The biggest “legend” in John Legend’s life is his father, Ronald Stephens.
PEOPLE has an exclusive clip of Legend, 45, talking about how Stephens has shaped who he is as a person in the upcoming Sunday, July 7, series premiere of Raising Fame.
“I’m a lot like him. Our personalities are very similar,” he tells hosts Sonya Curry (mother of Stephen Curry) and Lucille O’Neal (mother of Shaquille O’Neal).
“Our disposition is very similar. We’re both very laid back, calm, able to, you know, whenever life gets hard, we’re able to figure it out and not get too overly raw emotionally. And just keep a clear head and figure out what we need to do,” adds Legend.
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The EGOT winner says his father has also helped him be a better dad to his own kids — Luna Simone, 8, Miles Theodore, 6, Esti Maxine, 17 months, and Wren Alexander, 11 months — whom he shares with his wife, Chrissy Teigen.
“I think he’s been a role model to me as a father because he was a single dad for a while. And just seeing the dedication he had to our family, seeing the creativity he had for our family, just kindness and love and just a great example of integrity and character that he always set for us,” says Legend. “That’s why he’s my role model. I always tell him that I want to be a dad like him.”
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When asked if he’s applied some of the lessons he’s learned from his father to raising his own children, Legend laughs and explains, “I find myself sounding like him a lot of times. I’m like, yes, I can tell I’m his son.”
Legend spoke with PEOPLE in 2019 about how his father was crucial in shaping his character after being crowned PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive.
“My father taught me about character. He taught us by example. He always conducted himself with such grace and dignity. My parents always taught me that if you’re going to succeed in life, part of success is having humility,” he said. “It’s a good way to live life, treating other people the way you want to be treated.”
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In an April 2021 conversation with PEOPLE, Teigen, 38, praised Legend as a father and explained how he teaches their children to embrace their emotions.
“There is no ‘Be a man’ in our house. There’s no right way to be a man, and John is so good about showing them through how he treats me how to be a good man, how to be a good father. It’s wonderful to see,” she told PEOPLE.
