Here’s a surprising fact: Jessie has admitted she’s obsessed with Jeff’s music. In a 2026 interview, she called his album Grace “a spiritual experience.” She even performed a live cover of his song Lilac Wine that made critics weep into their cappuccinos. So while they aren’t family by blood, they are family by vibe. You ever meet someone who shares your weird laugh and your taste in pickles? That’s Jessie and Jeff, but for soul-shaking vocals.
Oh, and here’s a punchline: Jeff’s father, Tim Buckley, was also a famous singer. Tim and Jeff had a famously strained relationship—Tim abandoned him, then Jeff died young. Jessie, on the other hand, had a perfectly normal Irish upbringing with two loving parents. So if anything, the Buckley curse skipped her entirely. She’s blessed, not haunted.
But Wait—Could There Be a Distant Cousin Thing?
Fine, you want a conspiracy? Let’s play ancestry.com detective. The Buckley surname is Irish in origin, from County Cork. Jeff’s family line goes back to—you guessed it—Ireland (his paternal grandparents were Irish immigrants). Jessie was born in Killarney, also Ireland. So statistically, somewhere in the 18th century, a pig farmer named Buckley might have produced two branches: one that stayed in Ireland (Jessie’s ancestors) and one that sailed to America (Jeff’s). That makes them something like seventh cousins, once removed by a potato famine. But you could say the same for half of Ireland and every person named Murphy.
How Jessie Buckley went from an Andrew Lloyd Webber reality show to
So no, they aren’t related in any meaningful way. But here’s my favorite theory: Jeff Buckley is Jessie’s musical fairy godfather. He didn’t leave her a glass slipper, but he left her a blueprint for how to use your voice like a wrecking ball. They never met, but Jessie has said she felt his presence when recording her album Shows the Man. Spooky? Or just good press?
