Tom Selleck has been one of Hollywood’s most successful actors for decades, yet he chooses to spend his time with his family on his ranch in Ventura, California, rather than in the spotlight.
It’s not always easy to stay humble and avoid letting fame get to your head, especially when everyone keeps telling you how great you are. Fortunately, Tom Selleck has never been obsessed with fame.
Selleck and his wife of over 30 years have lived on a ranch in California for over three decades. Even though life as a rancher was not always easy, the actor once stated that it kept him sane.
THE WAY TO SUCCESS
Selleck, who was born in Detroit in January 1945, began his career in the entertainment industry in the late 1960s, playing minor roles in TV shows and films.
The show that catapulted his career to stardom was “Magnum, PI.” For eight years, Selleck played Hawaii-based investigator Thomas Magnum, and he even won a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor.
Selleck went on to appear in “The Closer” and “Friends,” but he is now one of the main stars of “Blue Bloods.” For the past 12 seasons, Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, and a few other cast members have been a part of the show (11 years and counting).
Selleck’s career has been nothing short of impressive, but it could have been even better. Unlike other celebrities, he has always valued the balance between work and family time. That’s why, in 1987, he left “Magnum, PI.”
Despite the fact that she gave up her career to be with Selleck, Mack has no regrets.
He may have been at the pinnacle of his celebrity, but he has always been a private person who disliked all the attention the show brought him. Before admitting that he didn’t think he was cut out for fame, Selleck explained:
“I knew intellectually what it would mean to be a public figure, but there’s no way to understand it until you’ve lived it.”
RELOCATING TO THE RANCH
The actor also revealed that he left “Magnum, PI” not because he didn’t like it or was sick of it, but because he was sick of it. He yearned for a three-dimensional life, which he lacked at the time.
When Selleck left the show in 1987, he married his second and current wife, Jillie Joan Mack. He once admitted that Mack’s “joie de vivre” and “effervescent quality” could light up a room.
One year after their wedding, Mack, a former actress and dancer from England, and Selleck purchased Dean Martin’s former ranch in Ventura, California. According to reports, the farm (and horse ranch) has over 1,500 native trees.
Mack takes over when he has to leave home to film “Blue Bloods” in New York. Selleck once stated that he and his wife are quite independent, with a lot of yin and yang in them.
Mack has no regrets about giving up her career to be with Selleck. Mack loved her rancher’s life, according to one of the couple’s friends, because her happiness was primarily related to her animals, and her pet dogs and horses were always with her.
RESTORING HIS SOUL
Mack isn’t the only one who adores the ranch. Before purchasing the property, Selleck realized that he needed to reclaim his anonymity in order to replenish his soul, and the farm provided the ideal escape from Hollywood.
He took a break, but when he reduced his workload to only a couple of projects per year, people began to worry about his stellar career. He eventually admitted that he didn’t like the acting roles that were being offered to him.
During the drought, Selleck and Mack were sued for stealing truckloads of water from a hydrant serving a construction site.
Despite having to deal with news articles about him being done or disappearing from Hollywood, that “big lull” helped put a lot of things into perspective. The actor now believes that his relationships with his family and his ranch have kept him sane. According to Selleck:
“I left Magnum to start a family. It took a long time to get off the train, but I strive for balance, and this ranch has assisted me in that endeavor.”
Selleck and Mack have been married for 34 years at the time of writing. Hannah, their first and only child, was born in 1988, and the couple thought the ranch would be the best place for her to grow up.
He also admitted that nurturing a marriage was important, and that the fact that he wanted to spend time away from work with his family aided their relationship.
LIFE OF A RANCHER
While the ranch had a positive impact on Selleck and Mack’s romance, maintaining it has not always been easy. Selleck takes care of the 63-acre property himself, doing everything from repairing roads to clearing bushes.
Unfortunately, his avocado plants were decimated by the California drought. But they weren’t exactly profitable. Selleck claimed in 2007 that his avocados were selling “like hotcakes,” but he later admitted that making a living from them was difficult.
In 2015, Selleck and Mack were sued for stealing truckloads of water from a hydrant serving a construction site during the drought.
Selleck allegedly used a large water tender type truck to make at least 12 trips from the hydrant to his property over the course of nearly two years, according to the Calleguas Municipal Water District. However, because some trips may have gone undetected, determining how much water was stolen is impossible.
When the authorities in Calleguas discovered Selleck transporting water in late 2013, they issued two cease-and-desist letters. The actor ignored them as he continued to steal water.
Selleck was then ordered to pay $21,000 for the cost of a private investigation, as well as additional damages. He was also barred from taking any more water from the Calleguas Municipal Water District for personal use.