and continues to look at her for inspiration.
Alex’s father, Victor, left when he was a child, a moment he says shaped him as a father to his two daughters, Natasha and Ella, whom he shares with Cynthia.
Keep scrolling to meet the slugger’s whole family.
Victor Rodriguez
Victor left the family in 1984 when Alex was just 9 years old, and the two did not speak again until the Mariners drafted him in 1993. In 2000, just before Alex hit free agency, the two spent four days together in Minnesota while Seattle was in town to play the Twins.
The duo spent time together that weekend but never truly repaired their relationship.
“It was four days. That entire series I was playing, like, with my hair on fire, like I had a superpower,” Alex recalled to Cigar Aficionado in 2018. “I was a skinny kid, I was in my early 20s, and it was so much fun, ’cause I knew how much my dad loved baseball. And I was kind of showing off and putting on a show for him.”
Victor died in 2014.
Lourdes Rodriguez
Alex has maintained a close relationship with his mother, Lourdes, speaking often about how he views her as a role model.
“She’s the biggest inspiration in my life,” he told People in 2024. “She was a secretary in the morning, and she served tables at night, so she’d be gone from 8 in the morning to midnight.”
Alex often stayed up waiting for Lourdes to come home, at which point he would massage her feet and help her count her tip money.
“The reason I had two jobs was because it was so important that the family had a great education and stayed in their sports,” Lourdes told The Athletic in 2022. “No matter how many hours it took or how hard it was, it was always worth it to support them and their dreams.”
She stayed by his side well into his baseball career, including when Alex was suspended for the entire 2014 season amid a performance-enhancing drug scandal. Years later, Alex remembered her “tough love.”
“She was not happy,” he told The Athletic. “If I was looking for soft comfort, she was not the landing spot.”
Joe Dunand Sr.
Alex grew up with his two half-siblings from Lourdes’ first marriage to Joe Dunand Sr. He and Joe stayed connected into adulthood, especially while Joe’s son, Joe Dunand Jr., began his professional baseball career.
“Alex has been a guiding light for Joe,” Joe Sr. told the New York Post in 2017. “Alex has been very frank. When he hasn’t looked good, he tells him, ‘You have to work on this.’ Or when he has looked good, he tells him [what he’s doing well].
Joe Dunand Jr.
Joe Jr. enjoyed a cup of coffee in the majors in 2022 with the Miami Marlins, hitting a home run in his first career at bat. He lasted just three games with the Marlins that season and bounced around the minors until announcing his retirement in 2025.
Susy Dunand
Alex’s half-sister, Susy Dunand, is a luxury real estate advisor in Florida. She has remained close with Alex and was on hand when he officially became owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx in July 2025.
“You’ve worked tirelessly, with heart and purpose, always striving to make things better,” she wrote via Instagram. “We are endlessly proud of you, Alex. This is only the beginning.”
Victor M. Rodriguez
Alex’s paternal half-brother, Victor, is 15 years his senior. While the two are close now, Victor left the United States in 1980 to join the Air Force and remained unaware of Alex’s baseball success until he was already a standout player with the Mariners.
“I’d come back to the States briefly, see ‘Alex Rodriguez’ in the paper, but, really, what were the chances?” he recalled in Selena Roberts’ 2009 biography of Alex, A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez. “I didn’t know until my father said, maybe around 1994, ‘Do you know your brother is playing in the major leagues?’”
Victor later remembered finally reconnecting with his brother when Alex was playing for the Mariners.
“The desire was always there and the wish was always there to see him,” he told The New York Times in 2007. “As I tell folks, we lost a lot of time. We’re making up for some of it the best that we can.”
Natasha Rodriguez
Alex and Cynthia welcomed their eldest daughter, Natasha, in 2004. Even with Alex’s playing days behind him, Natasha is still a fixture at Major League ballparks, making a name for herself as a national anthem singer.
She is now a musical theater student at the University of Michigan, according to her Instagram page.
Ella Rodriguez
Alex and Cynthia welcomed Ella in 2008, and the former third baseman has frequently updated fans on her accomplishments.
“Ella, you continue to amaze me and fill me with so much pride!” he wrote via Instagram in 2019. “You’re not just a sixth-grader now, you’re a beautiful young woman who’s already on her way to taking the world by storm. You make me strive to be a better father every day and it is a privilege to watch you shoot for the stars.”
Ella and Natasha have both spoken glowingly about Alex as a father, with Ella praising her dad for being open about his past mistakes in the 2025 HBO docuseries Alex vs ARod.
“I’m just really proud of his vulnerability and bravery, putting something so awesome out there for everyone to see,” she told People. “And I really hope everyone gives it the reaction it deserves.”
Read the full article here
