Who Is Pele Velentina? Dave Lee and Lisa Kennedy’s Daughter Making Waves in Music

When your mom is one of Fox News’ most recognizable faces, and your dad is a snowboarding pioneer, people assume they already know your story. Pele Velentina is proving them wrong.

Born and raised in Los Angeles to two very different public figures, she’s an emerging musician building her own path — quietly, on her own timeline.

This article covers everything: her background, her athletic career, her debut music, and what makes her more than a celebrity kid with a famous last name.

Who Is Pele Velentina and Why Are People Searching for Her?

Pele Velentina Lee is a 20-year-old American singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. She’s the eldest daughter of Fox News commentator Lisa Kennedy Montgomery and former professional snowboarder Dave Lee — but she’s becoming known for something entirely her own.

Her 2024 debut single, “Broken,” reached listeners who had no idea who her parents were. That’s kind of the point. Pele has built early credibility on her songwriting alone, without trading on a famous last name or the media connections she could have easily used.

What’s compelling about her story isn’t who raised her — it’s who she’s choosing to become.

How Old Is Pele Velentina and Where Did She Grow Up?

Pele grew up in Pacific Palisades — a quiet pocket of Los Angeles wedged between the Santa Monica Mountains and the ocean. Her parents kept their daughters deliberately out of the spotlight, even as Lisa Kennedy Montgomery became one of cable news’ most familiar voices. That privacy shaped Pele in visible ways: she carries a groundedness that reads more like someone who spent her childhood playing soccer than sitting front row at industry events.

Who Are Pele Velentina’s Parents?

Two parents, two completely different worlds — and Pele landed somewhere neither of them expected.

Lisa Kennedy Montgomery — From MTV VJ to Fox News Commentator

Known professionally as “Kennedy,” Lisa Kennedy Montgomery has one of the more unusual career arcs in American media. She broke through in the 1990s as an MTV VJ, then pivoted into political commentary, radio, and books. Her credits include:

• Hangin’ with MTV and Alternative Nation (MTV)
• Outnumbered and The Five (Fox News)
• Kennedy Saves the World (podcast)
• Author of The Kennedy Chronicles

As a mother, Kennedy has celebrated her daughters’ sports achievements on social media while keeping the rest of their lives private — a balance that reveals more about the household culture than any interview would.

Dave Lee — Pro Snowboarder Turned Entrepreneur

Pele’s father built a name in professional snowboarding before founding Signal Snowboards, a company he still leads as CEO. His background brought something different to the family dynamic: athletic discipline, risk tolerance, and the entrepreneurial instinct to build from scratch. Those qualities have a way of transferring — and Pele’s willingness to enter a difficult industry without a safety net suggests they did.

Does Pele Velentina Have Siblings?

Pele has one younger sister — Lotus Tennessee Lee, born March 14, 2009, in Santa Monica, California. Lotus is four years younger and, like Pele, has stayed out of public view by both family design and personal choice.

Pele was 12 when her parents divorced in 2017, old enough to feel the weight of that shift while still being the older sibling navigating it alongside a younger one. It’s a context worth keeping in mind when you listen to a debut single called “Broken.”

Before the Music: Pele Velentina’s Athletic Background

Before any recording studio, Pele was competing on gymnastics floors and soccer pitches across California.

In 2014, at just nine years old, she took first place on the bars and third overall at a state gymnastics competition — reportedly earning a spot at nationals that same year. Her mother shared the news publicly, and the achievement spoke for itself.

Soccer was her other sport, and the name “Pele” was never accidental. Her father named her after the greatest soccer player of all time, and she played competitively enough to justify it.

Most young athletes with that kind of early success stay on that track. Pele didn’t. Somewhere between state titles and high school, music won out over competition — and that pivot from athlete to artist is one of the more interesting threads in her story.

What Kind of Music Does Pele Velentina Make?

Her Debut Single “Broken” — What It’s About

Pele entered the music industry in 2024 with “Broken” — not the kind of debut you’d expect from a 19-year-old stepping into the spotlight for the first time.

The song covers themes of personal loss, self-acceptance, and recovery — territory that requires experience to write without sounding hollow. At 19, Pele was already writing from reflection rather than performance.

Current discography:

• “Broken” — debut single, 2024; raw and introspective in tone, focused on emotional storytelling
• No additional public releases confirmed as of 2025/2026

The title says something on its own. “Broken” doesn’t pitch happiness or wrap pain in a commercial bow. It sounds like someone processing something real — which is a rarer debut move than it should be.

What’s Next for Pele Velentina’s Career?

Can Pele Velentina Step Out of Her Parents’ Shadow?

She already has — artistically. The question is whether the wider public catches up.

Growing up adjacent to Lisa Kennedy Montgomery’s media world gave Pele an insider understanding of how public attention works, which may explain why she’s approaching her own career so carefully. She’s not chasing virality. Sustainable music careers are built through consistent releases and genuine listener connection, and her early steps suggest she knows that.

The athletic background matters here too. Gymnastics demands precision and composure under pressure; soccer builds resilience and adaptability. Those aren’t incidental — they’re exactly the qualities a young artist needs to develop without burning out. Pele carried all of it into the studio.

Her debut sets a high bar for emotional honesty. Whether “Broken” becomes the first chapter of something larger remains to be seen — but it’s already a stronger foundation than most celebrity-adjacent debuts manage.

Key Takeaways

• Pele Velentina Lee was born July 1, 2005, in Los Angeles — making her 20 years old as of 2025/2026
• Her mother is Lisa Kennedy Montgomery, Fox News host, former MTV VJ, and author
• Her father is Dave Lee, ex-pro snowboarder and CEO of Signal Snowboards
• Younger sister Lotus Tennessee Lee was born March 14, 2009, in Santa Monica
• Pele won first place on bars and placed third overall at a state gymnastics competition in 2014
• Debut single “Broken” (2024) covers loss, self-acceptance, and personal growth
• She lives in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles
• Her parents divorced in 2017 after 17 years of marriage

Conclusion

Pele Velentina had every shortcut available and didn’t use any of them.

She could have leveraged her mother’s Fox News connections or her father’s industry network for a fast-tracked music career. Instead, she released a single built on emotional honesty and let it stand on its own. In a landscape where celebrity offspring routinely get front-loaded deals without the foundation to back them up, that’s a deliberate and unusual choice.

She represents something worth watching — an artist who wants to be known for the work, not the name. Whether “Broken” opens a larger chapter or stands as the start of a slow build, it’s a more honest introduction than most get.

Her debut single is available on major streaming platforms. It might just surprise you.