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Al Horford was born on June 3, 1986, in the Dominican Republic. His parents, Arelis Reynoso and Tito Horford, divorced three years later and both eventually remarried. Horford has five siblings, four on his father’s side and one on his mother’s side and he is very close with all of them. The Celtics star currently lives in Boston with his wife Amelia Vega and their five children.
Here’s what you need to know about Al Horford’s family:
1. Al Horford’s Father Is Tito Horford, a Former Basketball Player Who Was the First Dominican to Play in the NBA
Horford’s father, Alfredo “Tito” William Horford, created a path for his son as he pursued a basketball career and became the first Dominican player in the NBA. Tito Horford was born on January 19, 1966, in the Dominican Republic and grew up in San Pedro de Macorís, a town that is known more for producing baseball stars than basketball players, as the Washington Post reported.
While Tito Horford was an excellent pitcher as a boy, when he hit 15 years old, he realized his growth spurt was too much for baseball and decided to switch to basketball, he told Sports Illustrated. After playing with the Naco Athletic Club in the Dominican Basketball Federation, one of his teammates, Darryl Brown, realized his potential.
Brown, a former University of Houston player, called the Houston assistant coach, who in turn called the basketball coach at Houston’s Marian Christian High School. The men thought they could bring Tito Horford over to play high school basketball and eventually get him to play at the University of Houston, the Post shared.
Tito Horford made the move to the U.S. in September 1982 and began playing for the high school, where he eventually became the country’s top center recruit, his college basketball profile shows. The plan was set to work out but Tito Horford’s letter of intent to attend Houston was deemed invalid by the NCAA due to the school going against recruitment rules.
Instead, Tito Horford attended Louisiana State University and then quickly transferred to the University of Miami. During his time in Florida, the younger Horford was just a baby and his father recalled going to games with his son on his shoulder. “He was 1 or 2 and Michael Irvin and Vinny Testaverde would come over and talk to him,” Tito Horford told The Gainesville Sun. “And now look at me — I’m the one following him around.”
Tito Horford was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in round 2 of the NBA Draft in 1988 and he became the first Dominican NBA player. However, he only played two seasons with the team and soon afterward, headed overseas to play in European leagues. After divorcing Horford’s mother in 1989, Tito Horford remarried and settled in Lansing, Michigan, where he welcomed four more children: two boys and two girls.
2. Al Horford’s Mother Is Arelis Reynoso, Who Is a Successful Sports Journalist
Horford’s mother is Arelis Reynoso, who is also a native of the Dominican Republic. Horford spent his childhood living in Santo Domingo, the island nation’s capital, with his mother following his parents’ divorce. Reynoso remarried and had a second child, a boy, in 2005.
Arelis Reynoso is a sports journalist and has been working in the field since 1988, the Boston Globe wrote. She is an editor for Deporvida, her Twitter bio and her LinkedIn profile state, and her bio with the publication indicates that she’s an award-winning journalist. It states that she was recognized by Mundo Latino as the Best Hispanic Journalist in 2003 and that she won the Personality of the Year award in Philadelphia at the city’s Hispanic Choice Awards.
While Horford followed his father to his basketball games at the University of Miami, he also followed his mother to some of her work assignments and attended games across several sports. He shared that shadowing his mother in the press box allowed him to get the perspective of the journalists who interview sports personalities and described the experience as “beneficial” in an interview with the Boston Globe.
When Horford was 14 years old, he moved to Michigan to live with his father and his father’s family as his parents felt that it would be beneficial to his basketball career. Reynoso said it was really hard for Horford to be in the U.S. at first, knowing little English and being away from his mother, she told Ocala Star Banner. Eventually, Reynoso got a job as a writer and editor of a Spanish-language newspaper in Philadelphia and was able to move closer to him.
3. Al Horford Has 5 Siblings, 2 Brothers & 2 Sisters On His Father’s Side & 1 Brother On His Mother’s Side
Horford has four half-siblings on his father’s side and one on his mother’s side and he’s close with all of them. In fact, after Reynoso gave birth to her second son, Chris Hernandez, Horford was named the boy’s godfather and also chose his little brother’s name, the Ocala Star Banner reported.
Horford was also a bit of a father figure to his siblings on his dad’s side when they were growing up as he moved to Michigan to live with the family when he was 14 years old. The NBA star is around five or six years older than the next oldest Horford and “helped raise” the four children, his sister Anna Horford told the New York Times.
“He’s always kind of taken on more of a dad role,” she added. “He’s about six years older than the next oldest Horford kid. He’s always been older, and he’s always kind of led the path in a way.” Horford babysat his siblings, played games with them, and as they got older he’d offer to drive them home after parties if they needed a ride, she shared.
All of the Horford siblings played basketball up to a certain point, some more seriously than others. Jon Horford played ball throughout college and also in the NBA Development League. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree and then obtained a master’s degree at the University of Florida, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Jon Horford is interested in politics, as he ran for the Michigan House of Representatives in 2022. Jon Horford lost the Democratic primary by just 26 votes, Ballotpedia shows. He now works as a lobbyist for Governmental Consultant Services, Inc., as per his LinkedIn.
Horford’s other brother Josh Horford played basketball throughout school as well. His social media profiles state that he’s now a music producer and has a clothing line. Horford has two sisters, Anna and Maria Horford. Anna Horford stopped playing basketball in school due to a bad knee injury. She is well-known to Celtics fans for her commentary on Twitter and hasn’t shied away from sharing her opinions in the past.
Maria Horford shared in an interview with CelticsLife that she always preferred to watch the sport rather than play and said she didn’t like the expectations that were placed on her as a Horford in the sport. She said she stopped playing in middle school but still loves to attend games and cheer from the sidelines. She lives in Grand Ledge, Michigan, and works as a professional photographer, according to her website bio.
4. Al Horford Is Married to Amelia Vega Polanco, a Singer & Former Miss Universe
Horford is married to Amelia Vega Polanco, a fellow Dominican Republic native, and the couple has been together since 2011. Vega was born on November 7, 1984, in Santo Domingo, and she is a singer, pageant queen, actress and author.
Vega was crowned Miss Dominican Republic in 2002 and on June 3, 2003, she was crowned Miss Universe 2003, when she was just 18 years old. Vega is the only Dominican woman to win Miss Universe to date, but she shared that she’d never really wanted to become a pageant queen. In fact, when speaking with South Africa’s Zozibini Tunzi, the winner of Miss Universe 2019, Vega said she always wanted to be a singer.
Vega has kept very busy in the years since becoming Miss Universe, modeling for several high-profile magazines and appearing on the cover of Cosmopolitan, InStyle, Harper’s Bazaar and Glamour, and also featuring in Cover Girl campaigns, according to her profile with Barbizon Modeling and Acting.
She also did some work as an actress, appearing in the 2005 film “The Lost City” and the 2006 film “Homie Spumoni,” and hosted the Telemundo reality show “Voces de América” and “Segunda Oportunidad,” a Mexican reality show. Throughout that work, music and singing remained Vega’s passion and she released her debut album, “Agua Dulce,” in 2011. She also published her first book, a children’s book titled “Un Día en la Vida de Pichín,” in 2019.
Vega and Horford only dated for two months before they got married, she revealed in her chat with Tunzi. She said both of them just knew that their relationship was right and they didn’t hesitate, tying the knot on December 24, 2011, at her aunt and uncle’s home in the Dominican Republic, Hoy Digital wrote.
5. Al Horford Has 5 Kids, 1 Boy & 4 Girls, & Has Spoken About How Much He Loves Being a Father
Vega and Horford have a big family of five kids. Their eldest child is a boy named Ean, who was born on February 23, 2015. Their other four children are girls, beginning with Alía, who was born on November 27, 2016, followed by Ava, who was born on July 11, 2018. Their fourth child, a daughter they named Nova, was born on January 15, 2021. Most recently, the Horfords welcomed Mila on December 12, 2022.
In March 2023, Horford shared on “View From The Rafters” on the Boston Celtics’ YouTube channel that fatherhood was a “great feeling.” He said, “It’s something that I absolutely love, I always wanted to be a dad and have my own family.” He said it was one of his favorite things to be a leader in his family and to help guide his children.
Horford addressed the tough schedule of being an NBA star while still wanting to be a present father for his kids, and said, “When I’m at home and when I have the time, I make sure that I give the best quality time that I possibly can to my kids and to my wife.” He said he’s “grateful” to be a father and shared that he’ll always make time for his kids when he’s at home, whether it’s taking them to the park or helping out with their homework.
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