Meet Marcella Francesca Hetfield, James Hetfield’s Talented Daughter

7 March, 2024

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Last updated on 30 October, 2024.

Almost everyone knows who James Hetfield is. But the main question goes way beyond being the frontman of the American band Metallica.

Metallica band members, are made up of James Hetfield (vocals, guitar), Lars Ulrich (drums), Kirk Hammett (guitar) and Robert Trujillo (bass), who have been together since 1981, are legends in the world of heavy metal music. You need to know the band’s personal lives, their histories, their families and friends, and even their dirty little secrets, to be a real Metallica fan.

Marcella Francesca Hetfield has become a rising public figure and is best known as the daughter of James Hetfield. Through her own merits, Marcella Hetfield is connected to her father’s name and fame, and as such, she is of interest to a much larger audience than a mere Metallica fanbase. In this post, I’ll outline what is currently known about Marcella Hetfield, offering a family overview and touching upon some of her interests and outside activities.

James Hetfield: Metallica Icon, Devoted Father

james hetfield in flames wallpaper — James Hetfield Wallpaper. Credit:

James Alan Hetfield was born on 3 August 1963 in California, USA. He is 61 years old. James is more than just the frontman of Metallica. He’s an aggressive vocalist, a talented rhythm guitarist, a co-founder of the band, and a major force behind their songwriting. His vocals and lyrics, often written about anger, frustration, and themes of redemption, became the sound and soul of Metallica and influenced generations of heavy metal bands.

Since forming in 1981, Metallica has been one of the biggest bands in rock. They’ve sold hundreds of millions of records, played massive stadiums, and inspired generations of fans.

Yet Hetfield is also the devoted father of three: Cali, Castor, and Marcella Hetfield, born of his long marriage to Francesca Hetfield (the two divorced in 2022). James Hetfield has always kept his family first and foremost and has named them as his primary source of strength and motivation. Hetfield’s wife was a major factor in his recovery from substance and alcohol abuse.

With more than 100 million albums sold, Hetfield reconciles rockstardom with fatherhood, showing that professional success and personal happiness don’t have to be at odds and inspiring fans with his music and his family.

Who is Marcella Francesca Hetfield?

Young Marcella Hetfield attending school. — Credit: Pinterest

James Hetfield with his wife and kids in 2012. — Credit: Pinterest

Marcella Francesca Hetfield is the daughter of James Hetfield and his wife, Francesca Hetfield, an Argentine-born American. She was born on January 17, 2002, in San Francisco, California, United States. She is currently 22 years old. And unlike his other two children, James Hetfield was present for the birth of Marcella, whom he called ‘my little angel.’

By the age of one, Marcella Hetfield had already been to her father’s band’s gig. As a surprise on her seventh birthday in 2009, James took his daughter on stage at a Metallica show (see video below). She joined the band to sing Happy Birthday to her, and the crowd sang along. It was a special moment for father and daughter alike.

Marcella also did ballet and took horse riding lessons as a young girl, telling The Sun in 2018 that her father once explained how hard it was for him to balance her before-school activities with his Metallica shows around the world.

By late 2016, Marcella Hetfield and her parents and siblings had moved to a ‘super quiet,’ small town in Vail, Colorado. Among other reasons, James loved the beauty of the natural environment. He had always wanted to hunt in the area; Francesca Hetfield had grown up in Vail after being born in Argentina, and James felt a strong connection to the mountains.

Marcella Hetfield’s Mother: The Story of Francesca Tomasi

James Hetfield and Francesca's divorced in 2022. — Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Marcella’s mother, Francesca Tomasi Hetfield, born in Argentina in 1970, was brought to the United States as a young child, settling in Colorado. She met Metallica’s James Hetfield in 1992 while he was a costume designer for the band (on its ‘Wherever We May’ tour), and they were dating by the time they married on 17 August 1997.

Though she kept a private life alongside her husband, Francesca sometimes joined James Hetfield on tour and appeared in the 2004 documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. Hetfield told the filmmakers that she helped him through his problems, especially his anger issues.

In spite of sharing that long odyssey and her extremely influential role in his life, the couple finally divorced after 25 years of marriage. Francesca Hetfield said: “After 30 years of ups and downs but always with a lot of love, I am extremely saddened that my marriage has come to this.“

The divorce was filed in Colorado in early 2022 and remained private; Hetfield and Francesca continued communicating and kept their lives away from the press.

Marcella Hetfield’s Siblings, Cali and Castor Hetfield

James Hetfield's children as young teenagers. — Castor, Cali, and Marcella Hetfield were shot in their early teenage years. (Credit: Tumblr)

Marcella Francesca Hetfield is the youngest of three children of former couple James Hetfield and Francesca Hetfield.

Cali Tee Hetfield

Marcella’s older sister, Cali Tee Hetfield, was born on 13 June 1998. Cali Hetfield lives a more private life away from the limelight and is said to have inherited her father’s musical talent. She stole the show when she joined her dad, James, for a performance in San Francisco in 2015, the two of them singing Adele’s “Crazy For You”. James and Sammy Hagar organized the charity concert Acoustic 4 A Cure.

Castor Hetfield: Following His Father’s Footsteps

Marcella Francesca Hetfield has a brother, Castor Virgil Hetfield, born 18 May 2000. He is a professional musician like his father, and the lead vocalist and drummer of Bastardane, a hard rock band.

With bassist Jake Dallas and guitarist Ethan Sirotzki, the trio released their first album This Is Rage in March 2022, followed by an extensive US tour that same year with the support act OTTO (a band led by the son of Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo).

In an interview with Savannah Morning News, Castor Hetfield expressed that while the comparisons to his father’s work in Metallica can be bothersome, he wants to forge the band’s own path.

Check out Bastardane on Instagram, which already has just over 20K followers.

Marcella Francesca Hetfield: A Creative Force

Credit: @cellar.door.415 / Instagram

Unlike her vocalist father, who has a background in the theatre, James Hetfield’s daughter is a fine arts girl. Marcella Francesca Hetfield is enrolled in the private Pratt Institute, a university that ranks 10th in the country for architecture, engineering and fine arts programmes. She studies Jewellery.

But she does have many other skills – singing, acting, modeling, and bartending are among the talents that Marcella Hetfield lists on her Backstage profile.

Marcella Francesca Hetfield lives in Brooklyn, New York. She, too, likes tattoos, as well as piercings, and frequently posts pictures of them on social media. She reminds me of her father.

She is tall, measuring 5’10”/ 178 cm and weighing 132lbs/60 kg. Her physical appearance is athletic. Marcella loves to go to the gym, and she takes her diet very seriously. She has makes a variety of consumable content on her TikTok that incorporates her diet.

Besides her enthusiasm for food, she has a passion for travel, where she also showcases her photography skills on Instagram (username @cellar.door.415 – she has 12k followers). She also has an online clothing store on Depop.

Marcella Francesca Hetfield is representative of her peers in Gen Z: socially conscious, active on social media and an ally of diversity. Overall, Marcella Hetfield is a multifaceted teenager interested in various artistic fields such as photography, music, film and jewellery making, as well as body art.