Birmingham in the 1920s wasn't exactly a place for keeping clean records. If you've watched even ten minutes of the show, you know the Shelbys are a chaotic blend of Romani heritage, Irish blood, and Small Heath grit. But honestly, trying to map out the Peaky Blinders Shelby family tree is like trying to untangle a knot of barbed wire while someone’s swinging a meat cleaver at your head. It’s complicated. It’s messy. And most of the time, the people who actually share the Shelby name are the ones trying to kill each other.
The Shelbys aren't just a gang. They’re a dynasty built on the back of a runaway father and a mother who died way too young.
The First Generation: Arthur Sr. and Mrs. Shelby
It all starts with Arthur Shelby Sr. and his wife. We don't see much of the mother—she’s a ghost in the narrative—but her impact is massive. She was a Strong, proud woman of Romani descent, which is where the "Gypsy" blood comes from. That’s the core of their identity. Then you have Arthur Sr., played by Tommy Flanagan, who was basically a deadbeat. He ditched his five kids, wandered back into their lives just to steal their money and dignity, and then vanished again.
He’s the reason Tommy is the way he is.
When you look at the Peaky Blinders Shelby family tree, Arthur Sr. is the root, but he's a rotten one. He represents the failure of the "old" Shelby way—all talk, no vision. His children had to raise themselves, which created that fierce, almost pathological loyalty they have for one another. Or at least, the loyalty they pretend to have until the whiskey starts flowing and the secrets come out.
The Power Five: Arthur, Tommy, John, Ada, and Finn
These are the siblings everyone knows. But even here, the hierarchy is weird.
Arthur Jr. is the oldest. In a normal 1920s family, he’d be the boss. But Arthur is broken. He’s the muscle, the rage, and the PTSD-riddled heart of the family. Then you have Thomas Michael Shelby. Tommy. He’s the middle child who climbed over everyone to take the crown. He's the brain. He's the one who turned a back-alley betting shop into an international empire.
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John was the third brother. He was the most "Shelby" of them all—impulsive, brave, and ultimately, the first major casualty of the vendetta with the Italians. His death in Season 4 didn't just remove a branch from the Peaky Blinders Shelby family tree; it snapped the trunk.
Then there's Ada. She’s the only girl and the only one who consistently tries to distance herself from the "Peaky Blinder" brand. She’s a Thorne by marriage (to Freddie, the communist), and her branch of the tree is the most intellectually driven. Finally, there's Finn. Poor Finn. He’s the baby of the family, born too late to fight in the Great War and too soft to survive the world Tommy built. By the end of the series, he’s basically been pruned off the tree entirely.
The Thorne and Gray Connections
You can't talk about the Shelbys without mentioning the Grays. Aunt Polly—Elizabeth Gray—is the matriarch. She’s the sister of Arthur Sr., making her the aunt to the Shelby siblings.
Polly is the soul of the show. Her branch of the tree is small but heavy. She had two children taken by the state: Michael and Anna. Anna died of "spring fever" (likely tuberculosis or similar) in Australia, but Michael Gray came back.
Michael is the "poisoned" branch. He represents the modern, Americanized version of the Shelby ambition. He and Tommy were destined to collide from the moment they met. When Michael married Gina (an American with ties to the mob), he effectively started a splinter cell that threatened to burn the whole forest down.
The Next Generation: Charlie, Ruby, and Duke
Tommy’s personal life is a graveyard. First, there was Grace Burgess. Their son, Charles "Charlie" Shelby, is the heir apparent. Charlie represents the "clean" side of the family—he was raised with more privilege than his father ever dreamed of.
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Then there was Lizzie Stark. Lizzie went from a "working girl" to the Lady of the House. She gave Tommy a daughter, Ruby. Ruby’s death in Season 6 is one of the darkest moments in the series, symbolizing the "curse" that Tommy believes follows their Romani blood.
But wait. There’s a secret branch.
In the final season, we find out about Erasmus "Duke" Shelby. He’s Tommy’s first-born son, conceived with a girl named Zeldy before Tommy went off to war. Duke is the "true" Shelby. He has the Romani eyes, the cold disposition, and the stomach for the dirty work. While Charlie wants nothing to do with the violence, Duke embraces it.
Why the Family Tree is More Like a Circle
Steven Knight, the creator, has always leaned into the idea of fate and circles. The Shelbys keep coming back to where they started.
- Arthur’s kids: Arthur had a son, Billy, with Linda. But Billy is rarely seen and serves more as a symbol of Arthur’s failed attempt at a "godly" life.
- John’s kids: John had four children with his first wife (who died) and then more with Esme Lee. After John died, Esme took those kids back to the "traveling" life. They are Shelbys by name, but they are Lees by heart. They are out there somewhere, a hidden army of cousins.
The Impact of Marriage and Alliances
The Peaky Blinders Shelby family tree isn't just about blood; it's about strategic mergers.
When John married Esme, it wasn't for love. It was to end a war between the Shelbys and the Lees. That marriage injected a massive dose of traditional Romani culture back into the family. It gave them allies in the hills and on the roads.
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Conversely, Tommy’s marriage to Grace was about legitimacy. He wanted to be a gentleman. He wanted to be part of the British establishment. But the establishment doesn't want the Shelbys. They want the Shelbys to do their dirty work, then disappear. This tension—between being "gypsies" and being "kings"—is what defines every branch of the family.
Real History vs. Screen Drama
It’s worth noting that the real Peaky Blinders weren't one family. The real gang was a loose collection of young men in Birmingham during the late 1800s. They were mostly street thugs and petty thieves. The "Shelby" family as we know it is a fictional creation used to ground the history in a Greek tragedy-style narrative.
However, the Romani history is very real. Families like the Shelbys existed, moving between the industrial slums and the rural camps. The show gets the feeling of the family right—the insular, "us vs. the world" mentality that comes from being an ethnic minority in a hostile city.
Understanding the "Cursed" Bloodline
Tommy is convinced the Shelby blood is cursed. He sees it in his mother’s suicide, his father’s cowardice, and the deaths of Grace, John, Polly, and Ruby.
From an E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) perspective, looking at the psychological makeup of the family tree is fascinating. We're looking at generational trauma. The "curse" isn't supernatural; it's the result of poverty, war (PTSD), and the cyclical nature of organized crime. When you bring children into a world of "black shirts" and "red right hands," the family tree is naturally going to have more fallen leaves than most.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Researchers:
If you’re trying to keep the Peaky Blinders Shelby family tree straight while watching the upcoming movie or re-watching the series, focus on these three things:
- Follow the Matriarchs: The men make the noise, but the women (Polly, Ada, Esme, Lizzie) hold the branches together. When the women leave or die, the tree starts to rot.
- Watch the "Old Blood" vs. "New Blood": Duke Shelby is the future of the family's dark side, while Charlie Shelby is the hope for their redemption. The conflict in the movie will likely center on these two half-brothers.
- Note the Name Changes: Pay attention to when characters use "Gray," "Thorne," or "Lee." It usually signals a shift in loyalty away from Tommy’s central command.
The Shelby legacy isn't about a clean lineage. It's about survival. Whether they are in a boardroom in London or a caravan in the mud, they are Shelbys. And as Tommy says, "We're all whores, Grace. We just sell different parts of ourselves." In the end, the family tree is just a record of what those parts cost.