Who Is Ziggy Marley’s Wife? All About Orly Marley ArticlePure

Ziggy Marley dedicated a song to his wife, Orly Marley, 18 years after their 2004 wedding.

Throughout their marriage, the couple have collaborated on a slew of projects, from building the record label Tuff Gong Worldwide together to releasing a children’s book in 2021. Since leaving her role as vice president at the talent agency William Morris, Orly has also been managing her husband’s career.

The eldest son of reggae legend Bob Marley and philanthropist Rita Marley, Ziggy has upheld his dad’s legacy as a musician with eight Grammy Awards under his belt. Outside their collaborative careers, Ziggy and Orly also spend their time raising their four children: daughter Judah and sons Gideon, Abraham and Isaiah. The reggae artist also has three children from former relationships: Bambaata, Justice and Zuri.

For their 16th wedding anniversary, Ziggy celebrated the landmark occasion on social media, posting an old photo of him and Orly at their wedding and writing, “Blessed birthday and a happy sweet 16 wedding anniversary to the light of my life Orly … one lifetime isn’t enough to love you.”

So, who is Ziggy Marley’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Orly Marley and her relationship with the musician.

She was born in Israel

Orly was born in Israel to Iranian parents, and the family moved to Los Angeles when she was 14 years old.

After graduating from college, Orly became a preschool teacher and joined the Bureau of Jewish Education where she helped run a preschool onsite. However, she soon decided to shift into a career in the entertainment industry, and explained in a 2021 interview with B3 Parenting Magazine that her “biggest goal was to thrive financially.”

“My parents were at a crossroads in terms of finances,” Orly told the outlet. “And while I was very, very, well taken care of as a young person, when we came to this country everything sort of fell apart.”

“I wanted to help my parents,” she added on why she decided to pivot from education to entertainment.

She worked at a talent agency

Orly started her professional entertainment career as a junior assistant at the William Morris talent agency.

She eventually worked her way up and was promoted to director of talent sponsorships, where she successfully closed deals with several A-list stars, including Enrique Iglesias, Salma Hayek, Queen Latifah, Willie Nelson and the Black Eyed Peas. By the time Orly was 30, she held a vice president title at William Morris.

On her trajectory at the talent agency, Orly recalled to B3 Parenting Magazine that she had to “take 10 steps back to go to William Morris and essentially deliver mail.”

“I started at the way bottom,” Orly explained before adding that she believes it was her willingness to learn and do the work that ultimately propelled her career. “It was just me persevering, busting my behind from the minute I got there.”

After over a decade, Orly left William Morris to manage her husband’s career. The couple built the record label Tuff Gong Worldwide, where Orly serves as president, and the music publishing company Ishti Music together. Beyond music, Orly and Ziggy also co-wrote a children’s book, Little John Crow, in 2021 and the talent agent also helped produce the 2024 biopic Bob Marley: One Love.

She married Ziggy on her birthday

Ziggy and Orly got married on Dec. 22, 2004.

While their wedding date is special for many reasons, it is also Orly’s birthday. The singer regularly celebrates their milestones on social media and posted a particularly heartfelt tribute for their 19th wedding anniversary.

“As I celebrate my wife’s birthday and our 19th wedding anniversary today I thought I’d share a little history of her name,” Ziggy captioned a 2023 Instagram post along with a photo of the two. “‘Its melodic sound and rich symbolism made it a favorite choice for creative works, capturing the essence of beauty and the human desire for transcendence.’ ”

“So now you see the connection,” he added. “I AM THE LUCKY ONE. She has been and continues to be a light that JAH has sent to me. All my love.”

Ziggy and Orly share four children

Ziggy and Orly have welcomed four children together throughout their marriage: daughter Judah Victoria and sons Gideon Robert Nesta, Abraham Selassi Robert Nesta and Isaiah Sion Robert Nesta.

Their eldest, Judah, was born on April 21, 2005, in Los Angeles. Like her parents, Judah has an artistic inclination and studied at the Parsons School of Design in New York City. She is a visual artist with her photography being published in outlets like Idiosyncrazy Magazine. Judah’s online portfolio also has a photography collection of her mother’s family which she described as a capsule for “the effects of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.”

Ziggy and Orly’s sons Gideon and Abraham were also born in L.A. on Jan. 5, 2007, and Jan. 26, 2011, respectively. The teenagers appeared on their father’s 2020 album, More Family Time, on the track “Wonderful People” alongside their sister.

The couple’s youngest child, Isaiah, was born on March 14, 2016. On the day he was born, Ziggy posted a photo of him and Orly in the hospital on Instagram. “My beautiful wife and I share a moment as she gets ready to give birth to our fourth child today,” he captioned the post. “JAH BLESS HER AND HIM. The things we put our women through.”

Ziggy also has three children, Bambaata, Justice and Zuri, from previous relationships.

They love blending their cultures while raising their kids

Coming from Jamaica and Israel, Ziggy and Orly blend their cultures and traditions while raising their family.

Speaking to PEOPLE in 2016, Ziggy shared that eating together has been a way to merge their worlds. “Food really opened my mind about accepting and understanding different cultures,” Ziggy said. “It brings our family together.”

“My wife is Middle Eastern—she’s from Israel; her parents are from Iran—so when we got married, the food got blended,” he continued. “I introduced her to my favorites, like fish, porridges and different Caribbean seasonings. And her family introduced me to the falafels and rice.”

Ziggy also spoke about how they found a “balance of philosophies” across his and Orly’s roots. “Within my culture, there’s a lot of spirituality, philosophies, ideas — love, humility, respecting each other,” he explained to PEOPLE. “From her side, it’s family: There’s a connectivity there, the bonds of family are very important on her side.”

Orly and Ziggy also keep their children grounded by reminding them where they both came from. “My husband and I both did not have the life that they have obviously,” Orly told B3 Parenting Magazine. “I didn’t grow up with security following me around or any of these things our children have.”

“I believe, God willing, the success that we have had and will continue to have with these kids all has to do with us to continually taking them back to where we came from,” she added. “Showing them how we grew up, helping the less fortunate, getting them involved with all the work that we do, continuing as a family to make charity work not something you do once a year but a part of your everyday life.”

Ziggy wrote a song for Orly

While Ziggy and Orly have worked together many times, in 2022, the singer released a special something just for her.

The musician and his brother Stephen Marley released a song titled “The Lucky One” on Valentine’s Day in honor of Orly.

“Today I celebrate my lover with a gift from my heart,” Ziggy wrote in a 2022 Instagram post announcing the song’s release. “A psalms of love a song of David written for her my one and only Orly my valentines gift to you. I am the lucky one.”

“The Lucky One” music video features footage of the couple’s wedding ceremony along with a slew of photos of them together over the years. Its lyrics are just as heartfelt with Ziggy singing, “I never knew true love could be true / Till I got my eyes on you.”