Camelia Kath is best known as the widow of Terry Kath, the gifted guitarist and founding member of the rock band Chicago. Over the years her name has also been linked with the actor Kiefer Sutherland, who was her second husband, and with Jeff Lynne, the singer and songwriter behind Electric Light Orchestra. She has never been a major celebrity, and she has kept her private life mostly out of the news, so a lot of what appears online about her is confusing or wrong. This article brings together the details that are consistent across reliable sources and clearly marks the details that are not.
Who Is Camelia Kath?
Camelia Kath is an American woman who worked briefly in film and television and who became publicly known through her marriages. Some records list her as Camelia Lynne, which is the name she uses since her marriage to Jeff Lynne. Other sources spell her name “Camelia Ortiz” or “Camelia Ortiz Kath,” which refers to her name before and during her first marriage.
Many websites call her a rising star or a Hollywood icon. These descriptions are not accurate. She is not a famous actress with a long list of leading roles. Her public profile comes from the people she married and from the family story that was later told in a documentary about her first husband.
Her Marriage to Terry Kath
Terry Kath was born on January 31, 1946, in Chicago and became one of the most respected guitarists of the 1970s. He was a founding member of Chicago and was admired by other musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, for his playing and his powerful voice.
Camelia became his wife during the height of the band’s success. The exact year of the wedding is reported differently. Wikipedia lists the marriage as taking place in 1976, while IMDb and several other sites give 1974. Because of this disagreement, it is safest to say that they married in the mid-1970s.
Their daughter, Michelle Kath, was born on May 19, 1976, in Los Angeles. Terry Kath died on January 23, 1978, from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound. Michelle was only about twenty months old, and Camelia became a young widow and a single mother.
Her Marriage to Kiefer Sutherland
Several years after Terry’s death, Camelia married the Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland. They married in 1987, when Kiefer was a young actor who was just becoming well known, and they divorced in 1990. Kiefer later became famous worldwide for playing Jack Bauer in the television series 24.
Camelia and Kiefer have one daughter together, Sarah Jude Sutherland, born in 1988. Sarah grew up to become an actress and is best known for playing Catherine Meyer in the comedy series Veep. Through this marriage, Camelia also became the former daughter-in-law of the actor Donald Sutherland.
Her Relationship with Jeff Lynne
Camelia has been linked for many years with Jeff Lynne, the English musician who led Electric Light Orchestra and also worked with George Harrison and Tom Petty in the Traveling Wilburys. IMDb states that the couple has been together since about 2008 and lists a wedding date of September 19, 2017. Because major news outlets did not widely report the wedding, this date should be treated as the listing on IMDb rather than as a confirmed public announcement.
What is certain is that the two have been seen together at public events for a long time and are widely described as a long-term couple. This is why her name now appears in some places as Camelia Lynne.
Her Daughters
Camelia has two daughters, and both have built their own careers.
Michelle Kath Sinclair is her daughter with Terry Kath. She married the Scottish actor Adam Sinclair in 2004. As an adult, Michelle became a filmmaker, and her best-known work is a documentary about her father.
Sarah Sutherland is her daughter with Kiefer Sutherland. She has worked mainly as an actress in television and film.
Camelia Kath and the Terry Kath Documentary
Camelia’s most visible public role came decades after her first husband’s death. Michelle directed and produced the documentary Chicago: The Terry Kath Experience, originally titled Searching for Terry: Discovering a Guitar Legend while it was being funded. The film was paid for partly through a crowdfunding campaign, and it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016. It then aired on the television channel AXS TV in November 2017 and was released on DVD and digital platforms in December 2017.
The film follows Michelle as she tries to know the father she barely remembers. She speaks with the surviving original members of Chicago, with the band’s former producer James William Guercio, with Terry’s brother, and with musicians who admired his work. Camelia appears in the film as one of the people who knew him best, and the home release also includes extra footage of Michelle and Camelia visiting Caribou Ranch, the Colorado recording studio where Chicago made several albums.
One touching part of the story is Michelle’s search for her father’s famous Fender Telecaster, which was covered with Pignose amplifier stickers. According to published accounts, the guitar was found at the home of a relative during her research. For fans of Chicago, the film helped bring new attention to a musician who many felt had been overlooked.
Her Work in Film and Television
Camelia is listed on IMDb with a small number of film and television credits, including acting and behind-the-scenes work, some of them under spelling variations such as “Camelia Cath” or “Camilla Kath.” Her screen career was short and modest. Websites that describe her as a major producer, writer, or philanthropist are mostly repeating invented or exaggerated claims, and no trustworthy source supports them.
Age, Birthplace, and Net Worth: What Is Not Clear
Many searches for “Camelia Kath” are about her age, her birthplace, or her wealth. The honest answer is that the information is unclear.
IMDb lists her birth date as September 22, 1953, in Puerto Rico. Other websites claim she was born on December 10, 1954, in West Hollywood, and some give entirely different dates. Since there is no official biography, readers should treat all of these dates with caution.
Net worth is also unreliable. Some sites claim a figure of around 1.4 million dollars, but these numbers come from content farms that publish estimates without any evidence. No credible financial source has reported her income or assets, so a real figure is unknown.
Why Online Information About Her Is Often Wrong
Searching for her name brings up dozens of pages that look similar and share the same vague phrases. Many of these appear to be automatically generated. They give different birthdays, different hometowns, and different career histories, and some even claim she is Indonesian or that she attended a university she never mentioned publicly.
A good way to spot a reliable source is to check whether the page mentions specific, checkable facts, such as the name of the documentary, the names of her husbands, and the names of her children. Facts that stay the same across IMDb, Wikipedia’s page on Terry Kath, and music journalism are far more trustworthy than general praise about her talent or influence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Camelia Kath married to? She was married to Terry Kath of Chicago, then to Kiefer Sutherland from 1987 to 1990. IMDb also lists a marriage to Jeff Lynne in 2017.
How many children does she have? She has two daughters, Michelle Kath Sinclair and Sarah Sutherland.
Is Camelia Kath an actress? She has a few small credits, but she is not known mainly as an actress.
Did she appear in the Terry Kath documentary? Yes. She was interviewed in Chicago: The Terry Kath Experience, which was directed by her daughter Michelle.
Final Thoughts
Camelia Kath’s story is really a family story that touches several parts of popular culture, from classic rock to Hollywood television. She lived through a sudden loss at a young age, raised her daughters, and later helped keep the memory of Terry Kath alive by sharing her own recollections with the documentary. Because she values her privacy, many details about her life remain unknown, and the safest approach is to rely on the confirmed facts above.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only. It is based on publicly available sources, and some personal details about private individuals, such as birth dates, wedding dates, and finances, are reported inconsistently online. These items are marked as uncertain where they appear. Please check official or primary sources before relying on any detail, and do not treat this article as legal, financial, or professional advice.
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