Steve Aoki’s Siblings Were Sued by Their Father Rocky Aoki

World-renowned DJ and music producer Steve Aoki and his siblings had a complicated relationship with their father, the late controversial restaurateur Rocky Aoki. Lawsuits marred their family life.

Despite their wealth, Steve Aoki’s family life was far from perfect. Rocky Aoki was married to three women, resulting in a complex family dynamic. Rocky had three children from his first marriage to Steve’s mother, three more children from another marriage, and one child from another relationship.

Rocky recalled awkward situations, including when his first wife met his girlfriend at a hotel and then in the hospital. Despite their father’s actions causing strain on the family, Steve and his siblings have remained close and supportive of each other.

Rocky Aoki attends Rabbi Yehuda Berg’s “The 72 Names of God” book launch party at the New Museum for Contemporary Art on April 24, 2003, in New York City. | Source: Getty Images

Kevin Aoki Followed in His Father’s Footsteps

Kevin Aoki was born on November 25, 1967, to his father, Rocky, and mother, Chizuru Kobayashi. Kevin, the eldest of seven siblings, was raised in New York and California.

For Kevin, the Benihana founder was a very influential figure in his life. Rocky instilled in him a passion for entrepreneurship and the culinary arts as a young boy.

Kevin followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a successful restaurateur. He owns the Aoki Group, which comprises six dining establishments across the United States and Hawaii.

Kevin and his brother, Steve, who shares the same passion as their father, recently opened Kuru Kuru Pa, a yakitori restaurant at Resorts World in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kevin manages operations, while Steve handles marketing ideas.

Kevin Aoki and Steve Aoki attend the Kuru Kuru Pa grand opening at Resorts World Las Vegas on June 24, 2021, in Las Vegas, Nevada. | Source: Getty Images

Kana Grace Helps Families and Children Go Through Separation

Kana Grace Nootenboom, a marriage and family therapist, is Steve’s older sister. She attended New York University, earning her bachelor’s degree in 1989. She was a model before becoming a therapist.

Although Kana Grace left the modeling industry for a long time, she has a daughter who has followed in her footsteps: Yumi Nu. She shares her daughter with former musician-turned-IT professional Bruce Nu.

Kana Grace Nootenboom, Steve Aoki, and their mother Chizuru Kobayashi attend the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival on April 15, 2016, in New York City. | Source: Getty Images

Devon Aoki Was Her Father’s Favorite Daughter

Steve has a half-sister, Devon Aoki, on his father’s side. She was born in New York City and raised in California. Her mother is Rocky’s former wife, jewelry designer Pamela Hilburger, who is of German and English descent.

Of all the Aoki siblings, Devon was Rocky’s favorite daughter because he said that Devon “always does the right thing.” Like Steve, she also followed a career different from her late dad.

Devon, who began modeling at 13, dominated the runway in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She strutted the stage for many illustrious fashion houses, such as Versace, Chanel, Marc Jacobs, and Balenciaga.

She also found success in Hollywood as an actress. She gained prominence in various action-adventure films, including “2 Fast 2 Furious,” “Sin City,” “DOA: Dead or Alive,” and “Mutant Chronicles.”

Devon is now a mother of two children, James Hunter and Alessandra Linville, with whom she shares with her husband, James Bailey. She has been married to her husband since 2011.

3 Little-Known Steve Aoki’s Siblings

In contrast to Devon, Steve has three other half-siblings rarely seen in public: Echo, Kyle Aoki, and Jenifer Crumb, whose mother’s identity remains unknown.

However, Echo and Kyle once attended Steve’s red carpet premiere for his 2016 documentary “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.” Kyle is also involved in the family business, in addition to being an aspiring movie producer.

Echo Aoki, Steve Aoki, and Kyle Aoki attend the “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” premiere during the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival at Beacon Theatre on April 15, 2016, in New York City. | Source: Getty Images

Kyle managed a trust fund alongside his siblings, Kana Grace and Kevin. Rocky gave them the trust fund after encountering issues with the revocation of his liquor license involving his Benihana restaurant in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, even though he almost put Kyle in jail, Rocky said that Kyle was his favorite son years after the lawsuit was over.

Meanwhile, Echo served as a personal assistant for Blue Tree Management for a year before moving on to work for Benihana in Hawaii for seven years. She has been a fiduciary accounting specialist since April 2020.

Kyle and Echo have lived their lives off the public eye. Kyle has made his Instagram page private, and Echo has done the same. Meanwhile, nothing has been known about Jenifer. She has never made public appearances and was not a regular fixture at get-togethers.

Steve once shared an almost complete photo of his siblings on Instagram during a Christmas gathering in 2016. In the caption, the renowned DJ mentioned: “From the Aoki siblings (missing Kyle & Jennifer).”

Steve Aoki’s 4 Siblings Were Sued by Their Father

Rocky had a tumultuous relationship with his children. He even once filed a lawsuit against four of them – Kevin, Kana Grace, Echo, and Kyle – alleging that they had mismanaged the family trust and wasted its assets.

This family rift happened after he married his third wife, Keiko Ono, whom his children suspected of being a “gold digger.” Rocky claimed that when he and Keiko married in 2002, Kevin and Kana Grace asked Keiko to sign a postnuptial agreement renouncing interest in Rocky’s Benihana assets.

Keiko refused to sign it, and Rocky wouldn’t make her. Things eventually escalated to a legal battle. According to Rocky, his four children, cited in his lawsuit, attempted to take control of the companies he founded.

Rocky Aoki and Keiko Ono attend the “Dress for Success” Honors Star Jones at Marriott Marquis Hotel on April 3, 2006, in New York City, New York. | Source: Getty Images

He claimed that after he remarried, his children used their control of the corporation to try to preserve their inheritance. Rocky’s lawsuit claimed that they “breached their fiduciary duties” and were trying to “wrest control” of the company due to their “hatred” of his wife.

Rocky wanted his children to be able to make it on their own but felt that they were not capable of that. The lawsuit caused a rift in their family, but two of his children – Steve and Devon – chose to stay out of the conflict during this time.

Steve has stressed that his father hasn’t funded his record label. But in 2014, Steve and Devon also sued their stepmother, claiming that Keiko was mismanaging the family’s businesses.

The siblings demanded an accounting of the trust fund from Keiko, whom they alleged to be spending significant money on “gimmicks” such as the Beni Girls, a duo flown around the world to perform at Benihana restaurants, and the Beni Burger, which sparked costly lawsuits.

Meanwhile, even though he almost put Kyle in jail, Rocky said that Kyle was his favorite son years after the lawsuit was over. Kyle later said their previous family rift – which involved millions in lawyer fees – was about pride.

Hollywood has long witnessed family and relationship feuds, and it wasn’t just the Aoki clan. Reality stars Kendall Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Scott Disick, and actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are among the celebrities whose personal dramas rocked the world.