Shaun Cassidy was once a teen idol, but he's since grown into a man who has his own family. The star and his wife live an everyday life together with their children and with animals they rescued and adopted.
Shaun Cassidy used to get hearts throbbing in the late 1970s when he was a teenager singing love songs. He got his skills from his parents, Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy, who were film and stage stars.
David Cassidy, his older half-brother, also followed in their father's footsteps by starring as Keith on "The Partridge Family." In 1977, Shaun shot to number one with his song "Da Doo Ron Ron."
Shaun Cassidy in a 3/4 length studio portrait in 1970 | Source: Getty Images
After that, he took some minor screen roles as a teenage detective in "The Hardy Boys." For almost two consecutive years. Shaun was on every cover of the Tiger Beat, giving teenage girls something to swoon over.
Speaking to Page Six in December 2021, the artist revealed that three other people in his family were already successful by the time he turned 18. He recalled how at age 24, his mother was already an Academy Award winner.
His father was a matinee idol on Broadway, and David was a big pop star. However, ironically, the very first time he signed an autograph was when he was five, and the reason was that his mother was Jones!
During his Page Six interview, Shaun, then 63, confessed how "terribly hard" it was for him to watch his brother's struggles with alcoholism. He admitted to seeing the trend in each family and noted:
"It's so painful, and nobody really has the right rulebook on how to manage it."
Shaun and David Cassidy during St. Clare's Hospital Benefit Luncheon in New York City, on October 6, 1993 | Source: Getty Images
Sadly, David passed away at age 67 in 2017 from liver and kidney failure after losing his lifelong battle with alcohol. In 2010, it had been over 20 years since Shaun got crowds frantic at stadiums, but he was still grateful for how they'd supported him.
The star noted how a person had a "special connection" with someone who bought your record as their first one, or their first concert, or poster. He shared how a 42-year-old woman would walk up to him, and he instantly saw their nine-year-old self in their eyes, and it touched him.
Luckily for Shaun, he didn't take the same deadly path as his late brother; instead, he married and had a family. Despite him being a bit celebrity, his wife preferred a quiet life.
Shaun's Family and His Long-Term Wife
During his Page Six interview, Shaun revealed how he'd used his fame as a "launchpad." He acknowledged how being famous was fun and felt like he'd won the lottery, but he later faced the fact that he needed to decide what to do with the rest of his life.
The singer had to choose how he was going to earn a living. By 2021, Shaun was a father to seven children and explained that he'd managed to avoid going down the drain after being a teen idol because of his family.
The star was married three times, with his first wife Ann Pennington, whom he tied the knot with on December 1, 1979. They welcomed two children together before divorcing on July 4, 1993.
On May 7, 1995, he married his second wife, Susan Diol, and welcomed one child before they divorced on March 1, 2003. His last and current wife, Tracey Lynne Turner, became his significant other on August 28, 2004, and they had four children.
During Shaun's "The Oprah Winfrey Show" 2010 appearance, he revealed how he'd met Turner on a television show they worked on together. She wasn't aware that he was a famous teen idol at the time.
Shaun Cassidy and Tracey Lynne Turner at the Sixth Annual Wine Aficionado Dinner "Dial M for Merlot" on May 8, 2008, in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images
The star confessed that his family was most important to him despite all he'd achieved. He said they were the "realization" of his dream and noted how they were his dream.
The artist also gave a tour of his family's two-acre Los Angeles dream home, where they lived with several adopted animals that were rescued, including a tortoise. His wife revealed that to them, he wasn't a big star but "just a family guy."
She shared how they went to Little League games, and her husband attended PTA meetings, volunteered at the children's school, and packed their lunches! In April 2019, Shaun shared an Instagram image of his wife sitting on a chair on their porch.
He revealed how he rarely uploaded photos of her because she preferred them to have privacy. However, he shared the picture because it was a "well-earned moment of post-Easter relaxation" that was "too beautiful to resist."
The actor and his wife welcomed their first son and child, Caleb Turner Cassidy, on March 3, 2005, and their second one, Roan Howard Cassidy, was born on September 23, 2006. The couple's third child and daughter, Lila Tracey Cassidy, was born in December 2008.
Shaun [Cassidy] said he missed his fans and wanted to check in with them after 40 years off the scene.
The family's lastborn was another daughter named Mairin Cassidy, born in June 2011. Since Shaun left the music stage, he's continued having a successful career and was responsible for many famous television series.
What Shaun Does Now
In 2010, Shaun revealed that he had been writing and producing television shows for the past 15 years. When he looked at old interviews where he was asked what he wanted to do when he grew up, he usually said he wanted to be a producer, not a singer, adding:
"And I'm really fortunate that I was able to do it."
Shaun Cassidy at the 73rd Annual Tony Awards on June 9, 2019, in New York City | Source: Getty Images
His IMDb account described him as a singer, writer, actor, and producer. It noted how he'd produced or created television series like "American Gothic," "Cold Case," "Cover Me," "The Agency," "Invasion," and "Emerald City."
He also executive produced and wrote "Hysteria" and worked in the same capacity for "New Amsterdam." However, music was still in his veins, with his website revealing he had two shows coming in 2023 in Honolulu.
On December 19, 2021, he played at Sony Hall and shared at the time how the last time he performed in New York was at Madison Square Garden. Shaun said he missed his fans and wanted to check in with them after 40 years off the scene.
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