Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr. was recently honored with his own Madame Tussauds statue in Rio, Brazil.
According to the official Madame Tussauds website, the statue was unveiled at the Praça da Apoteose at Rio’s iconic Sambódromo Marquês de Sapucaí, one of Brazil’s famous carnivals, which was just a few steps from where the Real Madrid winger grew up.
The Brazilian has now joined an illustrious group of personalities who have their very own Tussauds statue, and his entire family, consisting of his parents and siblings, was present to celebrate a huge milestone moment.
But the real question is this: Who are the mercurial winger’s parents? How many siblings does he have, and what role did his family play in his development as a person and as a player?
Let’s break it all down for you.
Vinicius’s father is Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira, often referred to as Vinícius Sr.
He was born in São Gonçalo, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but is Afro-Brazilian, with ancestral roots traced back to Western Africa.
Although not an ex-footballer himself by profession, he was instrumental in beginning his son’s football journey, enrolling him at Flamengo’s youth academy in 2006.
This was when Vini was just 5 years old, as he spotted his son’s early football talent and took up multiple jobs to support his training and travel costs.
Why Flamengo?
This is because his family were fans of Flamengo since his childhood.
They lived in São Gonçalo, a city near Rio de Janeiro, and Flamengo had training centers there. So it was easy and convenient for him to train close to home.
He started out at smaller Flamengo branches in his areas, like Mutuá and Canto do Rio, and later, the famous Ninho do Urubu, which is Flamengo’s main academy and training ground.
Hailing from a low-income, working-class neighborhood in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, José relocated to São Paulo temporarily and worked multiple gigs to sustain the family and fund Vinícius’s training and travel to Flamengo’s academy, which was 70 kilometers away.
He spent his early working years in manual labor, building infrastructure and working on construction sites to provide for his family.
Later, as reported by Bleacher Report, he worked as a cabling technician when the family lived for over 15 years in Portão da Rosa, Rio, supporting his children through his steady income.
As mentioned, José brought Vinícius to Flamengo’s local branch in 2006 and persisted despite initial rejections, and by 2010, due to his dad’s persistence, Vinícius passed the trial and officially joined their academy.
When Vinícius eventually joined the Flamengo Youth Academy in 2010, his father bought the Brazilian winger his first Flamengo match ticket to celebrate a successful trial, signifying their strong relationship.
While Vinícius lived during weekdays with his uncle Ulisses in Abolição to ease travel, José continued supporting from afar until the family could relocate closer.
As a result, Vini Jr. has always respected his father’s role in shaping his career and thus also respects his soft spot towards Flamengo FC.
As reported by Goal, on promising his father a return to Flamengo (when he was asked about his Real Madrid future in an interview), he stated,
“I think I could stay here my whole career, but the club of my life is Flamengo. I promised my father that I would come back one day. I have to keep this promise.”
His mother is Tatiana Vinícius (sometimes referred to as Tatiana Fernanda Vinícius).
She is of African descent, mainly of Congolese roots, and notes her constant emotional and logistical support: accompanying Vinícius to training sessions daily and ensuring he stayed focused, even while his father was working elsewhere on numerous jobs.
Tatiana regularly took her son to futsal classes, which were instrumental to his technical development, especially in terms of ball control and agility.
Described as a “pillar of strength”, she provided constant encouragement, even when the family struggled financially, to keep Vinícius focused on his dream.
Tatiana emphasized humility, discipline, and respect, prioritizing character development alongside athletic growth.
During injury rehab or tough transitions, Vinícius often cites his mother’s support as key to his resilience and focus.
She gave up her own career and daily comforts to devote herself to Vinícius’s training, often managing household responsibilities while supporting his football path.
Both parents have been integral in Vinicius’s development both as a player and as a person.
In his own words, Vinícius detailed how his parents secured funding to register him at Flamengo’s youth academy:
“When my parents wanted to register me… they had no money, but… my dad asked his friend for a loan… Mum … cleaned his house every weekend so I could register… my future was more important than his ego…”
As a result of both parents being of African heritage, Vinicius also falls under this ethnicity.
In fact, to be more specific, as reported by Fabrizio Romano, a DNA test conducted in November 2024 revealed Vinícius’s maternal ancestry traces to the Tikar people in Cameroon.
This was part of the Brazilian Football Confederation’s “Raíces de Oro” (Golden Roots) campaign, coinciding with Black Consciousness Day, where he received a formal certificate acknowledging this connection in a ceremony before the Brazil–Uruguay match on November 19–20, 2024.
On this, the Brazilian publicly stated in an interview:
“Discovering that my roots are in Cameroon is a very special moment… I’m happy.”
In terms of religion, Vini identifies as Roman Catholic, a common denomination in Brazil, and it is noted both across his social media profiles and in other bios.
Further, Vinícius often makes the sign of the cross before matches, a traditional Catholic gesture seeking divine protection as a pre-game ritual signifying how his belief in God is intertwined with his football as well.
After scoring or winning, he also frequently expresses thanks to God, acknowledging faith as a pillar in his success.
He also founded the Instituto Vini Jr. in Rio de Janeiro. Its mission is to boost youth education through sports and technology and is inspired by Christian values of service and equity.
A Reddit-quoted interview highlighted his vision of building this school, where he said he wanted to do something different for the young Brazilian kids:
“I want to change the lives of children… I don’t want children to see more Vinicius, Neymar, or Ronaldo. I want more doctors… I want to be an influence on and off the field.”
Vinícius Júnior has an older sister named Alessandra Oliveira and two younger brothers.
One of his younger brothers is João Inácio de Jesus Cerqueira, known as Netinho. He’s part of Boavista FC senior squad in the Campeonato Carioca, having progressed from their youth ranks.
Boavista’s football director, Diego Cope, was very impressed with Netinho. Cope believes Netinho has a lot of potential, is very skilled technically, and is strong like his brother.
Cope also said that Netinho is a perfect fit for the team because he’s so good. Interestingly, Netinho isn’t new to Boavista; he actually played for their youth teams back in 2017 and 2018.
Details of his other younger brother are yet to be out publicly, but he has a young nephew as well.
Vinicius Junior has only one nephew, the son of his older sister.
The Brazilian is reportedly living with all of his siblings in Spain and as a result wishes to stay at Real for the rest of his career.
In a 2021 interview, he emphasized how important his brothers are in his daily life and emotional well-being while adjusting to life in Spain and stated,
I live with my whole family and with my little brothers. I love this city … I feel at home.
Vinícius Júnior’s journey is more than a footballing rise; it’s the story of a family that stood behind him at every step.
His parents laid the foundation, his siblings continue the journey with him, and together, they form the home he never truly leaves, no matter where he plays.
