‘The Sound of Music’: The von Trapp Family Had 3 More Kids Who Were Not Shown in the Movie

The Sound of Music is a classic family movie that is loved by many generations. Released in 1965, it follows the von Trapp family, an Austrian singing family with seven children.

Although The Sound of Music is based on the true story of the real-life von Trapp family, the film features some inaccuracies. For example, the real-life von Trapp family actually had 10 kids, not seven. So who were these kids not shown in the movie?

Who were the 3 kids not shown in ‘The Sound of Music’?

As shown in the movie, the von Trapp family was headed by former naval captain Georg von Trapp. After his first wife died, he was left widowed with seven kids. He, then, hired a governess named Maria, and Georg and Maria eventually married.

What the movie does not show, however, is that Georg and Maria had three children together: Rosmarie (born 1929), Eleonore (born 1931), and Johannes (born 1939). Rosmarie and Eleonore were born in Austria before the family left for the United States in 1938. Meanwhile, Johannes was born in Philadelphia.

It is important to note that real-life Georg and Maria got married a whole decade before the family fled Austria, leaving a lot of time for them to have kids together. However, the events in The Sound of Music happen within a shorter period of time, with on-screen Georg and Maria getting married as the Nazis take over Austria in the late 1930s.

The names and genders of the kids in ‘The Sound of Music’ also got changed

In addition to not including the three younger kids, the seven kids in the movies also have names and genders that are different from their real-life counterparts.

In the film, the seven kids are Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, Brigitta, Marta, and Gretl.

In real life, they are Rupert, Agathe, Maria, Werner, Hedwig, Johanna, and Martina.

According to the blog Edelweiss Patterns, the children’s identities were changed because the elder Maria von Trapp wanted to protect their privacy. However, she allowed for the characters depicting her and Georg to keep their names.

What became of the von Trapp kids in real life?

While in Austria, the von Trapp family already made a name for themselves as a singing troupe. In 1938, they moved to the U.S. and continued to perform, calling themselves the Trapp Family Singers. They toured all over the U.S. as well as other countries around the world until 1957. The family even released records during this time.

After their disbandment, the family members pursued other careers. Some of them did missionary work in New Guinea for some time. Some worked in everyday professions like teaching and medicine. Others ran the family lodge, the Trapp Family Lodge in Vermont, as a resort for tourists.

The original seven von Trapp kids have all died—the last surviving one was Maria, who died in 2014. However, Georg and Maria’s three children are all still alive.