Tom Selleck might have traded in his life as a Hollywood actor for the quiet life of a rancher, despite not wanting to retire completely, but his daughter, Hannah Margaret, isn't quite done with making a name for herself. She's not done showing us that she's grown up and that she's not just a famous actor's child. And she's doing it one hurdle at a time...literally.
If you watched the Olympics recently and became a fan of Equestrian, you might want to know about Hannah. She's an Equestrian herself and has competed in the sport on the professional level. It doesn't look like she's ever made it to the Olympics, but it appears she got her love of horses from her father. Read on to find out more about Selleck's relationship with his daughter.
Selleck Wanted Hannah To Have A Normal Childhood
Selleck and his wife Jillie Joan Mack had Hannah, their only child (Selleck has an adopted son, Kevin, too), in 1988. She was born in Hollywood, but her parents didn't want her to grow up like other celebrity children. So the Selleck's raised their daughter on their ranch outside of Los Angeles, in Hidden Valley. In fact, Selleck took time out of his successful career to raise his family.
"I quit Magnum to have a family," Selleck told People in 2012. "It took a long time to get off the train, but I try very hard to have balance, and this ranch has helped me do that." Living on the ranch allowed Hannah to grow up out of the spotlight, and she developed a strong love for nature, but her parents encouraged her to do all kinds of things. She was attracted the most to horse riding, though, and started at age four.
"I started at 4, and my parents just encouraged me to try all different things — dance, ice skating, soccer, lots of things that kids do," she told The Hollywood Reporter. "Around the time I was 12, I was getting more serious. Then around the age of 14, I was very good at ballet and riding. At that point, I had to choose if I wanted to excel at either one. My love was with the horses. That’s when I became very serious about it.” She attended high school in L.A. instead of being homeschooled and started training at the Foxfield Riding School in Westlake Village, California when she was 16. But the family made decisions together. "We don’t do anything or make any decisions without consulting each other," Selleck said. "And if one of us makes a decision involving Hannah, the other parent completely supports that position, even if you disagree."
While she started to compete as an amateur, she went to college at Loyola Marymount University, graduating in 2011 with her degree in communications. But she didn't like being away from her horses for long and became an assistant trainer. "I would go ride five or six times a week still, and from Marina del Rey to the farm was about an hour and a half, I was always juggling it even through college," she said.
Eventually, she opened up her own boutique breeding and training facility. At just 20, she was running the facility alongside her father, and they bought a stable together in L.A. called Descanso Farm. She's also competed professionally, participating in competitions like the Silver Prix Championship, which she won, the Prix De States, Longines Masters, and Equitation Championship. Hannah's also a model, posing for a couple of brands, including Reviver Cosmetics, and a philanthropist. She's worked with organizations that help stop people from stealing donkeys and selling their hides.
"I loved being around the animals, and as a kid, taking care of different ponies and hanging out at the barn all day," she told THR. "The whole riding culture. You’re spending so much time one on one caring for the horses, so I fell in love with that."
Even Though She Didn't Go Into Acting, Her Father Did Inspire Her
The biggest question for a celebrity child is if they'll follow in their parent's footsteps. Even though Hannah didn't enter Hollywood like her father, she did take something away from being his daughter; his work ethic.
"Because [my parents are] both artists, they believe in the idea that you have to be very passionate about what you do to be successful," she told Equestrian Living magazine this year. "They encouraged me to be passionate about it and immersed in it, and from there, it was kind of on me how much I wanted it. They always let me take the lead."
She's shown her great work ethic by running the family horse breeding boutique all these years. "We want to show that we can produce horses in the States, having them on the ground as foals and bringing them up through the young horse classes," she said. "I don't have a large team, so with me being the main rider, I prefer to focus on producing quality, not quantity."
Selleck recently revealed he had one specific demand for his daughter before he helped her get to where she is today.
"Once I finished university [at Loyola Marymount] and decided I wanted to pursue my passion, my father said he would help support me but that I had to turn professional, letting go of my amateur status, and work for top professionals in the sport in order to learn my craft." Ultimately the demand only pushed her harder to achieve her dreams.
"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 said of the way she operates her facility. "They wanted me to find my love and pursue that." Well, Hannah definitely has the Selleck drive, that's for sure. Maybe they can one day combine their love of Hollywood and Equestrianism and make a documentary or something. We'd watch that.