Sister Lateefah on Parents Hiding Secret About Shaquille O’Neal’s Birth: “Shaquille Was Born Before My Mom and Dad Married”

Published 11/25/2022, 10:30 AM EST

If you want to know more about the life of Shaquille O’Neal HBO has got you covered. The first of a four-part documentary titled “SHAQ” was released on Wednesday. In the documentary, one will find a lot of familiar faces talking about different aspects of the NBA legend’s life. In the first episode, Shaq’s sister Lateefah told the world a dark secret about him and her parents Phillip A. Harrison and Lucille O’Neal.

Shaquille O’Neal is the eldest of Lucille O’Neal’s four children. And as the world knows, Phillip A. Harrison is not his biological father. Shaq’s real father was Joseph Toney, who was arrested for drug possession when Shaq was a baby. Afterwards, Lucille O’Neal got divorced and later on, married the army drill sergeant Phillip A. Harrison. Together they had three children, Ayesha, Lateefah, and Jamal Harrison.

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In the documentary, Lateefah spoke about a secret that her parents kept for a very long time. She said, “We were just told that Shaquille was born before my mom and dad married. He just kept the name O’Neal because it sounded good.” Also Shaq was the only one with the surname O’Neal in the family among his siblings. His other three siblings had the surname Harrison.

Shaquille O’Neal lost his sister Ayesha

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As mentioned above Shaquille O’Neal had three siblings, Ayesha, Lateefah, and Jamal Harrison. Ayesha Harrison is well known among fans because of her battle with cancer and the book she wrote titled “Shaq Talks Back.” Unfortunately, she passed away in 2019 after prolonged battle with breast cancer. In her book, she recounts how O’Neal, as a big brother, looked after the family and entertained them when they were in Germany. Losing her baby sister was a huge blow for the Los Angeles Lakers legend.

However, there is not much information avaialble to the public about Shaq’s other siblings apart from their names. But in the documentary, the world got to know more about Lateefah when she talked about the Shaq’s childhood. And today, O’Neal is a proud father of six children.

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Have you watched the first episode of the documentary? Do share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Written by:

Ritesh Jha is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. He is currently pursuing his Bachelor's in Technology in Computer Science from Rungta College. Ritesh worked as an intern content writer for a digital marketing agency called KCAS Branding before joining EssentiallySports.

Edited by:

Bagavathi Eswaran

Sister Lateefah on Parents Hiding Secret About Shaquille O’Neal’s Birth: “Shaquille Was Born Before My Mom and Dad Married”

Shaquille O’Neal lost his sister Ayesha

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