Tom Selleck’s Daughter Is All Grown Up, But She Isn’t Following In Her Father’s Famous Footsteps

Hannah’s dad is probably proud of his daughter’s achievements, though. And back in the day, Selleck himself could have gone one of many ways before he hit Hollywood. While studying for a business administration degree at the University of Southern California, he played basketball for the USC Trojans and worked as a model. He also spent a six-year spell in the California Army National Guard. Imagine Thomas Magnum with a buzz cut!

But life had different plans for Selleck, and before Hannah arrived on the scene he was becoming a talent to be reckoned with. He landed parts in Coma, Myra Breckinridge, and The Seven Minutes as well as a recurring gig in The Rockford Files. And when the rising actor’s big break arrived, he became a household name all over the world.

Through Magnum, P.I., Selleck – not to mention his truly remarkable mustache – became a staple of the CBS schedules. He was riding high during this time, with millions tuning in every week to watch the flamboyant Thomas Magnum solve crimes and burn rubber in a red Ferrari. But, incredibly, the star gave it all up – and it was partly for Hannah.

Selleck had a few movies under his belt by then, mind you. He appeared in Divorce Wars: A Love Story, High Road to China, Lassiter, and Runaway, to name just a few. But undoubtedly his biggest movie success came when he teamed up with Ted Danson and Steve Guttenberg to play a trio of father figures in box-office hit Three Men and a Baby.

And a whole new generation discovered Selleck’s talents when he played Monica’s much older love interest in Friends. The star went on to land important roles in The Closer, Jesse Stone, and Las Vegas. More recently, he’s enjoyed a long-running spell as Police Commissioner Frank Reagan in CBS police procedural Blue Bloods. But perhaps none of these parts can hold a candle to Selleck’s most important role: being dad to Hannah.

Yes, Selleck combined fatherhood with film stardom for years. While his daughter was still too young for kindergarten, he took the lead in Mr. Baseball. He’s also since appeared opposite Kevin Kline in 1997 comedy In and Out and voiced Cornelius Robinson in 2007 animation Meet the Robinsons. Selleck’s last big-screen appearance came in 2010, when he played Mr. Kornfeldt in action rom-com Killers.

As for his personal life, Selleck first walked down the aisle with model Jacqueline Ray in 1971. The actor also adopted her son from a previous relationship, Kevin Shepard, shortly after. Selleck and Ray stayed together for 11 years before splitting in 1982. Don't be too sad for Selleck, though — love was on the horizon for the actor.

In fact, Selleck’s co-stars on the film he was shooting – 1984’s Lassiter – couldn’t help but notice something strange about their leading man. Selleck seemed to be utterly obsessed with Cats. Indeed, he went to see the musical dozens of times. But little did the Lassiter cast know that it wasn’t the show itself that had hooked Selleck. The dancer who played Rumpleteazer, 25-year-old Jillie Mack, had completely won Selleck’s heart.

So Selleck and Mack began dating, and gradually it got more and more serious. For instance, once Mack’s contract for Cats had run out, she moved to Hawaii to be with Selleck while he filmed Magnum P.I. And for the next few years, Mack was frequently seen at Hollywood parties and events with Selleck, standing by his side and looking wonderfully happy.

Then, in September 1987, big news hit: Selleck and Mack had secretly married. In fact, the work that the bride and groom had done to keep the occasion private was reminiscent of a spy operation. They’d used the false names “Tom Jenkins” and “Suzie Mark” to keep people off the scent, for example. And even the presiding official at the wedding ceremony had been unaware of who he was really marrying until the very last moment.

Furthermore, Selleck’s brother, Bob, had made all the wedding arrangements so that no news would leak. Also, the wedding photographs were taken on a Polaroid camera so that nobody could steal the negatives and sell them to the press. And even Selleck’s publicists were told to deny any suggestion of the marriage if asked. But eventually, 27 days later, the good news got out.

“In a Nevada Chapel, Under a Veil of Secrecy, Tom Selleck Marries His Kitten from Cats,” People magazine reported on September 21, 1987. The celebrity periodical also mentioned that the man who conducted the ceremony, one apparently unscrupulous Rev. Immel, had shamelessly offered to sell them details of the event.

Though they didn’t actually pay him for the information, Immel told the magazine, “They were both nervous, like any other couple about to get married. [Selleck] was very concerned that the service be heartfelt, very concerned for her that the service be meaningful. He is a very warm, caring man.”

What’s more, People reported that Selleck’s family were there, and that he and Mack had arrived at the chapel in casual clothes to maintain their secrecy. But despite the incredible stress it must have caused Selleck and his bride-to-be to keep everything under wraps, it was now done. Magnum and Rumpleteazer were spliced.

Marriage aside, something even the most eagle-eyed fans may not know about the celeb couple is that they had previously shared screen time in Magnum, P.I.! Mack played Sally Ponting in a 1985 episode, and clearly, they were smitten from the start. Naturally, it wasn't long before the couple welcomed their first and only child, Hannah, into the world just before Christmas of 1988.

Selleck decided to quit his leading role in Magnum, P.I. shortly after Hannah's birth in order to focus on raising a family. He and Jillie moved to Ventura Country, California, where they purchased a 65-acre ranch. Mack told People magazine in 2012, “We both thought it was the best environment for [Hannah] to grow up.”

And the family has certainly adapted well to country life. Not only has Selleck become a keen avocado farmer, but he’s also set up a horse breeding business with his daughter Hannah. Hannah regularly tours the world as an equestrian, a pursuit she says she was urged to take up by her parents.

“I loved being around the animals, and as a kid, taking care of different ponies and hanging out at the barn all day,” Hannah told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. Hannah, who began horse riding at four years old, began to take the sport seriously in her early teens. She added, “As I progressed in the sport, I fell in love with the competition itself.”

Although she spent much of her youth competing, Hannah doesn’t believe she missed out on being a typical teen. She told THR, “I stayed in school regularly even though I missed quite a bit of class to travel and compete, but I attended school dances and went to prom, and I was able to balance it.”

Hannah once interned at a Beverly Hills PR firm but soon decided it wasn’t for her, telling THR, “That was the first time that I had been away from the horses, and I was miserable. I was only able to ride on the weekends, and that was a huge shock. After that, I realized I have to do the horses, so I quit the PR job.”

Hannah then began working for her horsing coach on her way to becoming an assistant trainer. When asked about her role, she replied, “I have a small breeding program in California where I’m developing young horses to bring along and sell. It’s a business that so far has been really great and a great experience.”

Hannah also spoke about how her horse breeding business has received the backing of her famous father. She said, “My dad encouraged it a lot. He liked the idea of developing the babies and developing young horses, so he was a big supporter of this idea.”

Hannah also told THR how fortunate she felt to call New York her home. She said, “It’s been a nice change. I’m so lucky to be able to live in the city and have the horses based just outside so I get the best of both worlds where I can train full time and still live in a wonderful place like Manhattan.”

And although she enjoyed a brief stint as a model, Hannah doesn’t regret turning her back on the Hollywood lifestyle. “All my time goes into the horses and that’s my focus. If you split your focus, its hard to excel. The modeling I only really did to help out some friends, and I do it for my sponsors. Outside of that, I don’t have time.”

And Hannah told THR that both her parents are delighted at how her career has turned out. “They wanted me to find my love and pursue that. As a kid they tried to raise me as normally as possible given my dad’s line of work. Those horses have been a great way for me to have my own accomplishments outside of whatever my parents had done.”

When you're the child of actors, pleasing audiences as consistently as your parents once did may feel impossible. Hannah was able to grow up outside the glare of Hollywood, but another famous kid — one with Hollywood royalty for parents — was unable to avoid the spotlight...

And for Rumer Willis, the spotlight wasn't always welcomed. On paper, Rumer's life always seemed pretty much perfect. Ever since she was born in August 1988 — the same year as Hannah Selleck! — she seemed destined to follow in her parents' footsteps as a Hollywood star. After all, she already had everything one needs in order to succeed in show business.

When your parents are Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, there's only one path your career can take. So while other students were preparing for kindergarten, Rumer started getting ready for her big-screen debut.

In 1995, Rumer appeared alongside her mother in the coming-of-age film Now and Then. She may have been credited as Willa Glen, but the child was already on the road to stardom, and both parents were working overtime to make her journey possible.

And Rumer wasn't playing favorites between her parents, either! Five years later, she hit the screen with Bruce in The Whole Nine Yards. Still, she knew if she was truly going to make it big, she couldn't work with mom and dad forever.

And in 2008, Rumer fully came into her own. She became a spokesperson for Ocean Pacific, appearing in ads alongside Pete Wentz, and started eyeing some larger acting roles. She was sure that this was going to be her time to shine.

That year, Rumer appeared in four films, including The House Bunny and From Within. But the big screen wasn't the only place where she made a splash. Determined as ever to make it to the top, she shifted gears.

TV, she knew, was another medium in which she could make her mark. 2008 included a spate of TV appearances, with Rumer landing roles on Army Wives and CSI: New York. She was showing her dramatic range, and consequently, her star was on the rise.

The coming years brought continued success, with Rumer scoring roles on television shows ranging from 90210 to Pretty Little Liars. Then, in early 2015, she made the leap to a new type of programming...

Rumer made her reality TV debut on ABC's Dancing with the Stars! She proved that she was both a natural performer and a fan favorite, and the actress effortlessly took home the season's championship title.

Naturally, she used that fancy footwork to advance her career, too. In the fall of 2015, she hit the Broadway stage when she played the role of Roxie Hart in Chicago. Rumer seemed to be on top of the world — to us, anyway. It was a much different story behind the scenes.

See, despite all of that success, Rumer had a problem. All the praise and awards and applause in the world couldn't make her biggest obstacle go away. Money, as the cliche says, simply couldn't buy happiness, and Rumer's attempts to ignore her problem only made it worse.

When Rumer entered her teenage years, her issues became harder to ignore. This is because, as anyone who came of age in the 2000s will know, the celebrity blogging craze really ramped up in the early aughts. From sleazy blogs to cruel magazines, many stars — especially female ones — became tabloid fodder.

And as a teenager with super famous parents, Rumer was the perfect target. Some of the insults thrown her way were easy to brush off, but others really got under her skin. Unfortunately, Rumer's location and star status gave critics the perfect ammunition for an anonymous barrage of insults.

“They said I had a huge jaw. They said I had a ′potato head,’" Willis told The Huffington Post. The words shook the teen to her core. Famous or not, she didn't know how to react to strangers judging her looks. Even a lifetime in the spotlight can't prepare someone for such cruelty.

Over time, Rumer started to internalize the cruel remarks. “When you’re 14 or 15, I didn’t really understand having value in myself yet," Rumer later said. She feared that her worth didn't stem from her identity or talents, but from her appearance alone.

So, Rumer did what any teen would do when faced with a problem: she rushed to ask her mom for advice. Thankfully, years in the spotlight had prepared Moore for this exact scenario. Demi Moore knew the destructive power of the tabloids all too well.

Moore was used to having her public image dissected, so she knew just what to tell her daughter. Your value, she explained, doesn't come from anyone's external opinion of you. Anyone deriving happiness from others is bound to be miserable.

“I definitely talked to my mom," Rumer recalled. "And her thing was always, you can’t read the comments.” All of her mom's advice struck a chord, and Rumer carried it with her years later. It indirectly explains one of her recent social media posting habits.

Rumer frequently shares childhood images on her Instagram account in an attempt to bring positivity to the platform. Not every picture has to be conventionally attractive, and Rumer proved this to her hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers.

“I think the most important thing for me is doing my best to lead by example,” she explained. And that example occasionally includes taking a stand and calling negative influences out, as well. Rumer has made it her mission to call out anyone who questions her confidence...

In 2016, Rumer found out that a photographer had edited photos of her so that her jaw looked smaller. The actress was understandably outraged! Rumer knew she couldn't just ignore it, so she took to Instagram to explain her stance.

“The photographer Photoshopped my face to make my jaw smaller and I find it really offensive," she wrote. “I love the way I look and I won’t support anyone who would feel a need to change the way I look." Rumer's self-worth has certainly evolved since her teenage years, but if she ever doubts herself again, she knows exactly who to turn to.