Who Is Norman Reedus and Helena Christensen's Son? All About Mingus Lucien Reedus
- - Who Is Norman Reedus and Helena Christensen's Son? All About Mingus Lucien Reedus
Ariana Quihuiz, Samantha StutsmanAugust 26, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Helena Christensen Instagram
Helena Christenson, Mingus Lucien Reedus, and Norman Reedus. -
Norman Reedus and his ex-girlfriend Helena Christensen welcomed their son, Mingus, in 1999
Mingus is a model and chess player
He was arrested and charged with five counts, including assault, in August 2025
Norman Reedus' son, Mingus Lucien Reedus, was arrested in New York City on Aug. 23.
He was charged with assault, criminal obstruction of breathing, assault - recklessly causing physical injury, aggravated harassment and harassment after being accused of assaulting a 33-year-old woman. Mingus pleaded not guilty to all five counts.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Mingus’ attorney, Priya Chaudhry, said her client’s “innocence will become clear” as “the facts emerge.”
Norman and model Helena Christensen welcomed Mingus on Oct. 13, 1999. The former couple met through a mutual friend in 1998 and dated for five years before splitting in 2003.
While the pair are no longer together, they have maintained a good co-parenting relationship and often celebrate their son’s milestones together. They reunited for Mingus’ high school graduation in 2018 and later for his college graduation in 2023.
Here’s everything to know about Norman Reedus’ son, Mingus Lucien Reedus.
He was born on Oct. 13, 1999
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Norman Reedus, Helena Christensen and Mingus.
Mingus was born to Norman and Christensen on Oct. 13, 1999. His unique moniker was a nod to the famous jazz musician Charles Mingus.
"His father especially is into Charlie Mingus," Christensen told The Independent in June 2006. "I was more into Thelonious Monk, Chet Baker, Billie Holiday — but we thought 'Mingus' sounded cooler than 'Monk' for a first name.”
Norman and Christensen raised Mingus in N.Y.C. The Walking Dead actor told Men’s Journal in December 2017 that after his split from the model, they shared custody of their son and only lived a “five-minute walk” away from each other in lower Manhattan.
He has a younger sister
Helena Christensen Instagram
Norman Reedus with his kids, Nova and Mingus.
Mingus has a younger half-sister named Nova.
Norman welcomed Nova with fiancée Diane Kruger in 2018, which gives the siblings a nearly two-decade age gap. Kruger told PEOPLE in April 2019 that Mingus was embracing his new role as a big brother.
“He’s great! You know, 19 years is a big gap, so he’s really stepping up to be this protective big brother,” she said.
In June 2021, Christensen posted a sweet photo on Instagram of Norman walking with Mingus and Nova as part of a Father’s Day tribute to the actor. “Happy Father’s Day to the father of our son (and his lil sis). We raised a good one,” she captioned the image.
He’s a model
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Mingus Lucien Reedus walking for Versace during Milan Fashion Week in 2022.
Mingus began modeling in 2017.
In addition to walking the runway for designers including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Versace, Mingus has also starred in a few fashion campaigns with his supermodel mom. The pair posed together in a Mother’s Day campaign for Victoria’s Secret in 2021 and again for Marcell Von Berlin, a Berlin-based fashion brand, in 2022 to celebrate their Suits Collection.
During an interview with Grazia Magazine, Christensen said it’s “always great” working with her son, but she rarely shares any modeling advice with him.
“We have a lot of fun together sharing little jokes between us throughout the day. It’s good to have a secret language on set, that way you can really let the dark humor flow and my son is a master that,” she said. “We have a very easy approach to it. You go do the job as fast as you can and have fun with it."
Christensen also told the outlet that while Mingus is “grateful” for modeling opportunities, it’s not his main passion as he “spends all his time making music and studying film.”
He likes to play chess
Helena Christensen Instagram
Mingus Lucien Reedus
Mingus has many artistic interests, but he’s also a very talented chess player. In 2007, Christensen told Express that her son is “great” at the complicated game.
“We’ve just discovered he’s a great chess player. He went to his first tournament and came third out of 50 children and was asked to play on the American national team,” she said. “He’s only played for two years. He already beats his dad with his eyes closed. Mingus is very blasé about it, of course.”
He showed off his chess skills in an episode of his father’s show, Ride with Norman Reedus, in 2017. In a clip shared with Entertainment Tonight, Mingus and Norman can be seen playing chess at a N.Y.C. park, where the then-18-year-old quickly beat his opponent.
"I taught Mingus when he was young. We'd come here, play game after game, and I'd watch him beat people in minutes. And I'd think, 'That's my kid,’ ” the actor said. "Seeing Mingus in his element, I'm reminded of how great it is that he's grown up here. He's got that armor you find in every real New Yorker."
He graduated from New York University
Helena Christensen Instagram
Helena Christensen with her son, Mingus Lucien Reedus on Christmas, 2022
Mingus studied film at New York University's Tisch School of Arts and received his degree in May 2023.
His parents were on hand to celebrate his big achievement. Christensen shared a selfie photo alongside Mingus and Norman on Instagram with the caption, “You did it!!” The post also included a video of father and son, who was in his purple and white graduation gown, lifting their hands triumphantly in the air while walking down the street.
In an interview with Flaunt Magazine, Mingus said he has always had a passion for art and film. “Both my parents live through art and they made sure I grew up with the same passion for it,” he told the outlet. “In preschool, I was part of this stop-motion class where we made clay monsters, wrote a story for them, and turned them into short films. I still have all the CDs.”
He also opened up about the directors and films that have influenced his creative direction. “My current favorite directors are the Safdie brothers,” Mingus shared. “I love their dark and chaotic style. I remember the first time I fell in love with a movie, Trainspotting. I was 14 and must have watched it three times in a row. It was every aspect of the film: the acting, the script, the sets and the soundtrack playing together that really hypnotized me — created a vibe.”
He’s a musician
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Mingus Reedus and Norman Reedus at Madison Square Garden in 2014.
In addition to film, Mingus also has a passion for music. As a music producer, he goes by his middle name, Lucien, and often posts original beat tracks to his SoundCloud.
“Making beats has really become therapeutic for me,” Mingus told Flaunt Magazine. “Producing melodies is essentially painting, but instead of the final product showing something, it tells something — not a story, but a vibe. At the end of the day, it’s my favorite way to absolutely zone out. I must have over 400 beats on my laptop.”
He was arrested and charged with alleged assault in August 2025
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Norman Reedus and Mingus Lucien Reedus in 2022.
Mingus was arrested in N.Y.C. on Aug. 23 following an alleged incident with a 33-year-old woman.
The New York City Police Department told PEOPLE that authorities arrived at the scene near 16th Street and 8th Avenue at approximately 8:40 a.m. local time and "observed a female with minor injuries to [her] neck and leg." Mingus was later charged with five counts, including assault, harassment and criminal obstruction of breathing.
He appeared in court on the same day and pleaded not guilty to all five counts. The model's attorney, Priya Chaudhry, has said that Mingus' “innocence will become clear."
“Despite what the prosecutor said in court — which is not evidence — they [the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office] chose to charge Mingus with misdemeanors or less. This speaks volumes, and much louder than the unsupported prosecutor’s in-court comments," Chaudhry said in an emailed statement to PEOPLE. "The judge released Mingus on his own recognizance, with neither bail nor supervision. That significant judicial decision amplifies the volume."
This isn't the first time Mingus has had a brush with the law. In September 2021, he was arrested on accusations of assaulting a woman. Mingus' then-attorney, Isabelle Kirshner, told PEOPLE that the charges were "baseless and will be met with a rigorous defense. He was the victim in this incident."
The model later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
