Alan Jackson is one of the biggest country music stars of the past two decades. With hits like "Chattahoochee," "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," and so many more, the Newnan, Georgia native has made an indelible mark on the history of country music, and he's done it all with his family by his side. Country fans may be familiar with Jackson's wife Denise Jackson, his high school sweetheart whom he married in 1979. The two share a lasting love story which Denise wrote about in her book, It's All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life, published in 2007.
Videos by Wide Open Country
However, the couple has also had public struggles, even separating in 1998, which the singer-songwriter has written about in tunes like "Remember When." While fans may know his wife, they may not be as familiar with Alan Jackson's kids. His three daughters made their music video debut way back in 2002 in Jackson's video for "Drive (For Daddy Gene)," but here's a deeper look into the lives of Alan Jackson's daughters Mattie, Ali, and Dani Grace.
Mattie Denise Selecman
The country superstar's first-born daughter Mattie Denise was born on June 19, 1990. According to Country Thang Daily, Mattie graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2012. On October 7, 2017, Mattie married Samuel "Ben" Selecman, an assistant District Attorney in Nashville, Tennessee. Unfortunately, Selecman passed away less than a year after they wed on September 12, 2018, in Jupiter, Florida. Ben Selecman died from a severe traumatic brain injury sustained from a falling off a boat dock, according to the Miami Herald. Prior to her husband's death, Mattie, a sommelier, owned a Nashville restaurant called Salt & Vine. She is now very active on social media and co-founded an organization called NaSHEville, which seeks to "celebrate sisterhood and give back to orphans, widows & trafficked women." She also hosts a related podcast called She's In The City, during which she talks about marriage, motherhood, and other topics. Mattie and Ben's wedding was featured in Southern Bride. This year, Jackson spoke about the death of his son-in-law with Hits Daily Double.
"When he died, I was kind of pissed off at the world," he shared. "I just wasn't feeling right about anything. You know how I was raised: I grew up with four older sisters, then Denise and our three girls. It's all I was ever around: girls and women. So having a son-in-law was having a boy I could fish with, work on cars and stuff with. It was tough losing him so suddenly—so jarring to all of us. I lost something I'd never had before."
Read More: The Story Behind Alan Jackson's 'Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)'
Alexandra Jane Bradshaw
On August 23, 1993, the Jackson family welcomed their second child, Alexandra "Ali" Jane Jackson. Ali keeps her social media pages private now, but when her father was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017, she wrote a sweet tribute to her dad on Facebook.
"The world sees you as follows: a great musician, an impressive songwriter and a talented vocalist," she wrote at the time. "I see you as: my best friend, the guy that taught me that how you treat people matters more than anything else and taught me just how to stand on my own two feet. You're every daughter's dream father. Thank you for raising us in a house filled with Jesus and music, and always making sure we knew whatever our dream was could be our reality."
Ali is a married woman, having wed a man named Sam Bradshaw in July 2018. Mattie shared multiple sweet family photos from the day.
"This beautiful woman went from "Miss" to "Mrs." a few weeks ago," Mattie wrote alongside a family photo from the special day. "I truly cannot imagine anyone being a more stunning bride than @alijbradshaw. It was a joy, honor, and quite the party standing next to you. @sambradshaw731 welcome to the family. love you both so much!"
Dani Grace Jackson
The youngest of the country singer's children, Dani Grace, was born on August 28, 1997. Dani stays private on social media, and not many facts have been released about her life, but she often shows up on her older sister Mattie's Instagram account. In August 2020, Mattie wished Dani a Happy 23rd birthday on Instagram by posting a throwback photo of the two of them when they were little in addition to more recent pictures.
Alan Jackson included a couple of tributes to his daughters on his latest album, Where Have You Gone, released May 14th. The album's songs "I Do" and "You'll Always Be My Baby" were both written for his daughters and for their weddings.
Read More: Meet Kris Kristofferson's 8 Children, From Soap Opera Star Jesse to Country Singer Casey
