Pearson's daughter Emily (b. 1968) is an actress and writer who is the author of "Dancing With Crazy" (2011), a memoir of her life and family. Pearson's elder son John (b. 1969) is a professional caricaturist and one of the original animators of "The Simpsons"; younger son Aaron Pearson (b. 1971) is a rock musician. Her youngest child, Katharine Sirrine "Katy" Pearson Adams (1975–1999), died of a brain tumor at the age of 23. She has four grandchildren. Pearson's former son-in-law, Steven Fales (b. 1970) is an internationally acclaimed solo performance artist most noted for his "Mormon Boy Trilogy" (2018) that tells his coming-out story. He is the father of two of Pearson's four grandchildren.