Cass Elliot's Daughter Owen Vanessa Elliot-Kugell Met Her Father after Her Mother Died

Owen Vanessa Elliot-Kugell is the late Cass Elliot's only daughter. Her mother never publicly revealed her father's identity, though with help, Owen eventually met her father.

Cass Elliot, better known as Mama Cass, was a beloved pop singer of the 1960s and '70s. The singer maintained a high degree of privacy, especially regarding her only child, Owen Vanessa Elliot-Kugell.

Owen drew her first breath on April 26, 1967. She was born from her mother's brief relationship with a former The Mamas and The Papas touring bassist. Owen shared that she met her father many years after her mother died.

Owen Vanessa Elliott-Kugell's Father Was Present at Cass Elliot's Funeral

Owen's mother died of a heart attack at age 32 in August 1974. Owen was seven when Cass passed away, and her aunt, Leah Kunkel, received custody of her. Leah then raised Owen alongside her son, Nathaniel.

At that point, Owen still had never met her father. Her mother had planned to reveal his identity to a friend, Michelle Phillips (a former The Mamas and The Papas bandmate), but died before she had the chance.

Michelle then made it her mission to help Owen find her father, and she did, with the aid of a private investigator. Owen spoke about the events that led to her first meeting with her father in a November 2021 interview and revealed:

"He was at my mother's funeral but didn't identify himself. [...] Stood across the street."

His name was Chuck Day. Owen admitted she had fantasized about the kind of person her father possibly was. "I will say, sometimes reality doesn't measure up to fantasy at all, and I had a real fantasy of what he was, and he was fairly far removed from what I fantasized," she said.

Owen Vanessa Elliot-Kugell Is Musically Inclined like Her Parents

Owen's musical inclinations began showing when she was a baby. At 16 months, her mom revealed she could play the organ and the harmonica. Owen eventually pursued music professionally and even toured with Beach Boys member Al Jardine.

In 2012, she released a song titled "Dedicated to the One I Love." In November 2023, she announced she had a memoir, "My Mama, Cass," on the way, to be released in May 2024. Part of why Owen wrote the book was to dispel the rumors surrounding her mother's death.

Cass was cruelly speculated to have choked on a ham sandwich, but Owen clarified, "She died in her sleep, and that meant a lot to me, especially as a little girl." Besides doing away with harmful gossip, the book allowed Owen to uphold her mom's legacy and get to know her better.

In 1968, Cass shared that she visited a medium who told her Owen had been hers before. "I'm a diehard skeptic, but she told me that Owen, my daughter, had been my child before and that her soul had been returned to me. I thought that was a lovely thought, even if it's not true," she said.

Owen Vanessa Elliot-Kugell Is a Mom and Wife

Owen is married to Jack Kugell. Jack is a University of California, Los Angeles graduate and has been writing and producing music for decades. His work includes composing a few songs in Disney's "Descendants 3," which starred Dove Cameron and the late Cameron Boyce.

Jack is also credited for the soundtrack in "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series," co-starring Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo, and "Julie and the Phantoms." He and Owen are parents to two kids, Zoe and Noah. Jack is active on Instagram but mostly posts work-related content.