The Haim Sisters: All About Este, Danielle & Alana and Their Sibling Rock Band

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

TheHaimsisters — Este,DanielleandAlana— make up one of the biggest sibling bands in music.

They count icons likeElton Johnamong their fans,Taylor SwiftandLordeamong their collaborators andLizzo,Stevie Nicksand theFoo Fightersamong artists with whom they’ve shared the stage.

The sibling group made music history at the 2021 Grammys, where they became the first all-female rock band nominated for album of the year, but they’d much rather not discuss specifically being women in music — so much so that they cheekily named their third full-length albumWomen in Music Pt. III.

“In the spirit of being spontaneous, it made us laugh and we thought it was funny because we got asked, ‘What’s it like to be a woman in music?’ Or, ‘What’s it like to be women in music?’ We had gotten that question every interview since 2012,” Danielle told PEOPLE in 2021. “So we thought, we think it’s funny: ‘Maybe if we name our album that, people will get the picture not to ask the question.’ And it worked.”

So who are the Haim sisters? Here’s what to know about Alana, Danielle and Este Haim, and how they went from playing music with their parents to selling out arenas around the world.

The Haim sisters have music in their blood

Taylor Hill/Getty

After graduating high school, Danielle toured withJenny LewisandJulian Casablancasand performed onThe Tonight ShowwithCeeLo Green. Este, meanwhile, finished a five-year ethnomusicology degree program at UCLA in just two years. In 2004, Este and Danielle joined the band the Valli Girls, with which they released a song onThe Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantssoundtrack. They left the group in 2005 and formed their own band with Alana in 2007.

They are born and bred California girls

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Haim could change the “Valley Girl” stereotype in a big way. The sisters grew up in the Los Angeles suburb San Fernando Valley, an experience that influenced their work.

“We grew up along Laurel Canyon on the Valley side, north of Ventura [Boulevard], in a city called Valley Village, which we affectionately call Valley ‘Vill-ahh-ge,’ to make it a little more chic," EstetoldVarietyin 2020. “And we were, what, three or four exits away from Hollywood? But it still felt really far away.”

The band wrote their song “Los Angeles” about Este driving them into the city. “When I got my license and got a car with a sunroof and a f—ed-up CD player with my bat mitzvah and chore money, I would get Danielle and Alana and drive over Laurel Canyon to get to the Roxy and Troubadour,” she recalled.

They’re proud of their Jewish heritage

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The Haim sisters are Jewish and their religion was a big part of their upbringing and bonding with their parents, theytoldGQ.

“When it comes to Judaism, the thing that really kept us together was the family aspect. It was the High Holidays, coming together as a family for an event. A meal,” Alana said. Este added, “We did Shabbat, but that was more about just coming together as a family.”

Their faith and secular Jewish traditions even informed their music career. One of theirearliest performanceswith their family band Rockinhaim was in the back of Canter’s Deli, a famous Jewish-style deli in L.A., and they were paid in matzo ball soup. Paying homage to those roots, the sisters planned a tour of delis in 2020, but that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In December 2021, Haim released their own rendition ofAdam Sandler’s “The Chanukah Song,” name-droppingDoja Cat,Timothée Chalamet,Rashida Jones,Dan and Eugene LevyandMaya Rudolph, among others. Sandler approved of the tune,retweeting the videoand writing, “Love you ladies! You are three badass Jews! See you on tour!”

JAY-Z signed them to his agency

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Fans can thankJAY-Zfor the Haim sisters being household names. The rapper and mogul signed Haim toRoc Nationin 2012.

“To say that JAY-Z is my boss makes me want to throw up,” Alanatold Fusein 2013. “We are obsessed with JAY-Z and we’re just really excited that he wants us to be in his personal space.”

A year after signing with Roc Nation, Haim dropped their debut albumDays Are Gone. The sisters toldRolling Stonethat JAY-Z sent them a congratulatory note when their opening week numbers were unveiled. In 2017, they signed with Full Stop Management.

Este “almost died” during a performance

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Este had a medical emergency onstage during Haim’s set at the 2013 Glastonbury Festival. She toldBBC News, “I think we’ve had a lot of trials and tribulations on the road, there have been a couple of little mishaps — Glastonbury being one of them when I almost died.”

“My eyes were kind of fluttering in the back of my head,” she recalled. She went offstage and was in and out of consciousness when her manager checked her blood sugar levels. He discovered that Este was five points away from a seizure.

“My manager, he’s the best manager in the world, he had to put chocolate on his finger and stick it in my mouth,” she added. When she recovered, Este went back onstage to finish the performance seated — “likeB.B. King.”

The singer said the incident was a result of missing a meal, a risk that’s all too common while touring.

“It’s due to the fact that your hours are always so different and food is never really constant,” she explained. “It definitely is not easy but it is manageable, you just have to make it a priority and make sure you stay healthy.”

They made their big screen debuts together

Amazon

While Anderson wrote Alana’s part specifically for her (and used her name for the character), Alana said she was nervous about being “terrible” in the movie. “I was like, ‘I don’t even know where tolook. What if I look at the camera?’ ” she recalled. But Anderson thought she did exceptionally well.

“I didn’t know she was going to bethatgood,” he toldtheNew York Times.

Alana credited her work as a musical performer for preparing her for work in front of the camera. “Being in Haim, I’m doing so many different things and there are so many different distractions that you have to tune everything out and just be very present in your body,” she told the outlet. “And I think that really helps with shooting a movie.”

They use “telepathy” in their songwriting

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The Haim sisters are so in sync with one another that they sometimes manage to collaborate without even speaking a word.

Speaking about the songwriting and production process of their albumWomen in Music Pt. III, Alana told PEOPLE, “Sister telepathy is a real thing. Because we’re family, it’s easy to trust who you’re working with.”

Sometimes that closeness had a negative impact, Este toldVariety. During the COVID-19 pandemic, and after a series of personal struggles, including the death of a close friend, the sisters were closer than ever — but they were having trouble communicating.

“It’s this weird dichotomy that we tend to tell each other everything, and then wear the emotions of each other. So when one of us is feeling glum or blue, the other two tend to join that person in their loneliness,” Este explained, adding that she felt guilty subjecting her sisters to her sadness. “We are so close, but we still felt lonely and isolated at the same time,” she said.

But they felt those emotions anyway, and the sisters think it might be genetic.

“We do have a theory also that our grandma is clairvoyant, so it might’ve been passed down from generation to generation,” Este added. “There’s a telepathy that doesn’t happen if you’re not a sister.”

They’re good friends with Taylor Swift

Haim Instagram

Taylor Swift counts the Haim sisters as some of her closest friends. In addition to opening for Swift on the Eras Tour, the band previously toured with her in support of her album1989. In July 2022, Swiftjoined Haim during a performanceat London’s O2 Arena.

They’ve collaborated offstage as well: The Haim sistersplayed Swift’s stepsistersin her “Bejeweled” music video. Swift isfeatured on their song"Gasoline," while they harmonized with her on theevermoretrack “No Body, No Crime,” which even mentions Este.

During their downtime, the Haim sisters often hang out with Swift and were spotted at her25th birthday partyin 2014 and her32nd birthday partyin 2021.

In February 2025, the sisters accompanied Swift to the Super Bowl in New Orleans, where they cheered forTravis Kelceand the Kansas City Chiefs from aVIP suiteinside the Caesars Superdome.

Este is engaged

Este Haim in 2025.Este Haim/Instagram

Este Haim/Instagram

Este announced herengagement to tech entrepreneur Jonathan Levinin February 2025.

source: people.com