Michael Strahan's 4 Kids: All About Tanita, Michael Jr., Isabella and Sophia

Michael Strahan welcomed his older two children with his ex-wife Wanda Hutchins, and younger children with his second wife Jean Muggli

Fans know Michael Strahan as both an all-star NFL player and television personality, but his most important role is as a devoted father to his four children: Tanita, Michael Jr., Isabella and Sophia.

Strahan had his two older children, Tanita and Michael Jr., with his first wife, Wanda Hutchins, before welcoming twins Isabella and Sophia with his second wife, Jean Muggli. While Strahan occasionally shares photos of his children on social media, he keeps his family life relatively private.

Still, Strahan proudly talked about how much he loves being a dad. In 2016, Strahan told PEOPLE how he makes his blended family work. “My children give me strength,” he said. “I like to be with children. For me now everything is related to family, more than anything else.”

Although Tanita and Michael Jr. raised in a different household than Sophia and Isabella, Strahan said all four children have become “very close” over the years. “You worry about the kids getting mixed up, but siblings are siblings regardless of different mothers,” he added.

Strahan also told PEOPLE that his children remind him to always have a good time. “Sometimes life gets serious for us as adults, but watching my kids, it lets me know that you’re allowed to have fun — you’re allowed to have crazy fun,” he said. “And you’re allowed to be who you are and act like nobody’s watching. I think that’s the most valuable lesson I’ve learned from them. They continue to teach me every day, so I’m always willing to learn.”

Michael Strahan’s Instagram

Strahan made it clear that being a father is a big part of his identity. In 2017, he received the Father of the Year Award from the National Father’s Day Committee. He told PEOPLE of the honor, “I love being a father. It’s absolutely the greatest joy you’ll have in your life. It’s also the most stressful you’ll ever have.”

In June 2023, Strahan and his twins celebrated a special milestone — their graduation. The Good morning America shared on Instagram that his then 18-year-old daughters finished their schools and started college. In separate Instagram tributes, he shared how he couldn’t be “more proud” of the two girls.

Here’s everything you need to know about Michael Strahan’s four children: Tanita, Michael Jr., Isabella and Sophia.

Tanita Strahan, 32

Tanita Strahan’s Instagram

Strahan and his first wife, Wanda Hutchins, had a daughter, Tanita Strahan, on November 10, 1991, in Germany. She lived in Houston until Strahan and Hutchins divorced, when she and her younger brother Michael Jr. moved to Germany with his mother.

In 2016, Tanita shared that growing up in Germany kept her grounded. “I’ve never been the type of person to be overwhelmed,” she told PEOPLE. “Growing up in Germany, nobody cared about such things.”

Tanita eventually returned to the US and attended high school in Houston. After graduation, she majored in design and visual communications at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. She later returned to Texas to study art.

On her website, Tanita describes herself as an illustrator and visual artist living in LA. He works with media such as acrylic, watercolor, ink, graphic design and photography.

Speaking with Family New York In 2013, Strahan spoke about his family, including Tanita. “She’s like me in the sense that she has a very strong personality, but a quiet strong personality,” he said of his oldest daughter. “She’s not going to be one to walk into a room and make it all about her. She definitely has her own opinion and is very smart and knows what she wants, which I love about her.”

Tanita’s Instagram mostly features photos of her artwork, like pictures and videos of her process, as well as her cats and dogs.

Michael Strahan Jr., 29

Michael Strahan’s Instagram

Michael Anthony Strahan Jr. is Strahan’s only son, whom he welcomed with Hutchins on September 12, 1994.

Like his sister Tanita, Michael Jr. grew up in Germany with his mother until he was 11, when he returned to Houston. The time spent in the country meant so much to him that he tattooed the national eagle on his arm. In 2016, he told PEOPLE that he speaks “fluent but rusty” German.

Strahan spoke to PEOPLE about what it was like raising his children with his ex-wife while they lived in another country. “I think a lot of times when you split up, people assume that the mother should take responsibility for the children,” he said. “But from the first day it was very important for me to be active, to be a part of their lives. I was constantly on planes and on the phone. And it’s very difficult – of course it’s difficult with them in Germany. But one thing I learned is to find time for what you wish for.”

After high school, Michael Jr. went to the University of Texas at San Antonio and later moved to New York.

Strahan also talked about Michael Jr Family New York 2013, saying: “He’s funny. He just got his car about two weeks ago, he washes it and takes care of it every day. He’s a very special young man. He’s also very smart. He likes to tell me, ‘Dad, you’re smart , but you cannot challenge me in the field of mathematics and science.’ ”

Michael Jr. is the most intimate of the four Strahan children; his Instagram page has only a few photos. In August 2018, he appeared on Good morning America along with his father, which he cheekily called his “15 minutes of fame” on Instagram.

Isabella Strahan, 19

Instagram Isabella Strahan

Strahan had two younger daughters with his second wife Jean Muggli. Isabella Strahan was born on October 28, 2004 together with her twin sister Sophia.

Isabella grew up splitting her time between North Carolina and North Dakota. Strahan told PEOPLE in 2016, “The twins live a crazy life. They once flew to DC and interviewed the First Lady for GMA. Then the next day their mom sent me a video of them riding horses and frolicking in a muddy cornfield.”

Speaking with Family New York, Strahan described Isabella as the calmer twin. “I would say she’s more playful, very cool, never really upset or fired up. She’s very ‘it is what it is,'” he described.

Isabella attended high school in New York, where she played volleyball and rode horses in free time. She was also devoted to her studies—in 2021, the Brooklyn Public Library named Isabella the recipient of a New York City History Day award for a website she created about America’s last slave ship.

While in high school, she also launched a modeling career, making her runway debut at the Sherri Hill Fashion Show in April 2022. Strahan was there to cheer on his daughter for her big moment, posting a series of photos from the event on Instagram.

“So proud of you @isabellastrahan for winning your first runway this weekend for @sherrihill!” Strahan wrote alongside a photo of the two at the show. “As a parent, there’s nothing better than watching your child succeed in what they love with a smile on their face! #ProudDad #GirlDad.”

Isabella is currently signed to the agency Women 360 in New York, according to her Instagram. Although the 19-year-old only occasionally posts on the app, the photos she shares are often from her travels and adventures with friends.

In June 2023, Strahan marked Isabella’s graduation with a sweet post on Instagram, sharing that she was “at USC” in the caption of a carousel of photos from her graduation day. “So proud of you @isabellastrahan!!!,” he wrote, adding, “Intelligent, beautiful and hard working!! I can’t wait to keep watching you shine!! I love you! ❤️❤️ #GirlDad.”

Sophia Strahan, 19

Sophia Strahan Instagram

Like her twin sister, Sophia Strahan was born to Strahan and Muggli on October 28, 2004.

Strahan talked about making time to see Sophia and Isabella as they grow up. “When you’re a single dad with 4-month-olds and you have to be with them all the time, it taught me that you have nothing to be afraid of,” he told PEOPLE in 2016. “I can do it. I look at it as one of the most fulfilling periods of my life. life. And now I look at my children and it makes me happy because I know it paid off in my relationship with them.”

Speaking with Family New York In 2013, Strahan said Sophia was “always asking questions, very curious.” Describing both of his twin daughters, he added: “They’re both really smart; they like to read all these things that I never thought I’d read when I was 7 or 8. And they do it because they’re generally interested in it, which is amazing to me.”

Sophia is also an equestrian, having grown up partly on her mother’s property in Wilmington, North Carolina, according to The Carolinas Equestrian. Both twins were competitive riders, taking home blue ribbons from several East Coast horse shows. Sophia also shared several photos of herself with a horse named Zeus on Instagram.

Like Isabella, Sophia also played volleyball as a student before graduating from high school in New York. In 2022, Sophia announced her plans for higher education on Instagram, revealing that she was enrolling at Duke University as part of the class of 2027.

In December 2022, Strahan spoke about his girls growing up and starting the next chapter of their lives. “I can’t wait for them to go [college], but it’s actually a bittersweet thing,” he told Yahoo. “The bitter part, of course, is that I’m going to miss my kids when they’re gone. But the sweetest thing is that they have a chance to grow and become adults.”

He added that it is important for him to give his daughters space. “Children need their own identity, their own space to grow, so I give that to my girls.”

Sophia also graduated from high school in June 2023, although she attended a different school than her sister Isabella. Strahan celebrated the occasion on Instagram, writing: “My little girl graduated. I am so proud of you!! You’re intelligent, beautiful, and I can’t wait to see all the amazing things you’ll accomplish at Duke. Congratulations Sophia!! I love you! ❤️❤️ #GirlDad.”

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Source: HIS Education