Michael Strahan has gone from professional football player to successful television personality, but the Good Morning America host’s favorite job is being a father to his four kids.
Strahan rose to fame as a defensive endfor theNew York Giants. He spent 15 years with team and helped them win Super Bowl XLI during his final season. After retiring from the NFL in 2007, Strahan transitioned into broadcast television. He appeared as a football analyst on Fox NFL Sundayand co-hosted Live! alongside Kelly Ripa for four years beginning in 2012. In 2016, Strahan announced his departure from Live! and his move to Good Morning America. He has served as one of three main anchors ever since, along with Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos.
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When he’s not on television, the devoted father is spending time with his family. So, who are Michael Strahan’s kids? Keep reading to learn more about the GMA host’s family.
Who are Michael Strahan’s kids?
Michael Strahan is the proud dad to four children. He welcomed his two older children with his first wife, Wanda Hutchins, whom he was married to from 1992 to 1996. He then had twin daughters with his second wife, Jean Muggli, whom he was married to for seven years. Strahan has been dating his longtime girlfriend, Kayla Quick, since 2016, and she has grown very close with his children.
During a 2016 interview with PEOPLE, Strahan revealed that his blended family is “very close,” which he’s proud of. “You worry how the kids will mix and blend, but brothers and sisters are brothers and sisters regardless of different mothers,” he told the outlet, adding: “My kids give me strength … I love being with the kids. To me it’s all about family, now more than anything.”
Read on to learn more about Michael Strahan’s children and their mothers.
Tanita Strahan
Birthday: Nov. 10, 1991
Strahan welcomed his eldest child, daughter Tanita Strahan, in 1991 with his then-wife Wanda Hutchins. Following Strahan and Hutchins’ divorce, Tanita and her brother moved to Germany with their mother. Despite his children living in a separate country, Strahan was a hands-on parent. “I think a lot of times when you split, people assume that the mother is supposed to take responsibility for the kids. But from day one, it was very important for me to be active, to be a part of their life,” Strahan told PEOPLE. “I was constantly on planes and phones. And it’s very hard – of course it’s hard with them being in Germany. But one thing I learned is, you make time for what you want to make time for.”
Tanita eventually moved back to Houst0n, Texas, her father’s hometown, to attend high school. She went on to pursue a degree from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. She now works as an illustrator and frequently shares her artwork on Instagram.
The artist prefers to stay out of the spotlight, so Strahan doesn’t share many photos of her on social media. He did, however, share two throwback photos on her birthday in 2022, including a shot of Tanita as a baby. “Happy birthday to my first born @tanitaa.st🎉🎊 🍾Please help me wish her the most amazing day. So proud of the person and artist you have become my baby. Proud to be your Dad❤️❤️❤️❤️,” he wrote in the caption.
Michael Strahan Jr.
Birthday: Sept. 12, 1994.
Strahan’s only son, Michael Strahan Jr., was born a few years later in 1994. Like his sister, he also spent his early years in Germany with his mom. Michael Jr. moved back to Houston by the time he was 11, but the time he spent in Germany was incredibly meaningful to him, so much so that tattooed the country’s eagle on his arm.
Michael Jr. attended the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he studied psychology, before moving to New York. “He’s a very particular young man,” Strahan said of his son during a November 2014 interview with New York Family magazine. “He’s very smart, too … He likes to say to me, ‘Dad, you’re smart, but you cannot challenge me in the fields of math and science.'”
Isabella Strahan
Birthday: Oct. 28, 2004
Strahan welcomed Isabella and her twin sister Sophia on Oct. 28, 2004, with his then-wife Jean Muggli. Growing up, the twins split their time between North Carolina and North Dakota. “The twins live a crazy life. One time they flew out to D.C. and interviewed the First Lady forGMA,” Strahan told PEOPLE in 2016. “Then the next day their mom was sending me a video of them riding horses and splashing around in a muddy corn field.”
Isabella attended an all-girls private high school in New York City, where she played volleyball and rode horses. Ahead of her graduation, Strahan revealed that her daughter had been accepted into the University of Southern California. “FIGHT ON, @isabellastrahan! #ProudDad #USC,” he wrote alongside a picture of Isabella smiling next to a USC-themed cake.
Unfortunately, Isabella’s college experience was put on pause when she was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a common malignant brain tumor, in late October 2023. Isabella and her father announced the diagnosis publicly during a sit-down interview with Robin Roberts for GMA. During the interview, Isabella revealed that she began experiencing “excruciating” headaches, nausea and trouble walking not long after she began her freshman year at USC.
After further testing, Isabaella was diagnosed with medulloblastoma and underwent emergency surgery to have the golf ball-sized tumor rumored. Following months of rehabilitation and several rounds of proton radiation therapy, she began chemotherapy at Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center and documented her experience on her YouTube channel.
“It’s been two months of keeping it quiet, which is definitely difficult … I don’t want to hide it anymore,” she said during the interview, adding that her goal with the YouTube series is to “be a voice and be a person people who are going through chemotherapy or radiation can look at.”
“I literally think that, in a lot of ways, I’m the luckiest man in the world, because I’ve got an amazing daughter,” Srahan chimed in. “I know she’s going through it, but I know that we’re never given more than we can handle and that she is going to crush this.”
In June 2024, Isabella accomplished a major milestone: her last chemotherapy treatment. “@isabellastrahan you are a SUPERWOMAN! Ringing that bell finishing chemo and on your way! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾,” the proud dad captioned a video of Isabella ringing the hospital’s bell. “You continue to fight with a smile on your face, strength, and determination. I am one proud Dad! Love you, Bella ❤️❤️.”
Sophia Strahan
Birthday: Oct. 28, 2004
Like her twin sister, Sophia Strahan was also born on Oct. 28, 2004, to Strahan and Muggli. While speaking to New York Family in 2013, Strahan described Sophia as the “curious” twin, noting that she was “always asking questions.” He added of both Sophia and Isabella: “They’re both very smart; they love to read all these things I never thought of reading when I was 7 or 8 years old. And they do it because they’re generally interested in it, which is amazing to me.”
Sophia also attended a private high school in New York City, though not the same one as her sister. Strahan celebrated her graduation on Instagram in May 2023 and revealed that she would be attending Duke University that fall. “My baby girl graduated!! I am so proud of you!! You are intelligent, beautiful, and I can’t wait to see all of the amazing things you are going to accomplish at Duke. Congrats Sophia!! Love you! ❤️❤️ #GirlDad,” he captioned a selfie of him and Sophia as she held her diploma.
A few months later, Strahan dropped Sophia off at Duke, sharing several photos from the special trip. “Dropped off the youngest of the tribe @sophialstrahan at college! Can’t believe how time has flown by and I’m so proud of her. I know she’s going to crush college life!! #DukeDad,” he wrote in the caption. “I know she’s a twin so @isabellastrahan pics coming soon! Lol.”
For more on Good Morning America, check out this gallery on the GMA anchor’s real-life partners.
