Key Takeaways
- Steve Jobs secretly named Apple’s Lisa computer after his daughter while publicly denying paternity.
- A DNA test later confirmed Jobs was Lisa’s father, and he was ordered to pay child support.
- Jobs only admitted the computer was named after his daughter years later, but the machine was a market failure.
Steve Jobs secretly named one of Apple’s most significant computers after his daughter Lisa while publicly denying he was her father for years. This hidden truth, revealed in Lisa Brennan-Jobs’ memoir Small Fry, exposes the complex personal life behind one of tech’s most iconic figures.
The Birth and the Prototype
On May 17, 1978, Chrisann Brennan gave birth to Lisa in an Oregon farmhouse. Steve Jobs, who was in a long-term relationship with Chrisann, was absent during the birth. He visited days later, helped choose the name ‘Lisa’ from a baby book, and departed.
Simultaneously, Apple engineers were developing a groundbreaking computer in a Silicon Valley garage. This project would later become known as the Apple Lisa.
The Lisa Computer: A $50 Million Secret
The Lisa computer was a major technological leap for Apple, featuring a graphical user interface, icons, a mouse, and user-friendly software. Its development cost approximately $50 million, and it launched with a retail price of $9,995.
Publicly, Apple claimed the name ‘Lisa’ stood for ‘Local Integrated System Architecture’. Internally, however, a select few knew the machine was named after Jobs’ daughter.
Years of Public Denial
Despite this private tribute, Jobs spent years publicly denying he was Lisa’s father. He claimed he was sterile and suggested another man could be her biological parent.
Chrisann Brennan eventually filed a paternity suit. A court-ordered DNA test confirmed Steve Jobs was the father, and he was mandated to pay $385 per month in child support.
A Daughter’s Perspective
Lisa Brennan-Jobs grew up viewing her father as a distant tech icon rather than a present parent. She describes him as “the absent visitor in rented rooms” who never publicly accepted her.
Even when she gained admission to Harvard University, Jobs initially refused to pay her tuition. Her memoir recounts moments of cruelty, including Jobs telling her, “You smell like a toilet.”
The Late Admission
Years later, Steve Jobs finally acknowledged the truth. During a lunch with U2’s Bono, he confirmed the Lisa computer was indeed named after his daughter when directly asked.
He later admitted the same to his biographer, Walter Isaacson, stating it was “obviously” named for her. Before his death, Jobs told his daughter, “I really owe you one.”
The Legacy
The Lisa computer itself was a commercial failure, flopping in the market and being discontinued after just a few years. Yet the name found its lasting meaning not in technology, but in Lisa Brennan-Jobs’ memoir, where it finally belonged to the person who carried it.
