Tom Selleck does not appear 75, despite his chiseled good looks and brawny physique, but he will turn that age on January 29. Perhaps the fact that he was a late bloomer is the key to his youthful appearance. He told Parade, “I didn’t really have success until I was 35, which was Magnum, P.I.” in 1980. And he admits that he didn’t feel fully mature until much later in life.
“That was when my father d1ed in 2001,” Tom, whose father was a real-estate executive (his mother, Martha, d1ed in 2017), once told GQ. “I said, ‘There’s no one to turn to for fatherly advice.’” ‘You’re on your own, buddy.’”
Nonetheless, Tom had a solid foundation as a child growing up in Southern California. “I had a fantastic father and mother, and I could go into analysis for the next 20 years and not blame them for anything,” he once said. “So I’m very fortunate in that regard.”
He incorporated some of what he learned into the character of Frank Reagan, the police commissioner father of a law-enforcement family on CBS’ Blue Bloods, which is now in its tenth season. “There aren’t many examples of patriarchs trying to do the right thing on TV,” he explained to Parade. “That serves a purpose; fathers are important.”
Tom has managed to maintain a sense of perspective despite becoming one of America’s most enduring and beloved TV stars. “As rewarding as this business has been to me,” he told Beliefnet, “life is about bigger things.”
His family comes first and foremost. He’s been married to Jillie since 1987, and the couple has one daughter, Hannah, who is 31 years old. “I have a wonderful wife, and our love has grown stronger,” he exclaimed to GQ. “It just gets better and better.” You transform into true partners.”
While Hannah is an adult (she breeds horses on a farm), Tom told Parade that “you never stop being a dad even when your kids are grown.” “He’s close and a good dad,” an insider tells Closer Weekly in the magazine’s latest issue, which is now on newsstands. Tom enjoys horseback riding and spending time with her. She’s a beautiful young lady.”
Tom’s loved ones will be among the few people invited to his birthday party. “He feels he’s reached a point where he just wants to be with his family and close friends,” an insider says. “He’s a laid-back type of guy.”
Blue Bloods is filmed in New York City, and Tom lives in Southern California. He’s able to fly back and forth and balance work and family time because it’s an ensemble show and he’s not in every scene. This arrangement has been in place for over a decade and is unlikely to change anytime soon. “If the show is still doing well and the network supports it, Tom will stay on it as long as it’s on the air,” says a source close to the situation.
Tom has recently begun writing his autobiography, and as he reflects on his life, he can be proud of the way he has conducted himself. “People tell me, ‘I don’t want to have any regrets,’ and I don’t,” he told GQ. “I’ve had some bad breaks, and it was a struggle to get to the point where I could actually make a living in this business.”
That has only increased his appreciation for success, even though he values deeper things. “Fame is a vapor; popularity is an accident; and money takes flight,” Tom told GQ. “Character is the only thing that lasts.” And he’s still working on his own. “Few of us are as good as we believe,” he admits. “None of us are as talented as we could be.”