Steve Jobs: Inside his private world

There was more to Steve Jobs than Apple products. The tech mogul had a private life that he kept largely secret throughout the years.

But now, following his death this week at the age of 56, details are emerging about the life of the beloved innovator.

Complete coverage: Steve Jobs: 1955-2011

On "The Early Show on Saturday Morning" Tatsha Robertson, senior editor of People magazine, noted that it's not widely known that Jobs was adopted.

"Paul and Clara were his parents. He was very close to his father, very close to his mom," Robertson said. "Although they were not college-educated people, his mother taught him to read at 3 years old, and he was very inspired by it. He said that helped him become curious and, you know, very curious and intelligent person. He loved his adopted father. His father was a mechanic and he used his hands and he always encouraged his son to be creative. So they really inspired him."

Robertson said Jobs never knew his biological father.

When asked about why Jobs didn't connect with his biological father, a Syrian man, Robertson said, "The father later said that it was up to Steve to connect with him. He was worried that Steve would think that he wanted his money and he did not. But after his death, he said he wished they would have connected."

In his 20s, Robertson said, Jobs sought his biological family and discovered his sister, Mona Simpson, a famous author.

"They became extremely close," Robertson said. "Her first book she dedicated to her brother Steve. Her second book she had a character who was, guess what? A mogul, a Silicon Valley mogul, and it was similar to her brother and they got a laugh out of that."

As for his romantic life, Steve Jobs did have some famous former flames, including folk singer Joan Baez. He also had a blind date with Diane Keaton, at one point, Robertson said.

However, Robertson said, everything changed for Jobs when he met his wife of 20 years at Stanford where he was giving a speech. Then, the Hollywood girlfriends, Robertson said, were "gone."

"He really enjoyed his private life. They had three children. He spent his time having dinner with his kids every night. He would go to, you know, shows with them, horse riding. He just became this private, great father. ... He became this private man who just, you know, wanted the simple life, to be with his kids barbecuing."

In addition to his three children, Jobs also reportedly fathered a daughter at age 23.

"Early Show" co-anchor Russ Mitchell said, "For years he would say this was not his daughter. He said he was sterile and no way he could have fathered a child. Later in life they became close?"

Robertson replied, "They became close around when she was around 7 years old, and then her teenage years, she lived with Steve Jobs and they became close. They had an on-and-off relationship, but they definitely rebuilt their relationship and she loved her father. She's a journalist now in New York City. So they really became close and loved each other."

Mitchell remarked, "He was such a public guy in many ways but he was private also. Why didn't many people know about these parts of his life?"

Robertson said Jobs wanted to control his own life narrative. "He did that very well," she said. "But a few weeks before his death, he allowed a biographer to really sit down and talk to him and he said he wanted to tell his story so that his children would know him. They knew a part of him, but he was also very busy, so he really kept that narrative together, and now I think he wants people to really know who the real Steve Jobs was."