Basic Information
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Tulip Victoria Khaury |
| Known For | Daughter of Tiny Tim (Herbert Khaury) and Miss Vicki; life outside show business |
| Date of Birth | May 10, 1971 |
| Place of Birth | Manhattan, New York, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Heritage | Lebanese, Polish-Jewish, Italian-German |
| Parents | Tiny Tim (father), Miss Vicki (mother) |
| Siblings | None surviving; stillborn brother (May 15, 1970) |
| Residence | Pennsylvania, USA |
| Marital/Family Status | Reportedly married; mother of four |
| Occupation | Customer service roles in community services sector |
From the Tonight Show to the Nursery: Early Life
Tulip Victoria Khaury was born into a moment that American television never quite forgot. On December 17, 1969, her parents—novelty-pop sensation Tiny Tim and 17-year-old Miss Vicki—married on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, an event watched by an estimated 40 to 45 million viewers. Less than two years later, on May 10, 1971, their daughter arrived in Manhattan, carrying a name that echoed the falsetto tune that made her father famous: “Tiptoe Through the Tulips.”
Before her birth, the family had already known heartbreak. A son, named “IT” in a gesture that matched her father’s idiosyncratic humor and era’s headlines, was stillborn on May 15, 1970. Tulip, then, became the couple’s only surviving child, a singular branch on a family tree that grew in all directions—across boroughs, across cultures, across the peculiar borderlands between celebrity and ordinary life.
A Childhood Between Two Worlds
The marriage that dazzled television audiences dimmed quickly under the strain of fame, constant travel, and youth. Depending on accounts, the couple separated by the mid-1970s and formally divorced by 1974 or 1977. Tulip’s earliest memories would have been shaped by movement: the crowded energy of New York, the steadier rhythms of New Jersey, and the intervals between her mother’s careful routines and her father’s sprawling touring schedule.
Raised primarily by her mother, Tulip’s formative years tilted toward the normal. Schooldays, family errands, and the workaday choreography found in any American suburb became her anchor. Visits with her father brought another texture—ukuleles, vaudeville nostalgia, and that strange, bright spotlight that never seemed to extinguish for him. Tulip, by contrast, learned to turn the light down low.
Reconnections, Farewell, and the Weight of a Surname
The 1990s brought reconnection. As Tiny Tim’s career curved through revivals, cult followings, and nostalgia circuits, father and daughter drew closer again. On November 30, 1996, he collapsed onstage during a performance in Minneapolis and died at age 64. The story made headlines—part showbiz, part tragedy, perfectly aligned with his lifelong aura of the bittersweet. Tulip was 25. Accounts describe a reconciliation before his death and suggest she received a portion of his estate, though exact arrangements remain private.
For Tulip, the family name carries both charm and gravity. It’s a surname that can fill a room, a melody that lingers, but also a reminder that fame is a kind of weather: you can’t always change it, but you can learn to live beneath it.
Choosing the Everyday: Work, Home, and Motherhood
By adulthood, Tulip made a choice as definitive as any headline: the everyday. She established herself in Pennsylvania, built a family, and worked in customer service roles—often described as part of the community services sector. The work is solid, necessary, detail-focused; it suits someone intent on contribution rather than attention.
She is a mother of four, and her approach is consistent: privacy first, stability always. Public glimpses are rare and usually accidental—brief mentions in profiles that orbit her father’s fame, footnotes in biographies, a name in a timeline rather than a voice on a stage. She seems comfortable with that arrangement. Her legacy is living, breathing, laughing around a dinner table, not accruing likes or trending topics.
Family Overview
| Family Member | Relationship | Lifespan/Key Dates | Notable Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiny Tim (Herbert Butros Khaury) | Father | Apr 12, 1932 – Nov 30, 1996 | Singer/ukulelist famed for “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” (1968). Married three times; died after an onstage cardiac event in Minneapolis at 64. |
| Miss Vicki (Victoria Mae Budinger) | Mother | Born c. 1952 | Married Tiny Tim on national TV (Dec 17, 1969). Raised Tulip primarily in New Jersey; maintains a private life. |
| “IT” Khaury | Brother (stillborn) | May 15, 1970 | Commemorated in family history as the firstborn child who did not survive. |
| Butros Khaury | Paternal Grandfather | Early-mid 20th c. | Lebanese immigrant and textile worker in New York. |
| Tillie Staff | Paternal Grandmother | Early-mid 20th c. | Polish-Jewish immigrant and garment worker; often cited in accounts of Tiny Tim’s blended heritage. |
| Maternal Grandparents | Mother’s parents | Mid-20th c. | New Jersey roots of Italian-German descent; privately lived, working-class background. |
| Children (names private) | Tulip’s children | 2000s–present | Four children; family-centered and non-public. |
Milestones Timeline
| Year/Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Dec 17, 1969 | Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki marry on national television. |
| May 15, 1970 | Stillborn son, “IT” Khaury. |
| May 10, 1971 | Birth of Tulip Victoria Khaury in Manhattan. |
| 1974–1977 | Parents’ separation/divorce (dates vary by account). |
| 1980s | Tulip’s school years, largely out of the public eye. |
| Nov 30, 1996 | Tiny Tim dies following an onstage cardiac event in Minneapolis, age 64. |
| 2000s | Tulip builds family life in Pennsylvania; community-facing work. |
| 2010s–2020s | Continues to reside in Pennsylvania; maintains low public profile. |
In the Public Eye—By Choice or By Echo
Tulip’s name appears here and there, more often in the echoes of her father’s story than in its own spotlight. Documentaries and retrospectives about Tiny Tim sometimes mention her birth and the Tonight Show wedding, and then the camera moves on. She does not court attention; she does not perform for it. If her father’s career was a spotlight—white-hot, indelible—Tulip’s life is a sunset: softer, purposeful, and beautifully ordinary.
Her heritage is a braid of histories: Lebanese Catholic and Polish-Jewish on her father’s side; Italian and German roots on her mother’s. These strands are visible in the lore around Tiny Tim’s upbringing—the garment shops, the immigrant grit, the offbeat tastes in old songs from the 1910s and ’20s—and they are present, even if quietly, in Tulip’s own choices. It’s the arc so many second-generation children of fame choose: to honor the past without reenacting it.
FAQ
Who is Tulip Victoria Khaury?
She is the only surviving child of singer Tiny Tim and his first wife, Miss Vicki.
When and where was she born?
She was born on May 10, 1971, in Manhattan, New York.
Is Tulip involved in the entertainment industry?
No; she has chosen a private, non-public career path.
Where does she live now?
She resides in Pennsylvania, maintaining a low public profile.
Did she have any siblings?
She had a brother who was stillborn in 1970; she has no surviving siblings.
What was her relationship with Tiny Tim like?
Accounts describe affection, periods of distance, and a reconciliation before his death in 1996.
How many children does she have?
She is a mother of four.
What kind of work does she do?
She has held customer service roles, often described within the community services sector.
Did she inherit from Tiny Tim’s estate?
It is widely believed she received a share, but specific arrangements have not been made public.
Is there recent news about Tulip?
No significant public updates have emerged in recent years; she remains out of the spotlight.
